Mike C. 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (402) comment rss

  • On the post: White House Supposedly Blocked Walmart From Buying Tiktok Because It Would Prove Its Rationale For Forcing A Deal Was Bullshit

    Mike C. ( profile ), 08 Sep, 2020 @ 06:39pm

    Or, just take it to the next illogical conclusion...

    If we "accept" the national security premise, and accept that the current administration has a problem with Walmart acquiring TikTok, that means Walmart is ALSO a national security risk, right? I mean, this is being done to bolster national security so it's obvious we can't have yet another risky company complete the purchase....

    Wonder if I could get the Q supporters to pick this up and run with it... :-)

  • On the post: The Supreme Court Needs To Reverse The Fifth Circuit's Awful Ruling In The DeRay McKesson Case

    Mike C. ( profile ), 28 Apr, 2020 @ 12:33pm

    Re: This looks ripe due to the circuit split

    So, in theory, if you want to get the current administration to push for tossing this out, have someone harmed by a pro-administration rally in Texas, Louisiana, or Mississipi file suit citing this case as precedent....

  • On the post: Michigan State Police Spend The Weekend Getting Ratioed For Bragging About Stealing $40,000 From A Driver

    Mike C. ( profile ), 10 Mar, 2020 @ 05:16pm

    You almost have to wonder...

    It's obvious that the police want to release the criminals and only go after the cash and goods in order to keep the assets, but I'm starting to wonder if they're starting to intentionally ignore certain law-breaking so that the money train keeps rolling.

    For example, in this case, once they found the money, did they keep searching? Was any other contraband found? How about weapons? How about electronics... were they searched or seized? Or, is it just as likely that as soon as they found the money, they decided on a course of action most likely to result in retention of the cash but release of the individual?

  • On the post: DOJ Rings Up Another Leaker, Nailing Financial Investigation Official For Handing Docs To Buzzfeed

    Mike C. ( profile ), 19 Oct, 2018 @ 06:05am

    Re: Warning to leakers

    1 (amended). Get reporter to buy you a burn phone with cash so that it's in their name.

  • On the post: SESTA's First Victim: Craigslist Shuts Down Personals Section

    Mike C. ( profile ), 23 Mar, 2018 @ 12:17pm

    Re: Re: "That's already been proven wrong"

    Doesn't matter that the bill isn't law yet. It's retroactive so any content currently available is subject to it's terms. All it needs is a signature and they have the votes to override a veto so sites might as well act as if it is law.

  • On the post: SESTA's First Victim: Craigslist Shuts Down Personals Section

    Mike C. ( profile ), 23 Mar, 2018 @ 12:15pm

    Re: Re: Slight correction

    This seems relevant....

    https://i0.wp.com/greatestmemes.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/01/FB_IMG_14406844172841.jpg?w=547&ssl=1

  • On the post: New York AG Provides Tool To Help You Check If Your Name Was Used To Support Killing Net Neutrality

    Mike C. ( profile ), 04 Dec, 2017 @ 08:38am

    Re:

    I searched for my wife. Nothing from her, but mixed in with the results were dozens of identical submissions on the same day, same name, different address, same comment from "Janet Copper". Saw the same on every name search I did - there is always a large number of entries with same name, same date (or within 24 hours), same comment, different address.

    If they were truly interested in a "clean" process, they should have included a "Submitted by IP address" as well. We all know they likely aren't, but would have been nice to see.

  • On the post: NCAA Strips UCF Kicker Of Eligibility After He Refuses To Stop Being An Athlete That Posts YouTube Videos

    Mike C. ( profile ), 02 Aug, 2017 @ 11:50am

    Re: The Butt Hurt is Strong in This One

    As the parent of a high school athlete who hopes to run track in college, I know that if my son wants to run at a Division I or II school, he MUST register with the NCAA before a coach is allowed to contact him. While I haven't completed the registration yet, my guess is that there are all kinds of rules in the click-wrap/EULA that we will need to agree to. Among them, I believe, is a requirement to maintain an "amateur" status. See page 24 of the guide from their site here:
    https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/ec-resources/Guide_for_the_College_Bound_Student_Athlete.pdf

  • On the post: De-Escalation Works, But US Law Enforcement Hasn't Show Much Interest In Trying It

    Mike C. ( profile ), 17 Jul, 2017 @ 05:50pm

    While tragic, Minnesota was not really a case about escalation...

    ...however, in Massachusetts, they apparently feel it's appropriate to send a dozen units and the regional SWAT team for someone who is suicidal... but no counselors.

    http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/crime/his-parents-said-he-just-needed-to-sleep-a-swat-team-came-instead/ar-BBEsOJB

  • On the post: Get Ready For 'Leak Investigations' In The Trump White House

    Mike C. ( profile ), 14 Feb, 2017 @ 01:02pm

    Drew Curtis' response was pretty good...

    I like Drew's answer...

    Depends on if you deal w N. Korea in a public restaurant. That you own. In Florida

    https://twitter.com/DrewCurtis/status/831515768776962052

  • On the post: You Don't Actually Own What You Buy Volume 2,203: Google Bricking Revolv Smart Home Hardware

    Mike C. ( profile ), 05 Apr, 2016 @ 10:51am

    Re: Re:

    No, the device hardware still functions. It will just abort operations because the server it's trying to connect to doesn't exist anymore. Bricking has a specific meaning and the article is being misleading.

