CLibertyC

De Facto Hash Truce in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

"The Lebanese government will not attempt to eradicate marijuana fields blooming across the country's Bekaa Valley, Beirut's Daily Star reported Friday. Sources said it was because of the fragile security situation in the area near the border with Syria and because the government had been unable to live up to pledges to provide financial compensation to farmers whose crops were destroyed last year. They are also up against Bekaa Valley marijuana farmers in no mood to see their livelihood messed with. 'In the absence of alternatives, we will break the hands and legs of anyone who dares destroy our crops,' one of the region's biggest growers said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDe Facto Hash Truce in Lebanon’s Bekaa Valley

Diamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise

"In January, jeweler Vihari Sheth was publicizing a ritzy new line of diamond-encrusted designs. Last week, she was arrested at Mumbai airport with nearly $400,000 of gold jewelry in her underwear and on her person. The 27-year-old has a store in Singapore and is married to a director of Mumbai-based Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd (SIYA), a suit maker that is a household name in the country. Her arrest offers a glimpse into how even the wealthy may be joining small jewelers and organized gangs to skirt new government taxes on bullion imports that have made gold about 9 percent more expensive in Indian stores." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingDiamond Jeweler Turns Alleged Smuggler as India Gold Prices Rise

Gold replaces narcotics as the most valued smuggled item in India

"The Bombay Bullion Association has stated that the tighter import curbs by the government have resulted in a huge gap between supply and demand for the precious metal. This huge gap is being partly filled by the illegal traffickers who buy the gold overseas at a cheaper rate and sells it to domestic jewelers or bullion agents by evading tax. Revenue authorities seized gold worth Rs 598 million during April-June quarter this fiscal, an increase of nearly 365% in comparison with the same quarter last year. Smuggled gold pours into the country mainly from Dubai, Bangkok and Singapore." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGold replaces narcotics as the most valued smuggled item in India

Bitcoin upgrade aims for smoother e-commerce

"Payment requests will use digital certificates, the same kind of security technology indicated by a padlock in a web browser. Specifically, the payment requests will use X.509 certificates, which underpin SSL (Secure Sockets Layer), which encrypts data traffic between two parties. The communication between a customer and company will be performed over SSL and will not be part of the so-called 'blockchain,' the public ledger that shows bitcoin transactions, Andresen said. The payment protocol will not touch the core code that drives Bitcoin's network." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin upgrade aims for smoother e-commerce

Tor Urges Users To Leave Insecure Windows Operating System

"In a critical security advisory issued over the weekend, the Tor Project told its users that they should seriously consider migrating away from Microsoft’s Windows operating system and disabling JavaScript. The Tor Project security advisory was a response to revelations on Sunday that an attack had targeted users of the Tor Browser. According to the advisory, the attack exploited a Firefox JavaScript vulnerability that has already been resolved. The vulnerability is a cross-platform threat, but the exploit in this case was Windows-specific. Tor Browser Bundle users on Linux, OS X, and LiveCD systems like Tails were never at risk of exploit." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTor Urges Users To Leave Insecure Windows Operating System

On Life Remotely: An Interview with Jessica Mans

"Jessica Mans, one of the people who runs Life Remotely, which opened my eyes to just how, well … really cool this lifestyle can be, graciously took some time to talk about location independence with us. Life Remotely is a great resource for everything from planning your own extended trips to just living vicariously through the experiences of three people who got a taste of travel and living abroad and decided a taste wasn’t enough. They’ve just wrapped up an epic drive from Seattle to Patagonia (yup, you read that right) and have put out one of Amazon’s Best Books of 2013: Don’t Go There. It’s Not Safe. You’ll Die." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOn Life Remotely: An Interview with Jessica Mans

Interview with Slashdot founder Rob Malda

"The stuff that’s interesting has as much to do with the technology as the information. I’m interested in the technology the government uses to spy on me. I’m interested in the fact of the anonymous file-sharing network that made the Manning stuff possible. That’s the stuff that gets to my soft, gooey center. The policy parts, I don’t feel like I have a say in that. I don’t have a voice there. I know what I want to see happen. But I don’t feel like I have a say or a voice so I choose to be interested in the technology and think about where that’s going to take us next. All that stuff never would have existed 20 years ago." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingInterview with Slashdot founder Rob Malda

Out of the box: UPS Stores to offer 3D printing

"Stratasys will provide its uPrint SE desktop machines to six UPS Stores in America for a trial programme. These machines will allow customers to bring their designs to the store and have them printed out as objects—in much the same way as people take two-dimensional digital documents to the store and have them printed on paper. The uPrint machines can produce items in plastic in a range of colours and make bigger objects in finer detail than consumer-level 3D printers. UPS expects designers, entrepreneurs, start-ups and architects seeking models to be among its customers for 3D printing services." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOut of the box: UPS Stores to offer 3D printing

Goodbye Cable TV, Hello Google

"This diminutive device, nearly as small as a flash thumb drive, plugs right into your TV — through the HDMI port. It can stream video content wirelessly from the Internet to your TV using an Android or iOS device, or a PC or Mac, using Google’s Chrome browser, as a remote control. Chromecast could be a really disruptive product. According to a Sandvine report, YouTube and Netflix account for an estimated 49.4% share of all peak downstream Internet traffic in the U.S. Now with Chromecast, those users can steam that Internet traffic onto their TV’s easily. For a mere $35, Chromecast can turn any television into a player for streaming Internet video content." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoodbye Cable TV, Hello Google

Mainstream Media Rule: Never Question the Warren Commission

"Does USA Today writer Jervis show any curiosity over the fact that Dr. Jones’ recollection of the condition of the back of JFK’s head was shattered contradicts the official U.S. military autopsy photograph that shows the back of JFK’s head to be intact? If he does, you certainly can’t tell it by reading the article. After citing Jones’ recollection that the back of Kennedy’s head had been shattered by a bullet, the article just blithely proceeds onward, with nary a mention of the problem. Unfortunately that’s pretty much standard procedure for reporters and commentators in the mainstream media who address the Kennedy assassination." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMainstream Media Rule: Never Question the Warren Commission