Cosby charged with sexual assault

Bill Cosby charged with sexual assault in Pennsylvania

The TV legend is accused of drugging and sexually assaulting former Temple University employee Andrea Constand when she visited his suburban Philadelphia home in 2004. A probable cause affidavit filed by investigators this week alleges that Cosby “sought to incapacitate” Constand by giving her a mix of pills and wine that sent her slipping in and out of consciousness and left her unable to consent to sexual activity. Priligy brand and generic Priligy effectiveness reviews read on http://howmed.net/priligy-dapoxetine/.

Ms. Constand settled her civil case against Mr. Cosby but the latter’s statements in a deposition taken for that case and released to the public by request of the press triggered the Montgomery County District Attorney’s obligation to prosecute Cosby.

Is sending porn illegal in Pennsylvania?

Is sending porn illegal in Pennsylvania?

Dave Davies writes on his WHYY blog, Off Mic:

It's right there in the state crimes code; it's a third-class misdemeanor to "sell, lend, distribute, transmit, exhibit, or give away or show any obscene materials to any person 18 years of age or older..." (There's a separate statute prohibiting distribution of pornography to anyone younger than 18.)

He’s right, you can find it at 18 Pa . C.S. 5903. Davies goes on to explain the difficulty of defining “obscenity,” a function of the concept’s basis in community standards which can vary from community to community.

Laser-armed fighter jets by 2020

Laser-armed fighter jets by 2020

Thom Patterson writes for CNN:

Here's how Air Force special ops might use them: The commander of USAF special ops, Lt. Gen. Bradley Heithold, said last September that by 2020 he wants them on C-130J Ghostrider gunships for landing zone protection.

The laser weapons would take out possible threats like enemy vehicles, or disable infrastructure such as cell towers.

I saw Star Wars: The Force Awakens last night (more on that coming in an article later) so laser weapons seem an appropriate story to share today.

"A slower-track school where they do well"

“A slower-track school where they do well”

I’m just going to leave this Justice Scalia quote right here:

There are those who contend that it does not benefit African­ Americans to get them into the University of Texas where they do not do well, as opposed to having them go to a less­-advanced school, a slower-­track school where they do well.

Further reading:

Israeli Supreme Court Rejects Family Petition To Bury Trans Woman As Their “Son"

Israeli Supreme Court Rejects Family Petition To Bury Trans Woman As Their “Son"

Peleg, who was 31, had long been concerned about a battle with her ultra-orthodox family after her death. Their beliefs forbid cremation, and she worried they would attempt to have a religious burial under her male name. Peleg paid for her own cremation in March 2014 at the one funeral home in Jerusalem that performs the service, and filed a will with an attorney a day before her suicide and asked that he fight for her wishes if her family attempted to interfere.

This is heartening. No one should be driven to suicide by discrimination against who they are, but the ultimate insult is ignorance of one’s post-death wishes, because when are we more vulnerable than in death?

Adele's '25' on Pandora

Adele’s ‘25’ on Pandora

Pandora confirmed to Entertainment Weekly that every track from Adele'e new album is available through its radio service. That's not going to be a particularly great way of listening to 25 — because Pandora is a radio service, it means you can't choose what to listen to and will have to wait for a station to play the new songs — but it does mean that Adele's album is streaming in some form. You just have to be really, really patient to hear it all.

Pandora’s strange licensing niche usually works against it but here, despite the inability to listen through the songs in order, Pandora has something like an exclusive.

I wonder if Adele’s lawyers told her that keeping it off the on-demand streaming services means the track order she chose will not be the one many people hear the first time they hear the songs.

I don’t know how much that matters to modern musicians, or to someone like Adele, who doesn’t really have a customer acquisition problem.

For the, er, record, I prefer to listen to an album in order if possible.

Restraining orders in the age of drones

Today Joshua Goldman of CNET reports that the FAA recommends requiring drone pilots to register instead of registering every single drone:

On November 21, the FAA task force made its registration recommendations, and instead of keeping track of each and every drone out there, it suggested registering the names and street addresses of the pilots (mailing address, email address, phone number and serial number of the aircraft are optional). The registration requirement will apply to any UAS less than 55 pounds (25kg) and heavier than half a pound (250 grams) and owners must be at least 13 years old. A parent or guardian can register for anyone younger than 13 years old.

