My point is that the EFF (and whoever was drafting this press release) certainly knows what the Judicial Conference is, and are (is) willfully misrepresenting them through careful word choice.
Most concepts posted about on HN, and for that matter, discussed by the EFF, are "little-known." The inclusion of that description in the headline is obviously intended to make the reader believe that the committee is up to no good in secret, not that most people simply don't know of it.
The Judicial Conference of the United States is neither a "little-known committee" or in any way secretive or shady, unless one is totally ignorant of how the judicial system works. The EFF certainly is not.
The conference is composed of: "the Chief Justice of the United States, the chief judge of each court of appeals federal regional circuit, a district court judge from various federal judicial districts, and the chief judge of the United States Court of International Trade." [0]
You can disagree with their decisions, but don't try and imply that they are duplicitous. I expect better of the EFF.
I agree, but most consumers probably see them as harmful, and many consumers are dissatisfied with state-sanctioned monopolies on taxi service. The actual effect doesn't matter to the consumer, only the perceived one.
I think the reason that {Uber, AirBNB, DraftKings} succeeded in flouting the law is that they operated in industries that are consumer-facing, and where the cost of regulation is obvious to consumers.
Many people understand that taxi regulations (for the most part) negatively affect them, and in many cases are extremely frustrated with them: see Washington, DC. Most people aren't familiar with and don't care about the company that manages their health insurance, and as a result there's little public support.
Stop being obstinate. You know exactly what the parent means, and that publishers can sue authors who distribute the works for which they (the publishers) own copyright.
The situation isn't really the same; these are valley sales-types making decisions about how to provide medical insurance to thousands, and it's likely that they haven't had any formal training on what (and what not) to do.
You are aware that the NSA doesn't kick down anyone's door, and that any SIGINT intercepts are accompanied with a message that they can't be used in criminal prosecution, right?
You're wrong about voting: americans living abroad register in their last state of residence, and can vote in those elections. It's not illegal to do so. Most states have programs specifically to assist overseas voters, and the federal government provides overseas voting support to americans living abroad through the FPCA program. No fraud is committed.
1. The IRS isn't signing binding international agreements, they're agreeing to cooperate with foreign governments in the reporting of financial assets, which is well within their legal privilege.
2. The fourth amendment doesn't apply to data you're legally compelled to surrender to the government. By your logic, every form 1040 that's ever been filed is a fourth amendment violation.
3. The eighth amendment has almost never been used in a constitutional case involving excessive fines. When it has, the court has primarily used it to prevent pseudo-fines that aren't really called fines in order to skirt the eighth amendment.
Sure, FATCA might be annoying, but a legal challenge has almost nothing going for it. Don't get your hopes up.
In this context, "component" means an agency that's part of the DOJ. The FBI, for example, is a component of the DOJ. They're simply stating that Main Justice wasn't hacked.