Alternative News

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

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

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

Hackers use Xbox 360 to send SWAT team to family’s home

"A family living near Orlando was awakened by a SWAT team early Thursday morning, apparently sent to the home as a hoax after hackers accessed a neighbor boy’s Xbox 360 and obtained an address from his account. Police said the address on the account was out of date, sending officers to a home where they were told one person had been killed and the rest of the family was being held hostage. Fortunately, the owner of the Xbox had already contacted police to say his game console had been hacked, according to Orlando’s Channel 9 News." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingHackers use Xbox 360 to send SWAT team to family’s home

6 year old expelled over toy gun allowed back into school

"A 6-year-old South Carolina girl will be allowed back in school after being expelled early in January for bringing a toy gun for 'show and tell,' school officials said Thursday. Naomi McKinney was expelled from Alice Drive Elementary in Sumter, S.C. on Jan. 7, according to a Wednesday report WLTX-TV. Her father Hank objected to the decision as well, saying that pencils are more dangerous than the clear, plastic water gun Naomi brought to school. 'I know there is a lot going on with guns and schools and that is tragic, but a six year old bringing a toy to school doesn’t know better,' he said." Continue reading →

Continue Reading6 year old expelled over toy gun allowed back into school

Study: Drugged Driving Laws Have Little Or No Impact On Traffic Deaths

"Since 1990, 11 states have passed so-called zero-tolerant per se drugged driving laws which make it illegal for one to drive with detectable levels of a controlled substance in his or her system. Five additional states have passed similar laws specifying non-zero limits for controlled substances or their metabolites. Using state-level data from the Fatality Analysis Reporting System (FARS) for the period 1990-2010, authors examined the relationship between the adoption of controlled substance per se thresholds and overall incidences of traffic fatalities. They found that the relationship is statistically indistinguishable from zero." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingStudy: Drugged Driving Laws Have Little Or No Impact On Traffic Deaths

ACLU takes on the DEA for seeking prescription records without a warrant

"The American Civil Liberties Union is seeking to block the Drug Enforcement Administration from obtaining prescription records without a warrant in Oregon. The state of Oregon filed suit against the DEA last year after the agency sought to access the Oregon Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PDMP), a database of prescription records for certain drugs. The ACLU and its Oregon affiliate hope to join the lawsuit on behalf of patients and doctors." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingACLU takes on the DEA for seeking prescription records without a warrant

Obama’s Drug War: After Medical Marijuana Mess, Feds Face Big Decision On Pot

"The Department of Justice has cracked down hard on medical marijuana, raiding hundreds of dispensaries, while the IRS and other federal law enforcement officials have gone after banks and landlords who do business with them. Fours years after promising not to make medical marijuana a priority, the government continues to target it aggressively. U.S. attorneys in the states helped beat back local efforts to regulate the medical marijuana industry, going so far as to threaten elected officials with jail. The willingness of top prosecutors to use their power in brazenly political ways is, in many ways, the untold story of Obama's first-term approach to drug policy." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingObama’s Drug War: After Medical Marijuana Mess, Feds Face Big Decision On Pot