    That being said, this is further proof that consumers need to be very wary of anything that must "phone home" first in order to work.

  • On the post: Judge Realizing He Probably Can't Block Release Of Surreptitiously Recorded Video

    Mike C. ( profile ), 15 Aug, 2015 @ 07:40am

    Re: Re: truth will out

    CMP may be releasing all versions of their videos, but the media tend to "report" only on the edited version. It's like most "news" these days - the only story we get is the one that generates clicks/eyeballs. You actually have to spend time digging and researching if you want to know the real story.

  • On the post: University Of Kentucky Disputes 40-0 Trademark Owned By Someone Else While 2 Wins Away From Achieving That Record

    Mike C. ( profile ), 03 Apr, 2015 @ 10:57am

    Re: 40 and 0

    Actually, it may not even be third...

    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Basketball_winning_streaks

  • On the post: Disney So Desperate To Stop Leaks It Subpoenas ImageShack Over Single Blurry Still Image Of New Star Wars

    Mike C. ( profile ), 03 Feb, 2015 @ 11:14am

    Lawyer cost is not a concern for Disney

    But don't you see, cost isn't a real concern for a movie production studio. It's one of the ways they can absolutely guarantee the money doesn't "make a profit" - through the use of "expenses"

    :-)

  • On the post: Prominent YouTube Personality Locked Out Of His Account After A Bogus Copyright Claim

    Mike C. ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2015 @ 08:28am

    Re: Yet again...

    Easy - remove the word "knowingly" from the DMCA section 512(f). That would clean an awful lot of this up in a real hurry:

    (f) Misrepresentations.— Any person who knowingly materially misrepresents under this section—
    (1) that material or activity is infringing, or
    (2) that material or activity was removed or disabled by mistake or misidentification,
    shall be liable for any damages, including costs and attorneys’ fees, incurred by the alleged infringer, by any copyright owner or copyright owner’s authorized licensee, or by a service provider, who is injured by such misrepresentation, as the result of the service provider relying upon such misrepresentation in removing or disabling access to the material or activity claimed to be infringing, or in replacing the removed material or ceasing to disable access to it.

  • On the post: Maryland Politician Says Local Paper Can't Use His Name Without Permission

    Mike C. ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2015 @ 02:16pm

    Editorial gold

    Among the silliness in name generation, I love how the first letter of each paragraph ALSO spells out the name Kirby Delauter.

  • On the post: Would Sony Have To License A Screenplay About The Sony Hack?

    Mike C. ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2014 @ 11:34am

    Typo...

    I thought it was "Stolen Information" (caps) :-)

  • On the post: Dish, Fox News Feud Again Illustrates How The Cable TV Industry Is Digging Its Own Grave

    Mike C. ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2014 @ 06:47pm

    Re: Fox News

    Do you even have a clue as to how ratings are generated? An eon ago (10+ tyears) I worked for a competitor to Nielsen but both companies generated their "ratings" the same way. They measure the viewing habits of a relatively small subset of people willing to be monitored. They then "extrapolate" (i.e. half-assed guessing) up to a local market, regional and national "rating". That "half the country" rating could be based on as few as 10,000 households. You read that correctly... your belief that 50,000,000+ HOUSEHOLDS watch Fox News is likely based on the viewing habits of less than 10,000 people. Yeah.... totally reliable...

  • On the post: Dish, Fox News Feud Again Illustrates How The Cable TV Industry Is Digging Its Own Grave

    Mike C. ( profile ), 29 Dec, 2014 @ 04:15pm

    Re: How sad...

    If Dish could grow some corporate cojones and be a bit more open about pricing, they could "win" this dispute in a heartbeat. Imagine if they contacted their subscribers with this poll:

    Fox Broadcasting (Fox) and Dish Networks (Dish) are in negotiation to determine the rate Dish will pay Fox per subscriber in order to carry their content. The last request Dish received from Fox was an increase of 175% over our previous contract amount. Since we cannot absorb the full cost of this increase, this means that we would have to increase all rate plans by at least $3/month. Please indicate below which option you would like to see us pursue:

    1) Continue to aggresively negotiate with Fox so that we can keep the increase to a minimum
    2) Agree to the increase which will mean a corresponding increase to your monthly bill
    3) Investigate alternatives to Fox Broadcasting content and keep monthly bills static.
    4) Drop Fox Broadcasting content entirely, do not find an alternative and reduce monthly bills by $3/month.

    (yeah, yeah, I know... #4 would never happen. Be funny if it did though)

  • On the post: Monkey Selfie Back In The News: Photographer Threatens Copyright Experts With His Confused Understanding Of Copyright

    Mike C. ( profile ), 12 Dec, 2014 @ 10:07am

    Re: ILCP sadly supports Slater

    Interesting point but it makes me wonder whether the amount of interaction with the equipment will end up being the determining factor. For example, in the monkey selfie photo above, the monkey physically interacted with the camera and through it's direct action, caused a (rather fortuituos) photo to be taken. For camera traps, the photographer does all the setup and touching of equipment. All the animals do is walk into a sensory field and, I'm guessing in most cases, have no clue there are man-made objects about.

    Take it a step further and instead of an animal, another human ends up being the subject in a photo from a camera trap. If the subject was completely unaware their picture was about to be taken, would they still own the copyright according to your theory?

    As I said above - interesting point and not one that I'm even remotely qualified to answer.

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