alexqgb

120 ms·

931.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Dude, you're hilarious. I mean, here you are calling people "uninformed" while asserting that the printing press was invented "about 400 years ago", which would be around 1612. In reality Gutenberg's press went into operation around 1450. T
932.
by alexqgb 15y ago
At the same time, some positions are clearly less informed than others. And there seem to a fair number of mindless idiots on either side, serving no purpose aside from getting the mindless idiots on the other side so riled up that the scre
933.
by alexqgb 15y ago
If the cost of using the software is giving up clear title to your work, then it's a very high cost indeed. A deal that big needs to be advertised - boldly - up front, not buried in the ELUA, then popping up after you've committed time an
934.
Feds want coordinated IP enforcement "to protect the nation's war fighters" (iprcenter.gov)
2 points by alexqgb 15y ago|0 comments
935.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Credit Chris Dodd with this: the man knows how to troll.
936.
by alexqgb 15y ago
If you run media companies that own nominally-independent news operations, it is not an abuse of power to 'discourage' their coverage of your legislative agenda. If a media company that opposes this agenda successfully spotlights your non-a
937.
by alexqgb 15y ago
You're right about Germany and Russia of the 1940's being different from the USA of today. And we'd like to keep it that way. Ergo, the very low tolerance for the kind of constitutional disregard that's going on. Something else to keep in
938.
by alexqgb 15y ago
I think this is exactly right, @bad_user. The extent to which this is true blew up last Thursday, when Arthur Brisbane, the public editor of the New York Times, went to his readers with a question: "I'm looking for reader input on whether a
939.
by alexqgb 15y ago
What makes you think those words weren't carefully chosen? And while we're on the topic of words and their meanings, what caused you to downplay Obama's actions by chalking them up to "incompetence"? More to the point, now that you've been
940.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Your ignorance was excusable a decade ago, @cema, but we are waaaaay past that point today. At this stage, it's just trolling. Seriously, just consider the following rundown of powers acquired by the U.S. government since 9/11, prepared by
941.
by alexqgb 15y ago
I don't know about that. The "most transparent Administration in history" becomes the same administration that prosecutes more whistleblower cases than every other administration combined? That's a lot more than a "broken promise" - especia
942.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Actually, this stuff is absolutely impossible to police completely. Major content producers (networks, studios, etc.) know this in their bones, and carry what's known as E&O - Errors & Omissions insurance - for this exact reason. Gi
943.
by alexqgb 15y ago
From what I understand, the peculiar deal with UMG is related to the VEVO channel on YouTube. The ability to 'pull' videos is really the ability to transfer them from the wilds into this marketing-friendly subdomain. In essence, it allows c
944.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Alt. He who has the peso has the say so.
945.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Please note, I did not call mhartl a man of "no real ethics, a sociopath, dangerous, self-serving, and someone to distance yourself from." I did say his ethics are weak, and I stand by this. Assuming he believes what he says, his anti-socia
946.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Exactly. Healthy profits are the (inevitable?) result of a well run business, which requires attention being paid to a variety of factors, not just the bottom line. Failing to understand this, and focusing exclusively - or even disproportio
947.
by alexqgb 15y ago
This is a much more civilized response than my initial reaction, which was "go fuck yourself, mhartl". The reason for that indignation was, as you pointed out, the obvious truth that without society's extension of limited legal liability, t
948.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Maintaining vigilance is one thing. Resisting a direct and perpetually sustained assault is another. In answer to that question, no, the public can't win. Like a body riddled with unchecked tumors, it will inevitably die - prematurely and h
949.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Call it the Hydra Effect.
950.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Especially if you don't know exactly what position they were lobbing for when slipping the good congressman an envelope full of election cash. Even though the OP has been very economical with the facts, I'm willing to bet Google wasn't argu
951.
by alexqgb 15y ago
No - you have to pay attention to both parties in the economy of corruption. Focusing on one (regardless of which you chose) is an invitation for your target to blame the other side of the coin. Shifting your attention to the flip-side caus
952.
by alexqgb 15y ago
I strongly encourage you to develop a (much) better understanding of what Lessig has been arguing. A good place to start is here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AxCo2bE9Gtk Also worth noting: the problem you describe (corrupting influence
953.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Obama doesn't give a flying fig about his support base. Sorry to be so blunt, but that bastard just threatened to veto the NDAA unless the provisions allowing indefinite dentition of Americans without charge or trial were put pack in. His b
954.
by alexqgb 15y ago
It's more subtle than that. Looking past the technical terms, the first formulation is very distilled, and cites a specific action. It's an elegant expression. The second one uses fluffery like "performed" instead of "did". And that's what
955.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Not knowing the meaning of the first formulation, I can still safely say that it was produced by someone who knows precisely what he's talking about. That breeds confidence. The latter sounds like wall-to-wall bullshit. Not to say that the
956.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Which is an extension of the broader problem with Congresspeople having often very-divided loyalties. On the one hand (usually the weak one) there are voters. On there other, there's the money. Backing this money up is the threat that favor
957.
by alexqgb 15y ago
And when they recommend you to others, they're sure to mention that you're "dirt cheap." The fact that you do really solid work will be cited as an extra added bonus.
958.
by alexqgb 15y ago
One of the interesting things I discovered was that their idea of 24/7 support simply meant was that I could leave a message anytime, and they'd get back to me at some unspecified point (but usually within 48 hours!) between 8 and 5, Mon. t
959.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Exactly, the relationship between the RIAA and the Feds is symbiotic. In this regard, it mirrors many other relationships where"support" for private interests offers people in government with a way to exceed their properly limited power. Th
960.
by alexqgb 15y ago
Indeed. It's funny hearing definitive statements about global warming ("I don't think carbon has anything to do with it") followed by an inadvertent but total admission of scientific illiteracy.

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