CLibertyC

Peter Thiel & Founders Fund lead $2m funding round in BitPay

"Apart from ex-PayPal boss Peter Thiel, the fund’s advisers include Napster founder and Facebook adviser Sean Parker along with ex-Google and SpaceX staff. The company was started in May 2011 by two graduates from Georgia Tech. Their aim is to make taking bitcoin payments as easy as credit card transactions for businesses. It takes a set fee of 0.99 per cent on automated transactions. BitPay claimed 1,900 new merchants signed up in April and it continues to sign up over 100 new customers every day. It is currently processing around $5m of Bitcoin transactions per month." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingPeter Thiel & Founders Fund lead $2m funding round in BitPay

New Zealand Supreme Court to hear Kim Dotcom extradition appeal

"The Court of Appeal in March had overturned a decision ordering US prosecutors to hand over the evidence to Dotcom’s legal team as they seek to extradite him to face online piracy charges. The appeal court ruled that a summary of the case would suffice. Dotcom’s lawyers have sought to reinstate the original decision, arguing they could not effectively fight the extradition battle without full disclosure of the evidence against their client. The US Justice Department and FBI want Dotcom to face charges of racketeering, fraud, money-laundering and copyright theft in a US court, which could see him jailed for up to 20 years if convicted." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingNew Zealand Supreme Court to hear Kim Dotcom extradition appeal

11 Governments Are Meeting in Peru to Figure Out How They Can Control the Internet

"It appears that it’s going to be even easier for international copyright offenders to be tried in court by the interests–and lobbying power–of Hollywood. Starting today, 11 countries—Canada, America, Mexico, Peru, Chile, Vietnam, Singapore, Japan, Brunei, Malaysia, Australia, and New Zealand—are having a secret (no members of the public and no press) meeting in Lima, Peru to figure out what can be done about copyright offenders who transmit Hollywood’s precious content over the interweb’s tubes without paying for it. he meeting is held under the banner of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement." Continue reading →

Continue Reading11 Governments Are Meeting in Peru to Figure Out How They Can Control the Internet

Florida deputy rehired, awarded back pay, despite checkered police past

"Sanchez was fired in July 2008 following accusations by a 21-year-old woman booked on drug charges that he tried to look down her shirt, asked for her phone number and asked her out on a date upon her release. He had received three written reprimands for propositioning a defendant’s pregnant girlfriend; allowing jury deliberations to be overheard in a courtroom, nearly causing a mistrial; and he received a two-day suspension without pay for allegedly using his status to intimidate a woman during a 'traffic incident.' Sanchez was also forced to resign in 1989 following allegations from four prostitutes that he would have sex with them while on duty." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingFlorida deputy rehired, awarded back pay, despite checkered police past

Airliner diverted as secure cockpit door locks pilot out mid-flight

"An Air India flight to Bangalore was diverted to another city after the pilot returned from a toilet break and found the door to the cockpit jammed shut, the state-run carrier says. The flight left Delhi but the plane had to be diverted to Bhopal in central India when the pilot realised he could not get back to the controls. 'The commander of the flight had left the cockpit for a short while to visit the toilet and on returning to the cockpit found the door locked,' Air India said in statement. It said that 'all efforts to open the door, even from inside by the co-pilot, failed'. The co-pilot was forced to diverted the flight to Bhopal where the door was repaired." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingAirliner diverted as secure cockpit door locks pilot out mid-flight

TSA issued $1.8 million in airport firearms fines last year

"There were 1,549 firearms discovered at TSA checkpoints nationwide in 2012. TSA has found 10 guns at Memphis International Airport this year and six at McGhee Tyson. Weapons — included guns — are not permitted in carry-on baggage. Passengers are responsible for the contents of bags they bring to the security checkpoint. Passengers who bring firearms to a checkpoint face a civil penalty from TSA, which last year assessed more than $1.8 million in civil penalties for firearms discovered in passenger carry-on bags." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTSA issued $1.8 million in airport firearms fines last year

More On Silva Murder By Police

"Mr. Silva’s murderers are back from the vacation to which we treated them and once again swaggering the streets of Kern County, hunting their next victim. Residents may want to 'shelter' indoors for protection from these sadists. Many have sent me articles on the ghastly crimes against serfs at least two of Mr. Silva’s assailants have previously committed. And you can see why they continue to exterminate us: 'The deputies did not face criminal charges in the death of [Jose Lucero]' -- though his family received $4.5 million in a civil suit. This was a particularly heartrending butchery as his parents watched uniformed killers beat and Taser their boy to death." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingMore On Silva Murder By Police

Gitmo-izing Air Passengers

"Sometimes the most unpleasant and important truths are disclosed in unintended ways. Speaking on behalf of military officials at Guantanamo, Lt. Col. Samuel House denied that the searches are abusive. According to House, the searches imposed on Gitmo detainees 'are conducted with clothes on, similar to pat-down searches conducted by an airport security screener.' Doesn’t this mean that it is standard operating procedure for TSA screeners to treat innocent American air travelers as if they were Gitmo detainees?" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGitmo-izing Air Passengers

It’s time to tell the TSA what you really think of it – and for it to listen

"The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit has ordered the TSA to engage in something known as notice-and-comment rulemaking on its screening procedures, and specifically its use of full-body scanners. You can leave your comment at the Federal Register website until June 24th. The TSA hopes the public it’s assigned to protect will approve of the scanners and the way they’re used. But it promises to 'review and analyze' the comments to develop a final rule related to the use of airport scanners. What could they do? That isn’t entirely clear. The lengthy document seems to suggest that four options are on the table." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIt’s time to tell the TSA what you really think of it – and for it to listen

IRS exec got $42k in bonuses in addition to $700k in salary from 2009-2012

"Lois Lerner, the senior executive in charge of the IRS tax exemption department and the federal employee at the center of the exploding scandal over the IRS targeting of conservative, evangelical and pro-Israel non-profits, was given $42,531 in bonuses between 2009 and 2011. That figure was included in data provided by the IRS in response to a Freedom of Information Act request by The Washington Examiner. Lerner is director of the IRS exempt organizations division, which processes and approves or denies applications from groups seeking tax-exempt status. With the bonuses, Lerner was paid a total of $740,931 for the four-year period." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingIRS exec got $42k in bonuses in addition to $700k in salary from 2009-2012