That makes perfect sense to me. I am concerned, however, about the implications for drone use when it comes to what are widely known as restraining orders, although in Pennsylvania they are called protection from abuse orders. The function of such orders is simple: make the defendant’s physical proximity to or remote contact via telephone or third parties with the plaintiff an indirect criminal contempt. This triggers the ability to sanction and if necessary imprison a violating defendant.

As you can imagine, these are especially useful in domestic violence situations, custody disputes and stalking circumstances. Pennsylvania orders can last up to three years based on the judge’s discretion, while New Jersey orders can theoretically last forever. Importantly, in both states a protection order prohibits the defendant from owning or receiving firearms. The goal is obvious: you don’t want a nutcase kept 100 yards from his ex-wife by a protective order to have a gun with three times that range with which to attack her.

This is where my concern about drones comes into play. I think FAA registration of drone pilots is a great idea. However, the surveillance and yes, even remote attack capabilities of drones require the prohibition of their use by defendants in protection order matters. The FAA maintains a public-facing database of registered aircraft pilots in three categories, Airline Transport Pilot, Commercial Pilot and Private Pilot. It could add a fourth category, Drone Pilot. Then it could add registration information to its Web Services, for which it provides an API with which developers can interface with the data and present it to end users.

This would allow authorities to cross-reference their own protection order registries, like Pennsylvania’s Protection From Abuse Database, with the FAA registration information and remove drones when the state police remove firearms from the defendant’s possession. Drones are an awesome technology but their value to filmmakers, scientists and geeks generally shouldn’t blind to the fact that they can be put to nefarious uses as well.

When is time to take antitrust action against Comcast?

When is time to take antitrust action against Comcast?

It’s hard to read about U.S. comeptition law without wondering when Comcast is going to face consequences for its clear abuse of its market power.

China hack attacks on US continue despite commercial spying pact

China hack attacks on US continue despite commercial spying pact

If this surprises you, I’ve got a real-life, fully functional totally Back to the Future hoverboard to sell you…

CFPB proposes ban of class action prohibitions in arbitration clauses

CFPB proposes ban of class action prohibitions in arbitration clauses

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau said in a press release today:

In the Dodd-Frank Wall Street Reform and Consumer Protection Act, Congress required the CFPB to study the use of arbitration clauses in consumer financial markets and gave the Bureau the power to issue regulations that are in the public interest, for the protection of consumers, and consistent with the study’s findings. The CFPB’s study – released in March of this year – showed that arbitration clauses restrict consumers’ relief for disputes with financial service providers by allowing companies to block group lawsuits.

The study also found that, in the consumer finance markets studied, very few consumers individually seek relief through arbitration or the federal courts, while millions of consumers are eligible for relief each year through group settlements. According to the study, more than 75 percent of consumers surveyed in the credit card market did not know whether they were subject to an arbitration clause in their contract. Fewer than 7 percent of those consumers covered by arbitration clauses realized that the clauses restricted their ability to sue in court.

The March 2015 CFPB report on this issue (PDF) said:

The Bureau understands that class lawsuits have been subject to significant criticism that regards them as an imperfect tool that can be expensive and cumbersome for all parties. However, the Bureau notes that Congress, state legislatures, and the courts have mechanisms for managing and improving class procedures over time. On balance, the Bureau believes that consumers are significantly better protected from harm by consumer financial service providers when they are able to aggregate claims. Accordingly, the Bureau believes that ensuring that consumers can pursue class litigation related to covered consumer financial products or services without being curtailed by arbitration agreements protects consumers, furthers the public interest, and is consistent with the Study.

Class action lawsuits can be a pain in the ass for everyone involved and the only winners are the plaintiffs' lawyers. But the mere possibility of a class action may be enough to prevent predatory behavior on the part of service providers.

'Happy Birthday' copyright held invalid

‘Happy Birthday’ copyright held invalid

Until now, Warner has asked for royalties from anyone who wanted to sing or play "Happy Birthday to You" --- with the lyrics --- as part of a profit-making enterprise. Royalties were most often collected from stage productions, television shows, movies or greeting cards. But even those who wanted to sing the song publicly as part of a business, say a restaurant owner giving out free birthday cake to patrons, technically had to pay to use the song, prompting creative renditions at chain eateries trying to avoid paying royalties.

