Yearly Archives: 2013

The price of copyright crime in New Zealand? Only $617

"In the US, when illegal downloaders have actually gone to trial, they have faced massive six-figure penalties, like the damages figures against Joel Tenenbaum ($675,000) and Jammie Thomas-Rasset (first $1.92 million, down to $222,000). Now New Zealand is starting to see results from the copyright tribunals it set up under a controversial 2011 law, which allows for copyright owners such as RIANZ (the New Zealand equivalent of the RIAA) to go after users, but for a maximum of $15,000. Turns out, it's going to be very tough for them to get even that amount in New Zealand." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingThe price of copyright crime in New Zealand? Only $617

Iceland Kicked Out FBI Agents Who Flew in Unannounced to Investigate WikiLeaks Operations in the Country

"According to the RUV, the Icelandic National Broadcasting Service, FBI agents landed in Reykjavík in August 2011 without prior notification in an attempt to investigate WikiLeaks operations within the country. However, their plan was interupted when Home Secretary Ögmundur Jónasson learned about the FBI's visit and sent them packing. The Icelandic government then formally protested the FBI's activities with U.S. authorities." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIceland Kicked Out FBI Agents Who Flew in Unannounced to Investigate WikiLeaks Operations in the Country

Cops who shot puppy come back, ticket owner after he contacts media

"Residents are also upset because the shooting occurred not far from a preschool, on a street where pedestrians including children could have been hurt. Police were writing a parking ticket for a van belonging to Al Phillips, so Phillips came out to move the vehicle. My little bull terrier followed me out,' Phillips explains. 'Then, all I hear is boom! Boom! Two shots. You shot the dog!' While FOX 32's Larry Yellen was interviewing the dog's owners, two police officers drove by the home. 90 minutes later, they came back, asked why Phillips why he had contacted the media and gave him a ticket for not keeping Colonel on a leash." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingCops who shot puppy come back, ticket owner after he contacts media

Military judge orders government to stop censoring 9/11 hearings

"A military judge ordered the US government Thursday to stop censoring September 11 pre-trial hearings from outside his courtroom. Judge James Pohl said the government must 'disconnect the outside feed or ability to suspend the broadcast' from outside his court. Proceedings are heard in the press room, and in a room where human rights groups and victims families sit, with a 40 second delay. This is done so that a security officer sitting next to the judge can block anything deemed classified. The ruling means classified information could still be blocked, but only by order of the judge and not from outside the courtroom." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMilitary judge orders government to stop censoring 9/11 hearings

Lawyer arrested for advising stranger of his constitutional rights awarded $43,000

"Lawyer Daniel Zettler says that during a boat race in 2011 in Salida, he shouted to a man who was being detained by officers, 'Don't forget your constitutional right to remain silent.' Zettler says one officer arrested him on a charge of obstructing a police officer. The Salida Municipal Court later dismissed the charge. Zettler had argued he had a First Amendment right to advise the detained man. Zettler's attorney David Lane says the settlement money was paid Wednesday." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingLawyer arrested for advising stranger of his constitutional rights awarded $43,000

Nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges charged in probe

"Nine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges were charged with conspiracy and fraud Thursday, capping a three-year FBI probe into what authorities said was rampant ticket-fixing and pervasive corruption on the bench. The charges, outlined in a 77-count indictment, described 'a well-understood conspiracy of silence' that created two distinct courts: one where typical citizens paid for their infractions, and a second where offenders with the right connections won acquittals or saw their fines or cases disappear." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNine current and former Philadelphia Traffic Court judges charged in probe

Oakland PD pointed firearms at a sleeping baby executing misdemeanor search warrant

"A new report by the federal monitor overseeing the Oakland Police Department officers pointed their weapons at a sleeping baby while executing a search warrant. 'Two officers pointed their firearms at a sleeping 19-month-old child who, of course, posed no immediate threat to the officers or others,' said the Jan. 30 report by Robert Warsaw. 'The crime being investigated, according to the reports, involved a misdemeanor offense.'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOakland PD pointed firearms at a sleeping baby executing misdemeanor search warrant

Severe Disaffection: Seventy-five Percent of US Citizens Don’t Trust Government

"It is a manifestation of a larger disaffection that has been exacerbated by what we call the Internet Reformation. The Internet allows people to understand their world in ways they didn't before and tends to put discontent into a larger perspective. Whereas before, people might have been more apt to blame themselves or their circumstances for their troubles, now they may see their dilemmas as part of a larger systemic issue. But the nation's media gatekeepers like PBS continue to focus on such issues as they have in the past, mainly through the lens of the two-party political system. This in a sense trivializes the growing discontent and misinterprets it, as well." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSevere Disaffection: Seventy-five Percent of US Citizens Don’t Trust Government

NASA knew Columbia crew would die but chose not to tell them

"A NASA flight director has revealed that personnel on the ground knew in 2003 that the Space Shuttle Columbia would not survive re-entry, but chose not to inform the vessel’s crew. According to an ABC News report from Thursday, when faced with the choice of letting the astronauts die trying to come home or leaving them to orbit until their air ran out, high-ranking NASA officials chose to let the Columbia crew die in ignorance of what was to befall them." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNASA knew Columbia crew would die but chose not to tell them

Some Guy Always Gets Blamed for Lost Phones That He Never Stole Because of a Horrible Location Glitch

"Whenever a phone is lost, people who use location services to find their lost phones always seem to track it back to the same place: Wayne Dobson's house. But the thing is, Wayne Dobson never stole a phone. Instead, a glitch with Sprint is making it appear as if their phone is inside Dobson's house—even if it's not. The problem started in 2011 when a couple came knocking. Then another person. Then more. Even worse, police are sometimes sent to his house from nearby people who call 911. The GPS coordinates of the 911 phone call reveal Dobson's house as the origin (even though he never called)." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSome Guy Always Gets Blamed for Lost Phones That He Never Stole Because of a Horrible Location Glitch