Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 26 Jun 2013 @ 10:22am
Re: I "need" it, therefore I can take it
Put aside for now the arguments over whether DRM or IP laws are worthwhile or selfish, effective or useless. The bottom line is that they exist.
However, if more people had the backbone to just say "no" to this stupidity
You're sending confused messages here. So we're supposed to 'obey the law' just because it exists, no matter how stupid, while at the same time making a stand against the companies who have had those laws pushed through?
No. I will not pretend to be stupid. I will not pretend that non-scarce things are scarce. I will not pretend that ideas and culture can be owned and restricted. I am making a stand. I will not obey laws which run counter to the good of society.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 26 Jun 2013 @ 10:00am
Re: Re:
What if the Internet went down and the government needed to tell the citizens what to do?
I just got myself a Galaxy S4. The other night I was startled when the emergency broadcast tone sounded. I was sitting in front of my computer playing a game and that beeping certainly wasn't coming from it. Then I realized - it was my new phone alerting me to a flash flood warning in my area delivered via the emergency broadcast system.
Not everyone has a radio, but almost everyone has a TV, but it won't help if there's no channels.
Smartphones now make up more than half of all mobile phones and still rapidly growing. TVs don't turn themselves on for emergency broadcasts, yet my phone alerted me even though I wasn't paying attention to it.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 25 Jun 2013 @ 8:51am
Re: Re: Re: So wait...
Broken window fallacy.
All of the money, time, and manpower might have been better spent doing something else (building infrastructure, training people in high-tech jobs, R&D on new technology, whatever).
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 8:07am
Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing
Since it was an automated system (designed to catch spambots), then it obviously caught your post for some reason, or some combination of reasons.
I can guess a few of the triggers. It was posted anonymously. The same or similar message had been posted before, especially in other unrelated stories. The message was relatively short. It contained links, especially a link that had been previously posted, or one that was obfuscated behind a bit.ly link.
If your post looks like spam, it's going to get caught by the spam filter. And when TD staff sees what equally looks like useless spam in the filter, why should they bother spending time letting it through? If you don't want your comments caught like that, instead of writing what look like automated computer generated drivel perhaps you should adjust your posting style. IOW: adapt or die.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 24 Jun 2013 @ 7:10am
Re: Re: Re: Ideas can't be copyrighted
Just because you can take something doesn't make that taking right.
And just because you can lock something up doesn't make locking up all culture and ideas right.
Freeing culture and ideas does not take away 'all hope of recompense' and the evidence is mounting that it increases the amount of new ideas created and creative works authored.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 19 Jun 2013 @ 1:17pm
Immunity
You know who would get effective immunity if this did go through?
The actual criminals breaking the law.
Why bother trying to investigate and find some rogue pharmacy? That sounds like hard work! Once you get Google to pay up, and the AG gets to do his song and dance in front of the press, the case is over, and the people running that pharmacy got off scott-free.
That's what would happen in practice, and anyone who can read between the lines sees it.
So who is the one really standing up for the rule of law?
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 13 Jun 2013 @ 1:37pm
Re: Re: Monsanto
Since we're talking about Monsanto and artificial genes, it's important to note that the 'RoundUp Ready' gene is not artificial by any definition of artificial that I'm aware of.
"Some micro-organisms have a version of 5-enolpyruvoyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthetase (EPSPS) that is resistant to glyphosate inhibition. The version used in the initial round of genetically modified crops was isolated from Agrobacterium strain CP4 (CP4 EPSPS) that was resistant to glyphosate.[125][126] This CP4 EPSPS gene was cloned and transfected into soybeans." https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoundUp#Genetically_modified_crops
The RoundUp Ready gene was isolated from another organism.
It is also interesting to note that the particular bacteria mentioned is known to use horizontal gene transfer between itself and plants. It's not a stretch to imagine that the gene itself could have been naturally occurring either in that bacteria *OR* a plant it swapped genes with at some point in its evolutionary past.
And its also interesting to note that other plants have developed similar glyphosphate resistance on their own (or may have gotten their resistance from a bacteria they swapped genes with outside of the lab).
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 13 Jun 2013 @ 11:50am
Re: Re: Oooh, softball! -- Hear Mike ranting about Google's surveillance?
No.
I agree with ZP. Even if blue is utterly annoying and nonsensical, I don't want him banned or blacklisted. If you don't like reading what he writes, then skip over it, or don't click open his stuff when it gets hidden.
Even though blue has no inherent right to post on someone else's blog, you have no inherent right not to be offended by what someone writes on someone else's blog.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 13 Jun 2013 @ 7:00am
Re:
where are all of those massive false positives
Hard to have false positives when they don't have any positives.
My piratey self has seen less than 5 comments of people anywhere getting strikes, and all of those were from extremely popular torrents of just released Hollywood movies.
