Police and prison guard groups are terrified that they might lose some of the drug war money to which they have become so deeply addicted.
Source: Police and Prison Guard Groups Fight Marijuana Legalization in California
Month: May 2016
Filmmakers Ask “Pirate” to Take Polygraph, Backtrack When He Agrees – TorrentFreak
The makers of the Oscar-winning movie Dallas Buyers Club are displaying some dubious tactics in their ongoing crackdown on BitTorrent pirates. In California, the filmmakers recently asked an accused pirate to submit to a polygraph test, but changed their opinion after he agreed.
Source: Filmmakers Ask “Pirate” to Take Polygraph, Backtrack When He Agrees – TorrentFreak
Rightscorp Revenues Collapse, Pirates Too Hard to Track – TorrentFreak
Anti-piracy outfit Rightscorp has just turned in another set of dismal results. During the past three months revenues plummeted 78% versus the same period last year with the company recording a net loss of $784,000. Pirates, it appears, are becoming harder to track and threaten.
Source: Rightscorp Revenues Collapse, Pirates Too Hard to Track – TorrentFreak
Judge resigns as nude photos of defendants found on his computer – Ars Technica
An Arkansas local judge resigned Monday following an ethics commission inquiry that concluded he had traded sex for reduced sentences and stored pictures of nude defendants on his home computer. The commission alleged he also housed child porn on that computer.
Cross County District Judge Joseph Boeckmann’s resignation comes months after the state Judicial Discipline & Disability Commission concluded that the judge gave male defendants a hand-written note in court with his phone number on it instructing them that they could perform a “community service” at his house as part of a “substitutionary” sentence.
Source: Judge resigns as nude photos of defendants found on his computer – Ars Technica
Save iTunes! | Electronic Frontier Foundation
I remember the launch of iTunes in 2001. Hurrying home from the MacWorld conference in San Francisco, downloading the app, making a stack of CDs next to my Powerbook, ripping them as fast as my machine would go. Rip, Mix, Burn, baby!
David Patraeus, Who Leaked Classified Info To His Mistress, Says Snowden Should Be Prosecuted | Techdirt
Not all leaks are alike, nor are their makers. Gen. David Petraeus, for instance, provided his illicit lover and favorable biographer information so secret it defied classification, including the names of covert operatives and the president’s private thoughts on matters of strategic concern. Petraeus was not charged with a felony, as the Justice Department had initially recommended, but was instead permitted to plead guilty to a misdemeanor. Had an enlisted soldier of modest rank pulled out a stack of highly classified notebooks and handed them to his girlfriend to secure so much as a smile, he’d be looking at many decades in prison, not a pile of character references from a Who’s Who of the Deep State.
HBO Censors Game of Thrones Spoilers With Dubious Copyright Claims – TorrentFreak
HBO is not only taking action against people who download pirated copies of Game of Thrones, the company is also targeting those who predict what’s going to happen in future episodes. YouTube user Frikidoctor has had several videos taken down due to copyright complaints, including one where no infringing video or sound was used.
Source: HBO Censors Game of Thrones Spoilers With Dubious Copyright Claims – TorrentFreak
Listen to an FBI “Honeypot” on the Job
After one woman broke his heart, a young Michigan man turned to another woman, who tried to steer him toward a violent response. Both women were FBI informants.
European Parliament Orders MEP To Take Down A Video About His Attempt To Visit The ‘Reading Room’ For Trade Documents | Techdirt
It’s not exactly great filmmaking, but it does show how he has to give up his electronics and sign a document before entering the room (quickly, so as not to allow anyone to see what’s in there). And then he comes back out after being handed a document saying that it’s also against the law for him to copy down anything from the draft text verbatim. He expresses his concern about how ridiculous this is and is told to take it up with someone else, who then tells him that he should be happy that MEPs can even view the document at all within the EU Parliament, and that this is a “great achievement.”
ISP Boss Criticizes Calls to Criminalize File-Sharers – TorrentFreak
The boss of a prominent ISP in Sweden has criticized moves by the government which could criminalize hundreds of thousands of Internet users. Bahnhof CEO Jon Karlung says the country is stuck in the past when it calls for harsher punishments for file-sharing and should instead concentrate on developing better legal options.
Source: ISP Boss Criticizes Calls to Criminalize File-Sharers – TorrentFreak