Reality Check 's Techdirt Comments

Latest Comments (61) comment rss

  • On the post: Chinese Internet Users Start To Rebel Against Lack Of Online Privacy

    Reality Check ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2018 @ 07:50pm

    Re: Re: Re: We are right there with them

    They may or may not be there yet. But future generations will have to learn the skill of filtering what they say on the internet. Because every government in the world is racing to get there. It's an arms race.

  • On the post: Colorado Cities Keep Voting To Build Their Own Broadband Networks

    Reality Check ( profile ), 12 Jan, 2018 @ 07:16pm

    Re: Pedantic

    Found the Unabomber.

  • On the post: ACLU Suggests Jury Instructions Might Be A Fix For 'Missing' Police Body Camera Recordings

    Reality Check ( profile ), 03 Dec, 2016 @ 05:15am

    A simple condition of employment.

    If you are involved in a shooting or other incident, and your camera is not turned on then you don't have a job anymore.

    In addition to any other measures such as jury instructions, this will go a long way toward officers being interested in keeping their cameras running.

  • On the post: Nail Salon Owner Sues For Return Of Life Savings Seized By DEA Agents At Airport

    Reality Check ( profile ), 30 Jun, 2015 @ 04:04am

    Who scares me more?

    I would much rather encounter some actual drug dealers, than have an interaction with the DEA. Those guys are evil.

  • On the post: King Cries Trademark Over The Banner Saga

    Reality Check ( profile ), 25 Jan, 2014 @ 07:48am

    I see their point....

    Because until I carefully read this article, I didn't realize that the game had the words 'candy crush' in the title.

    Everyone I know, just calls it 'Saga', as in:
    "Can you stop sending me those damn Saga invites!" and
    "Why the hell are all these people playing that dumb Saga game" and
    "You play Saga? but you look so smart!"

    But now I find out that it is called Candy Crush Saga. I wonder if there would be less confusion if they could just get people to simply call it Candy Crush?

  • On the post: Ellen Degeneres: Pirate Enabler? Her Watermarked Copy Of 'Walter Mitty' Leaks Online

    Reality Check ( profile ), 11 Jan, 2014 @ 08:57am

    Re: Mike blazing a trail to blithering irrelevancy.

    Again, you feel the need to chime in...

    Not about the actual blog entry, but to pontificate pusillanimously on what you think he should be posting about.

    Start your own bilious blog where you alternate raving about how large corporations are all evil, and then about how the government granted monopolies in the form of Copyright and Patents to create mega-corporations is the opposite of evil. And how criminalizing people is the best way for the mega-corporations to make a profit.

    Or write about your balding cat or your obsession with your neighbors underage daughter. I don't care. But if you can't find a blog you like... Make your own.

  • On the post: Insane Clown Posse Sues FBI For Calling The Juggalos A Gang

    Reality Check ( profile ), 09 Jan, 2014 @ 08:30am

    Re: Re:

    And all cops should have a camera and audio recording running at all times.

    If the cop is accused of brutality, theft, rape or any other breach of public trust at any time that the device is 'malfunctioning', then the cop should be automatically permanently dismissed, regardless of the outcome of the accusation.

    And YES. Internal Affairs should randomly monitor ALL cops. Ideally Internal Affairs from a different jurisdiction.

  • On the post: Blackberry Goes Back To Its Roots: Sues Ryan Seacrest For Patent Infringement

    Reality Check ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2014 @ 03:58am

    It's more than just a keyboard. Frankly it all makes sense if you add the missing word:

    Cyber-Keyboard

    Case closed.

  • On the post: Gibberish Research Paper Quotes My Cousin Vinny, Tells The Reader (Repeatedly) The Paper Is A Fraud… Gets Accepted At Academic Conference

    Reality Check ( profile ), 06 Jan, 2014 @ 08:36am

    Re: Old news to me and Mike: his Ivy League "school" was no better.

    Methinks this post was created using the SCIgen app.

  • On the post: Washington Post Columnist Says 'Complainers' Will Be At Fault For Next Terrorist Attack

    Reality Check ( profile ), 01 Jan, 2014 @ 09:52am

    Re: Re: Anonymous Coward's post

    I have no doubt your heart is in the right place but here is what you said:

    "But the more information we have, the less imperfect our defense will be."

    Sorry sir, but that is simply not true.

    This statement is true:
    "But the more accurate, relevant and accessible information we have, the less imperfect our defense will be."

    Going by pure volume is useless, and in fact, studies have shown that finding and/or accessing the relevant information is harder, when the volume of pure information increases.

    But regardless, the NSA isn't really gathering the information to stop terrorism. (Unless you believe that they really are that misguided, and truly we are doomed either way.) The NSA is feeding the information to other agencies to stop people from using or distributing illegal plants or infringing on copyright, or having a fermented or distilled drink before they have the required number of birthdays (as determined by the state).

    Eventually the information will be used to market products and services, and focus on political allies or opponents, or to control sources of unacceptable information.

    If they really wanted to stop terrorism, they could do it within a legal, transparent framework that would allow them to gather accurate and relevant information, in a manner that makes the information accessible, instead of buried behind gigabytes of other useless information. (Sometimes referred to as 'investigating').

  • On the post: Former Pop Star Angry At Google News For Providing Relevant Search Results

    Reality Check ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2013 @ 03:03pm

    Re: fuck google

    The funniest thing about your post...

    After years of ranting about how evil Google is, then you rant and whinge because it doesn't give you the results you want.

    So apparently, you've been trying to use your own anti-christ to get information.