We won't see massive false positives until they start sending out massive strikes - which they haven't. The copyright holders appear to not be using the six strikes system yet.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 13 Jun 2013 @ 6:44am
Re: Re: Re: Re: Trolling vs. Extortion
If they have enough information about you, they can report an unpaid debt to the credit rating agencies. There are no checks to determine a debt is valid unless you dispute it with the rating agency, and that's a serious hassle and entirely weighted in favor of the companies listing debts (since that's who pays the credit agencies). I had to dispute a "debt" from a power company who had me listed at some address I had never lived at and it was a total hassle and clusterfuck.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 12 Jun 2013 @ 1:48pm
Re:
Sony has a reputation of saying one thing, then doing something else which is completely anti-consumer.
Yep.
What I think is telling is that everyone who cares still knows how bad Sony is.
And yet, Sony is being seen as the hero.
That is how bad Microsoft is handling this. Microsoft has made Sony, with its rootkits, with its disabling of features, and everything else, to look good in the eyes of people who has hated them for years.
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 12 Jun 2013 @ 1:40pm
Re: Re: Re: Yup...
Treason (or more properly, violating portions of the Constitution "for security reasons") has been generally accepted in the government since the Cold War kicked off.
Unfortunately it goes back much farther than the Cold War.
The Japanese internment camps during WW2 is a particular glaring example.
Quite a bit of nasty stuff during the Civil War.
The ink was hardly dry on the Constitution and Bill of Rights when the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by Congress in 1798, and were used to jail and fine the authors and journalists of the time for disagreeing and embarrassing with those in political power (sound familiar yet?).
Josh in CharlotteNC (profile), 12 Jun 2013 @ 1:27pm
Re: Re: Re:
The way to stop extremism is not with a technical solution (monitoring or blocking), it needs a social solution.
Truth. Extremism breeds extremism.
In order for a social solution to even gain traction, both "sides" (in quotes, since there's usually more than 2, and many degrees of nuance between) need to see the other as people with differing views and sometimes legitimate grievances instead of mere objects or as evil.
In the current political climate of the US, we have trouble doing that between two peaceful political parties, and sometimes even within a single party (ie tea party vs. GOP establishment).
On the post: Adobe's New Subscription Service Goes Live And Is Cracked In Less Than 24 Hours
Re: I "need" it, therefore I can take it
However, if more people had the backbone to just say "no" to this stupidity
You're sending confused messages here. So we're supposed to 'obey the law' just because it exists, no matter how stupid, while at the same time making a stand against the companies who have had those laws pushed through?
No. I will not pretend to be stupid. I will not pretend that non-scarce things are scarce. I will not pretend that ideas and culture can be owned and restricted. I am making a stand. I will not obey laws which run counter to the good of society.
On the post: Broadcasters To FCC: Now That Our Audience Is Gone, Can We Swear More?
Re: Re:
I just got myself a Galaxy S4. The other night I was startled when the emergency broadcast tone sounded. I was sitting in front of my computer playing a game and that beeping certainly wasn't coming from it. Then I realized - it was my new phone alerting me to a flash flood warning in my area delivered via the emergency broadcast system.
Not everyone has a radio, but almost everyone has a TV, but it won't help if there's no channels.
Smartphones now make up more than half of all mobile phones and still rapidly growing. TVs don't turn themselves on for emergency broadcasts, yet my phone alerted me even though I wasn't paying attention to it.
On the post: Shallow Surveillance Efforts Like PRISM Will Only Catch The 'Stupidest, Lowest-Ranking Of Terrorists'
Re: Re: Re: So wait...
All of the money, time, and manpower might have been better spent doing something else (building infrastructure, training people in high-tech jobs, R&D on new technology, whatever).
On the post: Ed Snowden Leaves Hong Kong, Seeks Asylum In Ecuador, As US Officials Flip Out
Re: Re: Re: Now he's an International play thing
I can guess a few of the triggers. It was posted anonymously. The same or similar message had been posted before, especially in other unrelated stories. The message was relatively short. It contained links, especially a link that had been previously posted, or one that was obfuscated behind a bit.ly link.
If your post looks like spam, it's going to get caught by the spam filter. And when TD staff sees what equally looks like useless spam in the filter, why should they bother spending time letting it through? If you don't want your comments caught like that, instead of writing what look like automated computer generated drivel perhaps you should adjust your posting style. IOW: adapt or die.
On the post: Irony Abounds: Snowden Charged For Spying When What He Really Did Was Reveal Massive Spying
Re: Wow...
On the post: Prometheus, Meet Thomas Jefferson: On Fire, Stealing And Sharing
Re: Re: Re: Ideas can't be copyrighted
And just because you can lock something up doesn't make locking up all culture and ideas right.
Freeing culture and ideas does not take away 'all hope of recompense' and the evidence is mounting that it increases the amount of new ideas created and creative works authored.
