Yearly Archives: 2013

Should NFL players be allowed to smoke marijuana?

"Despite being legalised in both of those two states, marijuana remains on the NFL’s list of banned substances; players found to have used the drug are punishable with fines and suspensions. Not everyone believes that should be the case. Many players will be sympathetic to their cause. The former NFL lineman Lomas Brown, now an analyst for ESPN, told the Detroit News last year that at least 50% of players smoke pot. Earlier in 2012, ESPN had reported that as many as 70% of prospects trying out at the NFL Combine admitted to having used the drug at some point. A number of players have enjoyed highly successful careers despite acknowledged marijuana habits." Continue reading →

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Long Beach police caught on camera beating suspect with baton

"Police say Lopez resisted arrest and kicked at an officer's baton. He fell to the ground after being Tasered. Santos Lopez was beaten with a police baton at least six times while on the ground. Officers ordered him repeatedly to get on his stomach, but he refused, leading to even more tasing. He is now at Long Beach Memorial Medical Center. His family says he's suffering from broken bones, cuts, and a collapsed lung. Santos Lopez is expected to face charges for resisting arrest and battery. His family is planning to sue the department for police brutality. Police say the responding officers didn't know about Santos Lopez's undiagnosed mental condition at the time of the incident." Continue reading →

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It’s Jury Appreciation Day!

"Although the right to a jury trial is guaranteed by the American Constitution, it has been under a relentless attack over the years. Most Americans are unaware that 95 percent of the cases in our criminal justice system never go to trial. And, in the few cases that do go to trial, jurors are typically misled about their prerogative to acquit (“jury nullification”). In November, Cato will be re-releasing an e-book, Jury Nullification: The Evolution of a Doctrine, by Clay Conrad. Glenn Reynolds reviewed the initial publication here. Let me take this opportunity to report on several positive developments that will help to revive the doctrine of jury nullification in American law." Continue reading →

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Internet Governance Meltdown II: The Unilateral Right to Amend

"The U.S. government was one of the only commentators to express unqualified endorsement of the proposed changes in the registry agreement. And it was pressure from law enforcement interests promoted by the U.S. government that also led to the troubles in negotiating the RAA. We see accountability and responsibility for policy making migrating further and further away from the individuals and organizations who participate in ICANN’s bottom up process, and towards state actors and ICANN staff. A key contributor to this migration is the idea of a monarchical ability of the authorities to discern 'the public interest' and impose rules, top down, on the public itself to pursue that 'public interest.'" Continue reading →

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Sudden spike of Tor users likely caused by one “massive” botnet

"Researchers have found a new theory to explain the sudden spike in computers using the Tor anonymity network: a massive botnet that was recently updated to use Tor to communicate with its mothership. Making a C&C server a Tor hidden service makes sense from an attacker's perspective. Tor makes it much harder for white hats and law enforcement officers to identify the malware operators and to shut down the server. Instead of connecting to a registered IP address, an infected machine connects to a pseudo address such as vtipk3.onion that is hard—if not impossible—to trace. Researchers have been predicting that botnets would adopt Tor protocols since at least 2010." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin Exchange Berlin Is Bringing Digital Currency to Market

"While there was beer, it was less of a bar environment and more of a full-fledged street market. There was stuff perched up on crates, other products in a shopping cart. The DJ spun reggae records that kept the vibe chill and quiet. Business cards were exchanged, while others had their contact info on stamps to save paper. What makes this Berlin series different than the open air exchanges in New York, for example, is that people were actually buying and selling products, on top of the typical bitcoin exchange. Also, there were girls. And it was arty." Continue reading →

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Making Rent With Bitcoins and Rentalutions

"Rentalutions, a Chicago based company is bringing the relationship between landlords and tenants into the digital age. Established April of 2012 in Chicago by Ryan Coon, Laurence Jankelow, and Dylan Lingelbach, Rentalutions aims to streamline the traditionally old school rent payment process. The service, which ranges from $5 to $150 a month, allows landlords to view credit reports and background checks, collect rent online, and to create and sign leases. As for tenants, they are able to make online rent payments and request maintenance services. The twist? Rentalutions is the first of its kind to enable tenants to pay their rent in bitcoins." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin entrepreneur Voorhees doubles down in Panama City

"Erik Voorhees, the man who founded Bitcoin casino SatoshiDice for 45 Bitcoin and sold it a year later for $11.5 million worth of the currency is doubling down on the industry. Although Voorhees isn’t publicizing how much of the 126,315 Bitcoins he personally earned, he is investing them in startups tied to the virtual currency rather than cashing in the coins. At the moment, Voorhees is in Panama City running his new company, Coinapult, launched in April 2012, that lets users send Bitcoin via email or SMS. 'We moved down here because our target market is the developing nations, and the unbanked population (which is massive),' he wrote." Continue reading →

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Bank Advisor: ‘Should Your Bank Do Business With Bitcoin?’

"One New York virtual currency exchange, Bitfloor, closed its doors in April after Capital One Financial Corp. closed its account. PNC closed the accounts of FastCash4Bitcoins in the spring, preventing them from receiving wire transfers. In August, Commonwealth Bank, one of the largest Australian Banks, closed the accounts of CoinJar. In the growing Bitcoin economy, the banking relationship is a key factor in survival, growth and success. Not all Bitcoin companies are the same, and there’s no reason a compliant Bitcoin company shouldn’t be able to get banking services. Here are factors to consider if a Bitcoin company seeks a relationship with your bank." Continue reading →

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Bitcoin’s dilemma: go mainstream, or stay radical?

"Bitcoin enthusiasts and libertarians the world over are in a state of confusion about the slowness with which the outside world is catching on to their new way of exchanging money. But regulators and lawmakers are now, very gradually, realising they need to do something about this growing beast, even if they don't quite know what that something is. If the 'teenage band' gets signed on a 'mainstream label' then it will inevitably stray into more commercially minded territory. However, if the managers of the labels are not listening closely or do not like what they hear, perhaps this period of underground innovation will continue." Continue reading →

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