Monthly Archives: July 2015

Tiny California Towns Have Big Asset Forfeiture Histories

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“These forfeitures and the partnerships between municipal police and federal agencies rose as the economy of California slid into a slump. Forfeitures through the federal Equitable Sharing Program have tripled while forfeitures using the state’s process have remained flat (and much lower). The reason is pretty simple: California’s asset forfeiture law allows law enforcement agencies to keep only a maximum of 65 percent of the money they seize. The federal program allows law enforcement agencies to keep 80 percent. Some cities appear to be anticipating forfeiture revenue in advance and using forfeited funds to supplant budgeted spending for law enforcement agencies.”

http://reason.com/blog/2015/04/21/tiny-california-towns-have-big-asset-for

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Accusations Tom Selleck Stole California Water Dropped

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“Water from a public hydrant that Tom Selleck has been accused of stealing from in dry California was legally purchased, an official said.  The Calleguas Municipal Water District in Ventura County sued the ‘Magnum, P.I.’ star, alleging that a tanker truck filled up at the hydrant and took it to Selleck’s 60-acre ranch more than a dozen times in the past two years.  The district announced a tentative settlement with Selleck on Thursday.  Construction firms and contractors can obtain special meters that allow them to haul water from hydrants for large projects.  The water district said it spent nearly $22,000 for a private detective to investigate.  District officials declined to provide details.”

http://abcnews.go.com/Entertainment/wireStory/official-water-tom-selleck-accused-stealing-paid-32365871

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UK home secretary warns Yahoo over its move to Dublin [2014]

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“The move to make Dublin the centre of its headquarters for Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) was announced last month.  The firm has been horrified by some of the surveillance programmes revealed by Snowden and is understood to be relieved that it will be beyond the immediate reach of UK surveillance laws.  Following the Guardian’s disclosures about snooping on Yahoo webcams, the company said it was ‘committed to preserving our users trust and security and continue our efforts to expand encryption across all of our services.’ It said GCHQ’s activity was ‘completely unacceptable..we strongly call on the world’s governments to reform surveillance law.'”

http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/mar/20/theresa-may-yahoo-dublin-security-worry

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David Cameron’s proposed encryption ban would ‘destroy the internet’

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“The Prime Minister first indicated that he would try and clamp down on secure communications that could not be decrypted by law enforcement even with a warrant back in January, in the aftermath of the Charlie Hebdo shootings in Paris. His comments sparked an immediate flurry of condemnation from privacy and security activists, but his recent statements show he’s not backing down. (Number 10 has not responded to requests for clarification about Cameron’s comments.)  Business Insider reached out to Bruce Schneier to discuss the feasibility of Cameron’ proposed ban on ‘safe spaces’ online. Schneier didn’t hold back.”

http://www.businessinsider.com.au/bruce-schneier-david-cameron-proposed-encryption-ban-destroy-the-internet-2015-7

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New Chinese law reinforces government control of cyberspace

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“Spokeswoman Zheng Shu’na said an overarching legislation was needed to deal with ‘ever-growing security challenges’.  A separate anti-terrorism proposal could require network operators and service providers fighting for a share of China’s $465 billion technology market to build in ‘backdoors’ for government surveillance, hand over encryption keys to Chinese authorities and store user data within China.  Companies worry that could undermine their ability to secure communications.  Other new regulations already require Chinese banks to have 75 percent of their IT infrastructure certified as ‘secure and controllable’ by the Chinese government by 2019.”

http://www.ecnmag.com/news/2015/07/new-chinese-law-reinforces-government-control-cyberspace

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PITA Side-Channel Attack Steals GPG Key from Laptops

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“It’s unlikely that anyone envisioned the evolution of cryptographic key thievery to include leavened flatbread, but that’s where we’ve arrived.  Researchers from Tel Aviv University in Israel are expected in September to present a paper at the Workshop on Cryptographic Hardware and Embedded System on the latest side-channel attack exposing crypto keys. The scientists—Daniel Genkin, Lev Pachmanov, Itamar Pipman, and Eran Tromer—have developed an inexpensive rig they say from close proximity steals GnuPG keys from a laptop. The setup, which they’ve called the Portable Instrument for Trace Acquisition (PITA), does indeed fit inside pita bread.”

https://threatpost.com/pita-side-channel-attack-steals-gpg-key-from-laptops/113447

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Author Behind Ransomware Tox Calls it Quits, Sells Platform

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“The developer behind Tox, a ransomware-as-a-service tool that only surfaced late last month, acknowledged in a post on Pastebin Wednesday that despite his plan to stay ‘quiet and hidden,’ he’s quickly found himself over his head.  Now the malware author is looking to sell Tox but claims if no one buys it he’ll just release the keys and decrypt his victim’s files.  Tox is encouraging prospective buyers to contact him to purchase both source code and documentation for the ransomware, adding that he’ll entertain offers for the platform and virus together, or as a package deal, alongside an additional database and .onion private key.”

https://threatpost.com/author-behind-ransomware-tox-calls-it-quits-sells-platform/113151

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The One Lesson to Learn Before a Market Crash

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“The media incorrectly suggests that the collapse of the market in 2008 began with the Lehman bankruptcy on September 15. The fact is that the market fully recovered to even higher levels the following week as the government banned short selling of financial stocks (much like China is doing more broadly at present). Weeks later, in a wicked case of ‘sell the news,’ the actual collapse started literally 15 seconds after the TARP bailout was passed by Congress. Investors want to tie market outcomes to very specific events or catalysts. But history suggests a different lesson: once extreme valuations are joined by a shift toward risk-aversion among investors, the specific events become irrelevant.”

http://www.hussmanfunds.com/wmc/wmc150713.htm

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Grading the Presidential Candidates on Marijuana Policy

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“The candidates were graded on actions they have taken and statements they have made indicating their support for ending pot prohibition, allowing legal access to medical marijuana and defending states’ rights to set their own marijuana policies.  While Democratic candidates found themselves in the middle of the road (with grades ranging from B to D), Republicans were all over the letter-grade spectrum, with Rand Paul pulling down an A- (it seems you’d have to actually support legalization to get an A grade from MPP), and two GOP candidates, Chris Christie and Rick Santorum getting flunked with Fs.”

http://stopthedrugwar.org/chronicle/2015/jul/06/report_card_grading_presidential

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Portugal’s Experiment in Drug Decriminalization Has Been a Success

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“This month, Portugal celebrates fourteen years of drug decriminalization. The grand experiment is now considered a happy success considering it was adopted out of desperation and in the face of dire warnings from proponents of the global drug war.  One picture that sums up the Portuguese success story shows that Portugal has the second lowest death rate from illegal drugs in all of Europe after experiencing one of the worst rates with prohibition. It is a happy anniversary for the Portuguese, but a scary one for all the drug warriors around the world whose incomes and power depend on continued ignorance about the effects of prohibition.”

http://www.thedailybell.com/editorials/36406/Mark-Thornton-Portugals-Experiment-in-Drug-Decriminalization-Has-Been-a-Success/

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