The Original Anonymous Coward 's Techdirt Comments

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  • On the post: Judge In Nutty PETA Monkey Copyright Trial Skeptical Of PETA's Argument, But Let's Them Try Again

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 08 Jan, 2016 @ 09:40pm

    PETA

    And all these years I thought that PETA stood for People Eating Tasty Animals...

    Boy, was I wrong.

  • On the post: One Of Congress's Biggest Defenders Of NSA Surveillance Suddenly Aghast That NSA May Have Spied On Him

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 30 Dec, 2015 @ 10:38pm

    Just imagine...

    Just imagine if someone with the ethics and goals of a person like, say, J. Edgar Hoover were to get their hands on the information that can be "hoovered" up by the NSA, FBI, CIA, US Marshal Service, etc...

    How many members of the three branches of government are susceptible to blackmail?

    The old adage about the Golden Rule used to be "he who has the gold, rules" but now it's "he who has the information, rules."

  • On the post: Reports: Department Of Transportation To Require All Drones Be Registered

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 20 Oct, 2015 @ 10:14am

    How do I register my quad copter?

    My 3D printer manufactured it...

    And will the local guys who regularly fly RC fixed wing aircraft with wing spans of 10 to 12 feet have to register their bombers, interceptors, and Star Wars aircraft? Some of those things can actually drop stuff on people!

  • On the post: Minnesota Legislators, Law Enforcement Trying To Strip The 'Public Accountability' Out Of State's Body Camera Program

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 02 Mar, 2015 @ 09:59pm

    Re: Re: A different slant on things

    Agreed. My concern is that the body that gets to review the video and decide who can view it will be attacked by the losers in the case. If the requester supports the police's story and aren't allowed to view the footage, the committee/commission will be called a "bunch of cop haters" (and there are a couple of Techdirt columnists who would probably do that) and if the requester supports the suspect and isn't allowed to view the video, the committee/commission would be accused of hiding police brutality.

    Unfortunately, it's a lose-lose situation.

  • On the post: Minnesota Legislators, Law Enforcement Trying To Strip The 'Public Accountability' Out Of State's Body Camera Program

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 27 Feb, 2015 @ 10:39pm

    A different slant on things

    While most of the preceding comments have focused on law enforcement's access to the recordings, and how they may fiddle with them, I have a concern about the public, anyone in "the public" having access to a video of a naked woman who has just been raped, a naked man who is high on drugs, a dismembered corpse, and other things that will haunt the victims of crimes for ever. I would rather not let "the public" have access to those videos.

    How do we determine who in "the public" should have access to all the video? As soon as we put someone in charge of deciding that issue, cries will go up that this person is hiding evidence of police misconduct.

    This is not an open and shut case, as Perry Mason used to say.

    (I am a resident of Minnesota.)

  • On the post: Breweries Fight Over Trademark Of Hikers That Don't Look Alike

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 12 Sep, 2014 @ 07:50am

    Re: Re: Confused beer drinkers drive 850 miles and purchase wrong beer

    Yes, I can see where someone who has consumed a couple of cases of Long Trail beer might make this mistake.

    I hereby volunteer to test the theory.

    The only problem is that I am in Minnesota so I'll guess that I'll have to work the problem in reverse.

    Time to hit the liquor store...

  • On the post: DHS Wants To Expand 'See Something, Say Something' To Retailers Selling You Pressure Cookers

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 12 Sep, 2014 @ 07:58am

    Watch for signs on store and bank doors

    The next thing will be signs on the doors of stores and banks saying that pressure cookers are not allowed in their establishments. That will certainly prevent anyone from attempting to use said device in a criminal enterprise.

  • On the post: Breweries Fight Over Trademark Of Hikers That Don't Look Alike

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 11 Sep, 2014 @ 11:21pm

    Confused beer drinkers drive 850 miles and purchase wrong beer

    Using the "beer finders" on the web sites of the respective breweries, it appears that the Long Trail beer is not sold west of Pennsylvania and that the Bent Paddle beer is not sold east of the Twin Cities in Minnesota and the city of Superior in Wisconsin.

    Google Maps shows that it is approximately 850 miles from Erie, PA. to St. Paul, MN.

    Even the most drunk and confused of beer purchasers would most likely sober up while driving from Erie to Superior (or to St. Paul) and realize that they were after the wrong product. That is unless they were purchasing more beer enroute.

  • On the post: Ferguson Law Enforcement: An 'Occupying Force' With 'Special Rights'

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 15 Aug, 2014 @ 11:31am

    Re: More evil is perpetrated by those in authority than those under it.

    Guilty until proven innocent?

  • On the post: Ferguson Law Enforcement: An 'Occupying Force' With 'Special Rights'

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 15 Aug, 2014 @ 11:30am

    Re: Re: Consider the other side just for one second

    That wasn't the point of my comment. The officer and his record of past thuggery (if there is one) should be open, just like any other citizen. But until that point, I don't think he should be considered guilty until proven innocent.

