Yearly Archives: 2013

The Hookah Lounge War Is On

"There are hundreds of hookah lounges in the U-S, mostly in college towns and urban areas. The lounges have enjoyed an exemption to clean indoor air laws because they have defined themselves as 'tobacco shops.' No more. The front line is here in Boston. After allowing a few lounges to open, the city has clamped down and passed a law that forces all of the city’s hookah lounges to shut down by 2019. 'There’s a risk that people who are non-smokers will [..] find themselves addicted to nicotine and needing to buy packs of Marlboros,' says Mark Gottlieb, executive director at the Public Health Advocacy Institute." Continue reading →

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Free Staters Tell Concord Police: Tanks, But No Tanks

"To his credit, Concord police chief John Duval apologized for calling these groups domestic terrorists, but the point was and is clear. The biggest concern and fear of any political system are those that seek to undermine state authority and its institutionalized plunder masked in law, badges, and costumes. If terrorism is defined as the threat or use of violence against the innocent to achieve political ends, then who really are the domestic terrorists? The groups of people with the radical notion that other people are not their property, or the institution that claims the right, duty and moral imperative to initiate aggressive violence?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFree Staters Tell Concord Police: Tanks, But No Tanks

Government works to make federal agencies appear as protagonists on TV

"Many agencies, including U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE), actually staff an 'entertainment and multimedia liaison' in order to coordinate the agencies starring roles. Brandon A. Montgomery is such a liaison for ICE. In a news release from his agency, he is described as 'actively working to generate an agency presence in film and TV.' 'It’s important to get (ICE) on TV because it ensures we are on the top of the mind to the American public and our stakeholders,' Montgomery said, noting that it was 10 times as effective as putting an agency in a news blurb. Montgomery touts his influence at acquiring ICE features in TV shows." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGovernment works to make federal agencies appear as protagonists on TV

Ron Paul: Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

"Though it made for a sensational headline last week, the fact is these 2,776 'violations' over the course of one year are completely irrelevant. The millions and millions of 'authorized' intercepts of our communications are all illegal -- except for the very few carried out in pursuit of a validly-issued search warrant in accordance with the Fourth Amendment. That is the real story. Drawing our attention to the violations unfortunately sends the message that the 'authorized' spying on us is nothing to be concerned about." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingRon Paul: Why The 2,776 NSA Violations Are No Big Deal

Feds Threaten To Arrest Lavabit Founder For Shutting Down His Service

"The saga of Lavabit founder Ladar Levison is getting even more ridiculous, as he explains that the government has threatened him with criminal charges for his decision to shut down the business, rather than agree to some mysterious court order. The feds are apparently arguing that the act of shutting down the business, itself, was a violation of the order. That same article suggests that the decision to shut down Lavabit was over something much bigger than just looking at one individual's information -- since it appears that Lavabit has cooperated in the past on such cases. Instead, the suggestion now is that the government was seeking a tap on all accounts." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFeds Threaten To Arrest Lavabit Founder For Shutting Down His Service

Glenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours

"The partner of the Guardian journalist who has written a series of stories revealing mass surveillance programmes by the US National Security Agency was held for almost nine hours on Sunday by UK authorities as he passed through London's Heathrow airport on his way home to Rio de Janeiro. The 28-year-old was held for nine hours, the maximum the law allows before officers must release or formally arrest the individual. Miranda was released, but officials confiscated electronics equipment including his mobile phone, laptop, camera, memory sticks, DVDs and games consoles." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGlenn Greenwald’s partner detained at Heathrow airport for nine hours

Who Gave Hollywood’s Representatives the Same Exact DMCA Question?

"The Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet (a part of the House Judiciary Committee) held hearings on the role of technology as it relates to content creation and copyright. In the span of less than 15 minutes, two separate representatives -- both representing parts of Los Angeles, asking questions one after the other asked THE IDENTICAL question to a panelist. Sure looks like someone is feeding them their questions, but next time they might want to keep track of who they told to ask their misleading question...." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingWho Gave Hollywood’s Representatives the Same Exact DMCA Question?

Administration Can’t Let Go: Felony Streaming Provisions Of SOPA Are Back

"We've been working our way through a paper released last week by the Commerce Department, concerning copyright reform, and will have a much more detailed post about it soon (there's a lot in there), but over at the Washington Post, they're highlighting the silly recommendation to bring back the plan to make unauthorized streaming a felony. This was a part of SOPA and was widely discussed. This got a fair amount of attention when Justin Bieber was asked about the law, and said that Senator Klobuchar should be locked up. It's no surprise that this is coming back. It's one of the points that's been raised a few times since the death of SOPA." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAdministration Can’t Let Go: Felony Streaming Provisions Of SOPA Are Back

Bloomberg’s Public Housing Fingerprinting Idea Stuns, Infuriates Residents

"Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s latest crime-fighting idea had a lot of people riled up on Friday. The mayor wants to fingerprint more than 600,000 people who live in public housing. He said it would be done to make the projects safer. 'The people that live there, most of them, want more police protection. They want more people. If you have strangers walking in the halls of your apartment building, don’t you want somebody to stop and say, ‘Who are you, why are you here?'' But residents who live within the confines of NYCHA buildings said the mayor’s fingerprinting idea goes too far." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBloomberg’s Public Housing Fingerprinting Idea Stuns, Infuriates Residents