kennend3 (u/kennend3)

kennend3 commented on U.S. Hits Z-Library with New Domain Name Seizures torrentfreak.com/u-s-hits... · Posted by u/nickthegreek

sn0wf1re · 2 years ago

Kill a tree just so that you can feel morally correct and the author gets a 2¢ royalty? Naw, just pirate and don't feel bad since apparently that is what publishers want you to do[0]. Maybe buy the author a coffee if you ever run into them.

[0] based on their actions it sure seems like this is the case.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

"Kill a tree just so that you can feel morally correct and the author gets a 2¢ royalty? "

As others have said, you seem shockingly unaware that trees are GROWN specifically for making paper.

NO ONE is cutting down premium "old growth" forests to make paper..

Nice "virtue signal" on your part, too bad you did not spend 5 mins to learn where paper comes from first.

kennend3 commented on U.S. Hits Z-Library with New Domain Name Seizures torrentfreak.com/u-s-hits... · Posted by u/nickthegreek

cik · 2 years ago

What bothers me, is the degree to which Z-library becomes the only feasible way I can read books now. As I now live in Israel I run into several headaches, and it's no longer feasible to buy books.

* Amazon shut off bookdepository.com

* Amazon.com just won't ship many books here.

* Amazon and Kobo have both clawed back ebook purchases because I don't have a US credit card. This is a frequent conversation point amongst English and French speakers living here.

* Amazon shut down Kindle Unlimited accounts for those of us living here.

* Libby (overdrive) shut off my grandma's Overdrive account (Canada) and sister-in-law's Overdrive account (US) because we had the nerve, to try and use the library.

Frankly I'm frustrated by this cat and mouse game. I keep trying to purchase, eventually somehow do, and then have obstacles thrown on my way. All this as a massive consumer of books.

The behaviour of the industry has literally driven my family, a book buying family to embrace piracy. I would conservatively say we easily spent 2-3K USD on books and ebooks annually. This behaviour has reduced it to nearly zero.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

Adding to this, region restrictions on video content.

There are TV shows which are made in Canada, and unavailable on amazon prime in Canada, yet are available on amazon prime in the US?

In Canada, amazon prime tries to push me to getting yet another subscription?

There are also shows Amazon prime owns and refuses to broadcast in Canada? You might be able to say that prime doesnt have redist rights on some shows, but their own "prime originals"?

After fragmenting the market like this, what did they expect people would do?

kennend3 commented on Some employers have decided to build their own housing for workers npr.org/2023/05/02/117230... · Posted by u/isaacfrond

smeej · 2 years ago

I think the people complaining in this thread would complain about anything.

When government won't allow construction of "workforce housing," complain, because nobody's big enough to try to push back and get concessions to make it possible.

But then when a company, which is big enough, especially relative to its small town, does do the hard work of negotiating construction contracts and helping people find financing so they can sell homes at cost by removing inefficiencies from housing production, complain about that too?

Some important points from the article:

1. The houses are being sold, not rented. 2. They're being sold at cost. 3. Anyone who buys one can sell it later to someone outside the company. The only restrictions are that if they sell within 3 years of buying, the company has the option to buy the house back at the previous sale cost, and for four years after that, the company has ROFR at market price.

Is it a perfect solution? Of course not. These are humans. Humans don't come up with perfect solutions.

But if you're going to complain, what would fix it for you? And is that just a matter of personal preference? 'Cause it's not like most of you are willing to live in a Midwestern small town with one major employer in the first place, but clearly these people are.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

> I think the people complaining in this thread would complain about anything.

So much THIS!

If they were free, people would complain that you still have to pay property taxes/utilities.

Everyone LOVES to criticize but that same group rarely offers solutions, lest others criticize them.

Here (Ontario, Canada) housing is a major issue for the reason you list : Nobody is big enough to push back and make it happen.

Try and build anything here and you will be NIMBY to death. I ride my bike by an area where they are tying to build low-rise apartments and everywhere you look are signs protesting it.. where should they build?

kennend3 commented on Whistleblowers are the conscience of society, yet suffer gravely covertactionmagazine.com/... · Posted by u/onewheeltom

3pt14159 · 2 years ago

And yet, it is not journalists that are privy to classified material, it is lawmakers, military staff, intelligence staff, and their contractors and consultants.

What makes a journalist a better place to whistle to than an elected politician on the intelligence committee or any one of a number of other options.

My basic position on this is that secret holders never have the full picture, but at least they have the trust of the state they serve. A journalist is not always just a journalist.

Now, before you disregard my opinion completely please add to your consideration the following facts:

- I dated and lived with a nationally renowned journalist and editor, so I know a bit about journalists.

- I worked for CSIS and currently work for the CIA as an NOC Agent. AKA a spy.

- I have been in situations where I deeply felt the right thing to do was not to list to the people above my command. What I did in one particular situation was contact a politician I deeply trust who has high level clearance and left a vague message for that politician.

- I think some good has come out of the Snowden leaks, even though I don't think he did it the right way. It's a nuanced discussion and the public doesn't know everything. This work is tough.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

Let us guess, you are also fabulously wealthy? For some odd reason fictional spies seem to be very wealth as well.