I hope this is the death knell of every non-‘Happy Birthday’ song all of those tchotchke-full restaurants have been forcing their underpaid and overworked waitstaffers to sing to uncomfortable diners.

The Government Is Selling Thousands of Homes to Hedge Funds Without Their Owners' Knowledge

The Government Is Selling Thousands of Homes to Hedge Funds Without Their Owners' Knowledge

Jared Bennett reports at The Atlantic:

It was a great deal for Oaktree. The fund bought the pool of mortgages for about two-thirds of the $105.7 million HUD estimated the homes were worth. [Julius] Uwansc, who now faces foreclosure through the new servicer of the loan, Selene Finance, was unaware that any of this had transpired.

“Whatever deal that went on between Bank of America, Selene and HUD is not known to me,” he says. Uwansc maintains he has complied with the terms of his modification and has filed lawsuits against both Bank of America and Selene.

I worked at the Philadelphia Housing Authority for almost seven years. Many of the programs run by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development are poorly understood, even by the executives who are tasked with making use of them in their own cities. But many of those programs are also beneficial to the community, when properly utilized, and when the agencies involved take the time to explain the benefits to all of the stakeholders involved, from potential residents to the mayor.

Read the article at The Atlantic for full context, but it sounds to me like the program tdhis article covers, the Distressed Asset Stabilization Program, or DASP, is not being sufficiently overseen and participating investors are taking advantage of “flipping” strategies and rental demand, especially in cities full of once-again-rapidly gentrifying neighborhoods, like Philadelphia. The demolition of high-rise public housing buildings colloquially (and, I would suggest, derogatorily) known as “projects” and construction of row-home style mixed-income residential developments, had decreased crime, outstanding rent, utility costs and other “key performance metrics” even before I left in 2013.

The switch in Philadelphia from high-rises to row homes reduced inventory but a simultaneous improvement in re-certification procedures, expanded homeownership counseling and planning assistance and other administrative changes dampened the negative effects of that reduction. That doesn’t change the fact that residents should constantly be kept in the loop about the status of the mortgage for their home, especially who owns it and when the creditor to whom they owe payments has changed.

Consider this:

Oaktree paid $68.6 million for the 803 Baltimore mortgages [including Julius Uwansc’s], about 65 percent of the $105.7 million HUD says they were worth. That means even if the company doesn’t collect a dime on any of the mortgages, even after legal fees and other expenses, it can more than make its money back by foreclosing and selling the homes. (Oaktree declined to comment on the outcomes of loans bought through DASP.)

(emphasis added)

Oaktree’s declining to comment says perhaps far more than any comment could have said. I suspect the component of the DASP program, a core component, that allows companies like Oaktree to purchase mortgages in bulk at a discount is precisely what incentivizes foreclosing as quickly as possible and with minimal effort to remediate the default.

This is a worrying example of something I saw frequently while I worked at the Philadelphia Housing Authority: rarely do the interests of borrowers and residents align with those of the local, state and federal agencies tasked with providing financial and logistical assistance. In fact, the perverse reality of funding for such programs is that the more successful they are, the less likely they are to get an increase in or even flat year-over-year funding.

It is, therefore, beneficial to those administering the programs and running the larger organizations of which the programs are a part to achieve a balance between minimally visible progress and maximizing future funding eligibility. Yes, there are sometimes performance incentives on such programs, but they are not the norm, and it doesn’t look like there are any here, and if there are they are not being sufficiently enforced.

Don’t take my word for it, read Jared Bennett’s article at The Atlantic in full.

Image by Flickr user respres

Video gamer hunts down, stabs man who killed his online 'Counter-Strike' character

Video gamer hunts down, stabs man who killed his online ‘Counter-Strike’ character

Michael Sheridan reports at NYDailyNews.com:

Julien Barreaux reportedly spent six months looking for the person who killed his online character in a virtual knife fight, and eventually found the foe living only a few miles away in Cambrai, a town about 2 hours north of Paris.

The lunatic only got two years' imprisonment for what pretty plainly looks to me like premeditated attempted murder. I don’t know anything about French law, but that seems like an embarrassing outcome for any prosecutor.

Image is top of French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen

My annual sportsball post: Tom Brady’s Four-Game N.F.L. Suspension Erased by Judge

Tom Brady’s Four-Game N.F.L. Suspension Erased by Judge

Tom Brady is now set to play in the Patriots' opener. I don’t care, but I know my parents, my siblings and most of my friends might. Here’s what the presiding judge said:

"The court finds that Brady had no notice that he could receive a four-game suspension for general awareness of ball deflation by others or participation in any scheme to deflate footballs, and noncooperation with the ensuing investigation" Berman wrote.