On the post: More Details Emerge As States' Attorneys General Seek To Hold Back Innovation On The Internet
Immunity
The actual criminals breaking the law.
Why bother trying to investigate and find some rogue pharmacy? That sounds like hard work! Once you get Google to pay up, and the AG gets to do his song and dance in front of the press, the case is over, and the people running that pharmacy got off scott-free.
That's what would happen in practice, and anyone who can read between the lines sees it.
So who is the one really standing up for the rule of law?
On the post: The NSA's Lockbox Has No Lock
Re: Re: Re: Re: Re:
On the post: The NSA's Lockbox Has No Lock
Re: Re: No locks eh?
SELinux was developed by the NSA.
Of course, they don't seem to be taking advantage of the features they designed, namely the strong access control features.
On the post: NSA Claims Surveillance Programs Aided The Stopping Of 50 Attacks; Details Lacking
On the post: Steve Wozniak Speaks Out Against NSA Spying: This Is Not My America
Re: To know vs not to know
On the post: Supreme Court Strikes Down Gene Patents
Re: Re: Re: Monsanto
On the post: Supreme Court Strikes Down Gene Patents
Re: Re: Monsanto
"Some micro-organisms have a version of 5-enolpyruvoyl-shikimate-3-phosphate synthetase (EPSPS) that is resistant to glyphosate inhibition. The version used in the initial round of genetically modified crops was isolated from Agrobacterium strain CP4 (CP4 EPSPS) that was resistant to glyphosate.[125][126] This CP4 EPSPS gene was cloned and transfected into soybeans."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RoundUp#Genetically_modified_crops
The RoundUp Ready gene was isolated from another organism.
It is also interesting to note that the particular bacteria mentioned is known to use horizontal gene transfer between itself and plants. It's not a stretch to imagine that the gene itself could have been naturally occurring either in that bacteria *OR* a plant it swapped genes with at some point in its evolutionary past.
And its also interesting to note that other plants have developed similar glyphosphate resistance on their own (or may have gotten their resistance from a bacteria they swapped genes with outside of the lab).
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Amaranthus_palmeri
So what really is *artificial* when we're talking about genes?
On the post: Hear That Deafening Silence From AT&T And Verizon About NSA Surveillance?
Re: Re: Oooh, softball! -- Hear Mike ranting about Google's surveillance?
I agree with ZP. Even if blue is utterly annoying and nonsensical, I don't want him banned or blacklisted. If you don't like reading what he writes, then skip over it, or don't click open his stuff when it gets hidden.
Even though blue has no inherent right to post on someone else's blog, you have no inherent right not to be offended by what someone writes on someone else's blog.
On the post: Warner Bros. Copyright Trolling Customers Of Non-Six Strikes ISPs
Re:
Hard to have false positives when they don't have any positives.
My piratey self has seen less than 5 comments of people anywhere getting strikes, and all of those were from extremely popular torrents of just released Hollywood movies.
We won't see massive false positives until they start sending out massive strikes - which they haven't. The copyright holders appear to not be using the six strikes system yet.
On the post: Warner Bros. Copyright Trolling Customers Of Non-Six Strikes ISPs
Re: Re: Re: Re: Trolling vs. Extortion
On the post: Sony At E3: Look How Unlike Microsoft We Are!
Re:
Yep.
What I think is telling is that everyone who cares still knows how bad Sony is.
And yet, Sony is being seen as the hero.
That is how bad Microsoft is handling this. Microsoft has made Sony, with its rootkits, with its disabling of features, and everything else, to look good in the eyes of people who has hated them for years.
On the post: Rep. Peter King Says Reporters Should Be Prosecuted For Reporting On Government Leaks
Re: Re: Re: Yup...
Unfortunately it goes back much farther than the Cold War.
The Japanese internment camps during WW2 is a particular glaring example.
Quite a bit of nasty stuff during the Civil War.
The ink was hardly dry on the Constitution and Bill of Rights when the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed by Congress in 1798, and were used to jail and fine the authors and journalists of the time for disagreeing and embarrassing with those in political power (sound familiar yet?).
On the post: Even The AP Is Calling Bull On Government Claims Of PRISM Helping Stop NYC Subway Bomb
Re: Re: Re:
Truth. Extremism breeds extremism.
In order for a social solution to even gain traction, both "sides" (in quotes, since there's usually more than 2, and many degrees of nuance between) need to see the other as people with differing views and sometimes legitimate grievances instead of mere objects or as evil.
In the current political climate of the US, we have trouble doing that between two peaceful political parties, and sometimes even within a single party (ie tea party vs. GOP establishment).
On the post: Even The AP Is Calling Bull On Government Claims Of PRISM Helping Stop NYC Subway Bomb
Re: Re: Re:
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