If you worked for CSIS it is unlikely you would be posting that you worked there, same for the CIA. Did you somehow just transfer to the CIA and as a "foreign national" all the confidential material marked "NOFORN" was suddenly available to you, a foreigner?

Declaring yourself a "spy" in public.. Any chance you have yet to reach the age of majority?

kennend3 commented on Whistleblowers are the conscience of society, yet suffer gravely covertactionmagazine.com/... · Posted by u/onewheeltom

lern_too_spel · 2 years ago

PRISM doesn't involve data from US citizens' accounts. Please review what PRISM is before claiming it is illegal or unethical. It is neither.

If you are incapable of reading the documents yourself: if the company receiving the wiretap order has any reason to believe that an account belongs to a US citizen or a non-US citizen living in the US, they challenge the order. No warrant is needed in the US legal system or that of any other country in the world to wiretap a foreigner who is outside of the country requesting the data. The fact that the US requires a court order is rare, and by all accounts, including Snowden's documents, that procedure is followed.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

I'm sorry but reading your posts here is just comical.

Can you explain why there are countless stories such as this:

NSA staff used spy tools on spouses, ex-lovers: watchdog https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-surveillance-watchdog...

You keep writing they were not spying on US citizens, but clearly they were or NSA employees would not be using it to spy on friends/family would they?

Did they coin the term "LOVEINT" because this was a one-off situation?

kennend3 commented on What I learned unsubscribing from 22 newspapers lenfestinstitute.org/solu... · Posted by u/giuliomagnifico

oneeyedpigeon · 2 years ago

This crap hurts an awful lot of good actors. I used to work for a small startup in the education sector. We offered trial subscriptions, but because of the 'cancel before your trial expires' anti-pattern that so many companies adopt, potential customers were suspicious. To the extent that they thought they might be charged on trial expiry, despite the fact that they didn't even provide a means of payment at any time during the process.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

Sometimes you find a very underrated comment here, and this is one of those instances.

I NEVER subscribe to free trial offers simply because of the number of negative posts about how hard it is to cancel, and the pain involved.

It absolutely does hurt "good actors".

kennend3 commented on Apple’s fight against iPhone sideloading was pointless at best, harmful at worst 9to5mac.com/2023/04/18/ip... · Posted by u/soopurman

Andrew_nenakhov · 2 years ago

What puzzles me to no end is how many people were happy not only with having no control over their device (which is fine if they don't want it), but also other people not having control over their devices (which is totally not fine if they do want it).

kennend3 · 2 years ago

This is what i find most interesting about this whole debate.

Read the comments on the article itself, it is just full of "i dont want to do this".. so great, don't sideload apps (no one is forcing them to), but why are they so keen on preventing others from doing it as well?

kennend3 commented on What Walmart’s pullback from Chicago says about Corporate America’s limits cnn.com/2023/04/15/busine... · Posted by u/bluedino

wsatb · 2 years ago

The people didn’t trust them. Walmart came in with all types of promises of economic development but the people did not want those stores. They lied thinking they could still profit and now in a short time they destroyed alternatives and are leaving as well.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

Why do you keep posting misleading information over and over again on this topic?

People are literally PROTESTING the closure, but yet here you are, once again with your BS...

The one "lying" clearly is you...

https://www.fox32chicago.com/news/chicago-walmart-closures-p...

CHICAGO - Activists protested the closure of four Chicago Walmart stores Thursday morning in Chatham.

https://wgntv.com/news/chicago-news/chicagoans-blast-walmart...

Community activists gathered at 84th and Stewart in Chatham at the site of one of four Walmarts that is set to close, slamming the retailer’s decision.

“Everything I go into this store, it is packed with people,” said Father Michael Pfleger.

kennend3 commented on What Walmart’s pullback from Chicago says about Corporate America’s limits cnn.com/2023/04/15/busine... · Posted by u/bluedino

wsatb · 2 years ago

Because they fought very hard to open those stores over the last 20 years in the very neighborhoods you’re talking about. While at the same time forcing out smaller stores that were there for decades. What changed?

kennend3 · 2 years ago

Why not spend 20 seconds and GOOGLE it and find out for yourself.

what changed? The laws around prosecuting shoplifters:

"Previously, if you were charged with theft or retail theft, and the value of the item or items taken was over $300 you could be charged with a class 4 felony. A class 4 felony carries with it a penalty of between 1-3 years in prison. The new statute has raised the value of the item to $500."

kennend3 commented on What Walmart’s pullback from Chicago says about Corporate America’s limits cnn.com/2023/04/15/busine... · Posted by u/bluedino

wsatb · 2 years ago

Wrong. They’re not losing that much money because of theft.

They thought they could come into these neighborhoods and profit and it turns out they were wrong. They’re the bad guys, go look up how much these stores were not wanted by its residents.

kennend3 · 2 years ago

Speaking of "Wrong"...

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-10112809/Chicago-bl...

https://chicagocrusader.com/shoplifting-a-big-problem-at-loc...

But you just put "wrong" with zero facts, this surely makes you right..