    If you had any credibility, you just burned it.

  • On the post: NSA Defenders Ratchet Up The Rhetoric: Two Former Gov't Officials Urge Hanging Ed Snowden

    Reality Check ( profile ), 26 Dec, 2013 @ 09:02am

    Re: Hey, Mike: the neo-cons still want to invade Syria AND Iran.

    Unrelated.

    Start your own incomprehensible blog.

  • On the post: TSA Courts Next Generation Of Groping Victims With Cartoons And Coloring Pages

    Reality Check ( profile ), 24 Dec, 2013 @ 07:46am

    Re: Police states learned marketing: leave the velvet glove on more.

    Um.. Did you say something that makes sense?

    Must be a Christmas Miracle.

  • On the post: Conflict-Ridden CBS 60 Minutes 'Journalist' Defends NSA Propaganda Piece By Insulting All His Critics

    Reality Check ( profile ), 23 Dec, 2013 @ 12:38pm

    Re: Re: Get out of your pajamas, Mike, and STOP reporting on the

    One day, we'll hear a news report about a pajama-clad lunatic being committed to a mental hospital for flinging his poo at a google maps car.

    The next day, the OOTB comments will dry up.

  • On the post: RSA's 'Denial' Concerning $10 Million From The NSA To Promote Broken Crypto Not Really A Denial At All

    Reality Check ( profile ), 23 Dec, 2013 @ 10:28am

    Re: Google is far more effectively PAID OFF by not being TAXED.

    Most of the time your angry incomprehensible mumblings at least have a small connection to the original post. This time, you failed to attempt any connection.

    I'd say this is nothing but gibberated spam.

    Get your own blog, instead of spending all your time spamming others.

  • On the post: You Don't Own What You 'Bought': Disney And Amazon Play The Role Of The Grinch In Taking Back Purchased Film

    Reality Check ( profile ), 17 Dec, 2013 @ 10:19am

    Re:

    I've had one significant issue with Steam.

    I used to be a huge fan, then one day I logged in and received a big message telling me I was permanently banned.

    I created an inquiry with their help desk and they were completely condescending and rude. They implied that I had hacked some players accounts and that they might press criminal charges.

    I kept pressing the issue, trying to at least find out what I was actually accused of. They were inconsistent with their reasons, but consistently acted like I was a criminal dirtbag, and said that I would never be un-banned.

    After a few months of re-opening the case and asking for an actual explanation, and quoting their own previous replies (and EULA) back to them to contradict their latest replies, they rescinded the ban with no explanation.

    The ban wasn't from playing all my purchased games, but it was a ban from some of the multi-player and trading functionality.
    The things that really burned me were:
    A blinking red icon every time I logged into Steam, reminding me that they considered me a criminal.
    I had done nothing wrong, and deserved at least an explanation.
    Once I had asked for an explanation, the nasty way they responded.

    I might buy a steam game in the future, but I haven't bought one for over a year now. And I used to recommend them to everyone.

  • On the post: Texas Police Set Up Checkpoints To Collect Blood And Saliva From 'Volunteers'

    Reality Check ( profile ), 22 Nov, 2013 @ 05:26am

    Re:

    If Tim searched all day long on the web, and posted the ones he finds, the anti-cops stories would be all you could find on techdirt. There are police brutality / anti-cop blogs out there that have no shortage of stories to publish.

    Tim picks up one that shows a trend in encroaching on our freedoms. But, if you would bother to search, you would know that there are hundreds of other mainstream articles about individual cops raping, killing, assaulting, lying under oath, destroying evidence, killing dogs, bullying and assorted other crimes against civilians. Tim misses all of those, contrary to your asinine assertion.

    You may not be using your freedoms, but I like being able to drive my car wherever I want and not have to stop and provide DNA to random people.

    In case you've never read the techdirt blog before, it's about more than 'tech'. It also has opinions and trends related to privacy, intellectual property, politics and various other themes.

    So if your one track focus is 'tech', you really should not open this site again. Go find a blog or site that tells you the latest about 'tech', or better yet, go find a blog that tells you exactly what you already believe.

  • On the post: FBI Stops Responding To The Most Prolific FOIA Filer, Because He Might Actually Learn Something

    Reality Check ( profile ), 18 Nov, 2013 @ 03:57pm

    Re: FOIA are a waste of time

    "I suppose if you get a group together each submitting a FOIA request for different stuff and then put all the pieces of the puzzle together you may find something interesting."

    And that, dear sir, is exactly what he was doing.. Multiple cross references to the same information, and each one redacted slightly different was filling in the blanks.

  • On the post: Less Than 20% Of Americans Believe That There's Adequate Oversight Of The NSA

    Reality Check ( profile ), 11 Nov, 2013 @ 05:47pm

    Re: So long as the 1% Rich believe, nothing will change.

    The first part of your post was comprehensible for a change. But like most of your posts, completely unrelated to the original topic. I think I can detect a tenuous glimmer where you tried to tie the two subjects together in the title, but not successfully.

    Have you thought about making your own blog, where you rant about google and the internet, and alternate between supporting government monopolies for the rich, and denigrating the same rich?

    I'd follow it for the occasional interesting theory like the one just proposed, and the random nonsense the rest of the time.

  • On the post: FEMA Grounds Private Drones That Were Helping To Map Boulder Floods, Threatens To Arrest Operators

    Reality Check ( profile ), 17 Sep, 2013 @ 04:02am

    Re:

    Spoken like a loyal Party member.

    Loyal Party members have nothing to fear.

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