Deputy at tow yard fired 6 shots to kill man sitting in car, son says

Found on News-JournalOnline on Wednesday, 24 September 2014
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A Volusia County sheriff’s deputy was in plain clothes when he fired six shots and killed a Port Orange man sitting inside a vehicle Saturday at a tow yard, the dead man’s son said Monday.

The son said his father, who is deaf, had a concealed weapons license and had his gun tucked in his waistband and covered by his shirt.

According to the article, the same deputy shot another person last year and also kicked a suspect into the face. Such people should be removed from duty instantly.

Red-light camera contractor spent thousands on meals for Sacramento County and CHP employees

Found on Sacramento Bee on Monday, 22 September 2014
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Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies and California Highway Patrol officers accepted free meals worth thousands of dollars from the private company that operates the county’s red-light intersection cameras, then recommended the county choose that company over several competitors for a new red-light contract worth up to $11.8 million, a Sacramento Bee review has found.

“Even if it is not a corrupt relationship, it doesn’t look good,” said Levinson, who is a member of the Los Angeles Ethics Commission. “It tells a story of a company trying to curry favor with the government and tells the public that government is where people go who can pay to play.”

Bribery works pretty much everywhere. Although politicians ask for a little more than a few free meals.

Yes, you can retire before your 40th birthday

Found on BBC on Saturday, 20 September 2014
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Dropping out of the workforce years before everyone else, means you have to be completely debt free, with savings equal to about 25 times the income you wish to achieve in retirement, taking any government pensions or payments into account.

It depends on how dedicated you are to your cause, and how quickly you can pay off any outstanding debts (including paying off your mortgage) and accrue the required savings.

Now let's suggest that to the majority of people who barely earn enough with their jobs to get through their normal daily lives.

Directors, Actors, Producers, Camera People And More Demand Peter Sunde Be Freed

Found on Techdirt on Thursday, 18 September 2014
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He's been put in the equivalent of a maximum security prison and basic requests for more humane treatment have been rejected.

Even if you absolutely hate The Pirate Bay and think it's the worst thing that's ever happened to the entertainment industry (a ridiculous view, but nonetheless...), the idea that the legal recourse against it should have been criminal, rather than civil charges, is mind-boggling. The idea that the site's spokesperson, who had little to do with the actual operations for the site should be criminally charged and convicted is equally ridiculous. And then the fact that he's treated at the same level as a violent criminal, and treated with such little respect and dignity concerning his own father's funeral is a travesty of justice.

The entertainment industry just has too many strings to pull, and too many puppets will dance for it.

TSA Not Sure If It Groped Man Before Flight, Demands To Grope Him After Flight Is Over

Found on Techdirt on Monday, 15 September 2014
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Nygard claims he got the full groping in Minnesota, but the TSA (or potentially a Spirit airlines employee) apparently believed it was overlooked -- though, they didn't "realize" this until the flight was halfway to Denver.

Nygard keeps asking why they need to search him, and the TSA has no good answer, other than saying they need to do so. Nygard asks if he's being detained, and they don't answer.

Finally, Nygard just walks away, saying that if he's not being detained, he's leaving.

The "Total Waste of Money" agency once again proves its efficiency. No reason, no explanations, no nothing.

Microsoft needs Minecraft to boost mobile ambitions

Found on Reuters on Sunday, 14 September 2014
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The software company's Windows Phone system has only 2.5 percent of the world's smartphone market, and its Surface tablet barely more, according to tech research firm IDC.

Markus Persson, the game's creator and co-founder of Mojang, said last year that Windows phones are so insignificant in terms of market share that they are not worth developing for.

Microsoft is expected to pay close to $2.5 billion for Mojang, or about 8 times sales last year.

Most likely MS will ruin it. New versions then rely on Windows-only features in an attempt to force users to switch. That will not happen because users will just abandon Minecraft if MS decides to block older versions like they do with Skype. Chances are that Redmond will spy on users just like they do in Skype too.

DHS asks stores to watch customers behavior for terrorist signs

Found on Washington Times on Friday, 12 September 2014
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While saying the government cannot prohibit sales of some everyday materials, Mr. Johnson said retailers should be trained to look for anyone who buys a lot from what he described as a “long list of materials that could be used as explosive precursors.”

Other than pressure cookers, Mr. Johnson did not say what other products might appear on the guidance that will be sent to retailers.

Just when you think it cannot get more retarded and orwellian, the DHS joins the game.

Alibaba IPO may raise as much as $24 billion

Found on CNN on Saturday, 06 September 2014
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Even if Alibaba skews toward the conservative end of that range, it would raise $22.1 billion, eclipsing the largest American IPO to date: Visa (V), which raised $17.9 billion and beating global record holder Industrial & Commercial Bank of China (IDCBY), which raised about $21 billion in 2006.

Alibaba is some serious competition for eBay and Amazon, which is a really good thing.

Russian rouble falls to new low on sanctions threat

Found on BBC News on Saturday, 30 August 2014
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A recent weak economic performance and the conflict with Ukraine have combined with Moscow's commitment to intervene less with the value of the rouble, said Mr Narain.

The turmoil in the financial markets is happening as the war of words between Russia and the West intensifies. Nato has accused Russia of a "blatant violation" of Ukraine's sovereignty and engaging in direct military operations to support pro-Russian rebels.

Still Tsar Putin does not seem to care at all about those problems; a common mistake many other dictators made before.

Google's 'Captain Moonshot': I will BOMB you with DELIVERIES

Found on The Register on Friday, 29 August 2014
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The company said that its Project Wing craft will provide unmanned craft which could bring light deliveries to people in areas where automobile or large-scale airmail deliveries are impractical or not possible.

The company has been testing working on the project for more than two years and says it is currently testing a small fleet of craft in Australia.

At the same time, the drones can collect data. Just like Google "accidentally" collected information about hotspots while driving around for the streetmaps.