Monthly Archives: February 2013

Former San Diego mayor blames brain tumor for stealing $2 million from charity

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“A former California mayor admitted in federal court on Thursday to stealing more than $2 million from her dead husband’s charity to fuel a $1 billion gambling binge.  The former mayor of San Diego pleaded not guilty to money-laundering charges, and now has two years to repay the charity.  O’Connor’s attorney said the former mayor suffered from a gambling addiction that caused her to lose $13 million, mostly playing video poker at casinos both locally and in Nevada and New Jersey.  O’Connor, who served as mayor from 1986 to 1992, blamed her gambling largess on a brain tumor that was not diagnosed until 2011.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/15/former-san-diego-mayor-blames-brain-tumor-for-stealing-2-million-from-charity/

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Nevada state senator booted from legislature after threatening his wife

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“Las Vegas Democratic Assemblyman Steven Brooks, 40, is not welcome in the state legislature anymore following his arrest Sunday for allegedly threatening his wife. Brooks was arrested January 19 on a felony charge after allegedly threatening Assembly Democratic Speaker Marilyn Kirkpatrick, then detained by police several days later on a domestic disturbance call at his grandmother’s home.  An investigation was launched at that point and lawmakers began moving forward with plans to bar him from the legislature, and he was kicked out of the Democratic caucus.”

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2013/02/12/nevada-state-senator-booted-from-legislature-after-threatening-his-wife/

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Pelosi: Congressional pay cut undermines dignity of the job

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“House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) said Thursday that she opposes a cut in congressional pay because it would diminish the dignity of lawmakers’ jobs.  ‘I don’t think we should do it; I think we should respect the work we do,’ Pelosi told reporters in the Capitol. ‘I think it’s necessary for us to have the dignity of the job that we have rewarded.’  Pelosi, whose husband is a wealthy real-estate developer, was quick to note that a cut in her own pay would be far less significant than that for both staffers and less wealthy members of Congress.”

http://thehill.com/homenews/house/283341-pelosi-congressional-pay-cut-undermines-dignity-of-the-job-

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Rangel wants women to be drafted

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“Rep. Charles Rangel (D-N.Y.) on Friday said he plans to introduce legislation that would bring back the military draft and extend it to women for the first time.  Rangel, who has pushed for years to bring back the draft, said the Pentagon’s decision to allow women to serve in combat means that they too should register for the Selective Service.  In an interview on MSNBC, Rangel said the draft should be reinstated because the majority of Americans make ‘no real sacrifice’ when the country goes to war.”

http://thehill.com/video/house/283387-rangel-to-introduce-legislation-to-reinstating-the-draft-

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Redress for Aaron Swartz Is Not on the Way Despite White House Petition

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“There is some idea, apparently, that a government petition focused on firing the chief prosecutor of the Aaron Swartz case will begin to redress injustice. We doubt it, however.  If ever the US government needed to explain a prosecution, it is this one. However, the petition process in which people seem to place some trust is probably not going to deliver a satisfactory result. The administration of Barack Obama is under no obligation than to do more than respond, whatever that means.  The response can take the form of an explanation but presumably it doesn’t have to. In this case, we doubt an explanation will be forthcoming.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/28699/Redress-for-Swartz-Is-Not-on-the-Way-Despite-Petitions

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How Newegg crushed the “shopping cart” patent and saved online retail

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“Soverain isn’t in the e-commerce business; it’s in the higher-margin business of filing patent lawsuits against e-commerce companies. And it has been quite successful until now. The company’s plan to extract a patent tax of about one percent of revenue from a huge swath of online retailers was snuffed out last week by Newegg and its lawyers, who won an appeal ruling [PDF] that invalidates the three patents Soverain used to spark a vast patent war.  The ruling effectively shuts down dozens of the lawsuits Soverain filed last year against Nordstrom’s, Macy’s, Home Depot, RadioShack, Kohl’s, and many others.”

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2013/01/how-newegg-crushed-the-shopping-cart-patent-and-saved-online-retail/

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Harper government kills controversial Canadian Internet surveillance bill

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“Bill C-30 caused a furor when it was introduced a year ago this week. The legislation would have permitted police and other government officials to compel Internet service providers to disclose identifying information linked to clients’ ISP addresses without a warrant.  Telecommunications companies would also have been required to collect and store data on clients’ digital activities.  The law was fiercely opposed by federal and provincial privacy commissioners as a fundamental intrusion on privacy rights.  Instead, the government has carved out a sliver of the bill to ensure warrantless wiretaps during emergencies remain legal.”

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/politics/harper-government-kills-controversial-internet-surveillance-bill/article8456096/

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Unite With Namecheap Against CISPA

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“As many of you are aware, Namecheap has taken a stance against SOPA and related legislation. In 2012 and 2013, we donated over $100,000 to the Electronic Frontier Foundation to help ensure that the fight stays alive.  CISPA, which emerged in 2012, has been rebirthed this week as an even bigger threat to online freedom. If CISPA is passed, the US government gains the power to ask your ISP about any/all of your online activities and personal information. Advocated under the premise of anti-terrorism legislation, this legislation is so broad that it threatens to endanger the privacy of every individual and ordinary and law abiding citizens.”

http://www.namecheap.com/cispa/alert.aspx

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Bad cyber security bill CISPA heading back to the House

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“Rumors of CISPA’s demise were apparently greatly exaggerated, according to various privacy rights advocates and organizations today.  The recently ‘deceased’ bill is scheduled for a new vote. House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R-MI) and fellow congressman Dutch Ruppersberger (D-MD) will reintroduce CISPA this Wednesday, which should bear a striking resemblance to last year’s bill and not the amended version that failed to gain even a senate vote of approval.”

http://venturebeat.com/2013/02/11/bad-cyber-security-bill-cispa-heading-back-to-the-house/

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Harvard Business Review: 3-D Printing Will Change the World

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“To anyone who hasn’t seen it demonstrated, 3-D printing sounds futuristic—like the meals that materialized in the Jetsons’ oven at the touch of a keypad. But the technology is quite straightforward: It is a small evolutionary step from spraying toner on paper to putting down layers of something more substantial (such as plastic resin) until the layers add up to an object. And yet, by enabling a machine to produce objects of any shape, on the spot and as needed, 3-D printing really is ushering in a new era.”

http://hbr.org/2013/03/3-d-printing-will-change-the-world/ar/1

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