  • On the post: Ferguson Law Enforcement: An 'Occupying Force' With 'Special Rights'

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 15 Aug, 2014 @ 11:27am

    Re: Re: Consider the other side just for one second

    So what's your solution to the problem?

  • On the post: Ferguson Law Enforcement: An 'Occupying Force' With 'Special Rights'

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 14 Aug, 2014 @ 09:55pm

    Consider the other side just for one second

    As a long-time libertarian, I do object mightily to the militarization of our local police. As I did not personally witness the alleged over-reaction of the city and county police to the demonstrations, I won't pass judgement... yet.

    I do have one question. It is based on this quote:

    "Here's one more, not that it should matter, but it does: Mike Brown had no criminal record.

    Even if he was a criminal, his killing wouldn't be justified. But even the most die hard cop supporter has to wonder why a person with no criminal record would suddenly escalate a jaywalking beef to the point of trying to take an officer's gun."

    Since we don't know if the officer involved has any history of abusing citizens, are we still going to assume that a police officer with no disciplinary background would suddenly escalate a jaywalking beef to the point where he would shoot an unarmed man who was not resisting?

    Although other police officers have committed such crimes, that does not mean that this officer has done so.

  • On the post: Newcastle Might Win The S**** B*** Ad Championship With An Ad It Didn't Make And Can't Afford To Buy

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 28 Jan, 2014 @ 07:32pm

    Video on 2013 post not viewable?

    Anyone know why the video on the 2013 post (linked to from this post) is marked "private"?

    Just curious...

  • On the post: Federal Civil Liberties Board To Issue Scathing Condemnation Of Bulk Metadata Program And The Bogus Defenses Of It

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 23 Jan, 2014 @ 08:56am

    Comments from a retired judge

    From Judge Napolitano

    http://www.foxnews.com/opinion/2014/01/23/presidential-placebo-obama-massive-nsa-spying-program-still-alive-and-well/

    Follow the link to his op-ed but this quote kind of sums it up:

    "This mass spying is uniquely and profoundly un-American and will continue to undermine our freedoms. I am not arguing here that all spying is illegal -- just that spying on all of us is illegal.

    Why bother with the formality of warrants when they permit all spying all the time? Spying on anyone not named in a warrant, or employing a warrant not based on probable cause, is the hallmark of those totalitarian regimes against which we have fought our just wars and our cold wars.

    Yet today, the government in America seems more like the former enemies we vanquished than the place of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness the Framers established."

  • On the post: US Spy Satellite Logo Not At All Subtle: Octopus Enveloping The Earth

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 06 Dec, 2013 @ 09:34am

    The James Bond graphic designers may have a court case

    Once again, the government may be in for trouble. This is an obvious rip-off of the logo used for Spectre in the James Bond movies. Here's their version:

    http://www.hakes.com/product_images/14/102239/001_big.jpg

  • On the post: NSA Staff Whining That President Obama Isn't Defending Them Enough

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 11 Oct, 2013 @ 09:02am

    If you keep it out of the press, people will forget about it

    'nuf said.

  • On the post: When A Senator Reads 'Green Eggs & Ham' On The Floor, What About The Copyright?

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 25 Sep, 2013 @ 07:01pm

    Can I get a free copy of Green Eggs and Ham now?

    After all, it will be in the Congressional Record, and that document is available to everyone for free. It starts on page S6732 in the Congressional Record for Tuesday, 24 September. Here's a link to that PDF document:

    http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/CREC-2013-09-24/pdf/CREC-2013-09-24-senate.pdf

    Oh oh, did I just post a link to an infringing document?

  • On the post: 1,000 Sys Admins Can Copy Any NSA Document Without Anyone Knowing About It; Think Only Snowden Did?

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2013 @ 06:04pm

    Re: Re: Have those 1000 sysadmins actually been terminated?

    Maybe they've all been "terminated", as in the Arnold Schwarzenegger type of termination.

    People should start checking the missing persons reports for those cities hosting major NSA installations.

  • On the post: Ed Snowden Covered His Tracks Well; How Many Other NSA Staffers Did The Same?

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2013 @ 04:07pm

    Re: Re: The answer was here earlier in Techdirt

    What he's saying is that once the government (or any other organization or person for that matter) has information, there is the tendency to use it for purposes other than for what it was originally collected. This is human nature.

  • On the post: 1,000 Sys Admins Can Copy Any NSA Document Without Anyone Knowing About It; Think Only Snowden Did?

    The Original Anonymous Coward ( profile ), 26 Aug, 2013 @ 03:29pm

    Have those 1000 sysadmins actually been terminated?

    If so, here are a few questions:

    1 - Did they leave any back doors into the systems?
    2 - Did they create some other accounts for later use?
    3 - Did they already dump all the files they could find into a safe place?
    4 - Who are they blackmailing already?

    It sounds like a lot of these servers are UNIX or Linux based and the folks that administer those systems tend to be very creative.

    ;-)

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