So there you have it. A sportsball post. Don’t say I never gave you anything.

Photo by Belinda Haskins Miller

Alison Parker, Adam Ward of WDBJ remembered by friends

Alison Parker, Adam Ward of WDBJ remembered by friends

It’s inappropriate to use these tragic murders as fodder for the never-ending Second Amendment debate, and people on both sides of the isle are already guilty of that.

If the killer’s intent was to terrorize, are those people who are disseminating photographic and video imagery of the murders aiding and abetting that son of a bitch, even after his suicide?

I’m obviously emotional over this thing, as many people are, and the aiding and abetting thing is more a thought experiment than a serious question. But if we don’t at least think about it, try to push the debate forward somehow, if nothing changes at all, Alison and Adam died for nothing. That’s unacceptable.

Lewis James Fogle Free, 34 Years After His Wrongful Conviction

Lewis James Fogle Free, 34 Years After His Wrongful Conviction

The case against Mr. Fogle itself was never a strong one – it was based entirely upon the testimony of so-called jailhouse informants, including a man himself suspected of the crime. It was only years after the 15-year-old victim’s body was found in the woods that the suspect, Elderkin, named Mr. Fogle as being involved. This accusation came during Elderkin’s fifth statement to police, while Elderkin was receiving psychiatric treatment and with the assistance of hypnosis. No physical evidence connected Mr. Fogle to the murder, and he testified at trial he was nowhere near the scene when the girl was murdered. Nonetehless, the jury convicted Mr. Fogle and the court sentenced him to life in prison without parole.

This gentleman spent more time in jail for something heinous he didn’t do than I have spent being alive. This guy has a wife and kids, who not only haven’t lived with him for 34 years, but who have had to deny he assaulted and murdered a teenager, as well. The District Attorney was admirable in his cooperation with Innocence.

But there is no utility in blaming or blessing any single person: what changes can we make to the criminal justice system that will prevent mistakes like this from happening in the first place?

Maybe life with parole shouldn’t be on the table unless there is conclusive DNA evidence of the defendant’s guilt. I don’t know. But we can’t shrug our shoulders about it. After all, we were happy to incarcerate Fogle for the rest of his life when we thought he took someone else’s life. What will do now that we have effectively taken most of his?

What's better for free speech on reddit, saving a single thread or getting the whole site unbanned in Russia?

What’s better for free speech on reddit, saving a single thread or getting the whole site unbanned in Russia?

If the choice is between all of reddit remaining banned in most of Russia and IP-blocking access to one thread about mushrooms, I’d block access to the thread. I think there’s a far stronger “pro-free-speech” argument for restoring access to 99.99% of reddit for Russians rather than inciting a total ban by refusing to restrict access to a single post.

Photo by Kirill Vinokurov, from Wikimedia

Facial Recognition Software Moves From Overseas Wars to Local Police

Facial Recognition Software Moves From Overseas Wars to Local Police

This is troubling:

Lt. Scott Wahl, a spokesman for the 1,900-member San Diego Police Department, said the department does not require police officers to file a report when they use the facial recognition technology but do not make an arrest. The department has no record of the stops involving Mr. Hanson and Mr. Harvey, and Lieutenant Wahl said that he did not know about the incidents but that they could have happened.

Should police departments be allowed to use facial recognition?

Yes.

Should they be able to use it with minimal consent, oversight and reporting requirements?

No.

Image from Wikimedia

Can the FTC ban digital goods?

Can the FTC ban digital goods?

Brent Kendall, writing at The Wall Street Journal:

The current case is about patents, but the ITC also can take action against goods that infringe copyrights, an issue important to Hollywood and other rights holders. They are eyeing the ITC as a new venue for combating foreign websites that trade in pirated digital material and the ability of U.S. consumers to access them.

If the court hearing this case on August 11th upholds the FTC’s decision to exercise its import ban authority in the digital realm the ramifications will be far-reaching and almost immediate. Music and movies, 3D printing, and perhaps even digitally transmitted and executed software code would be among the items open to FTC authority. The Federal Trade Commission has very little expertise in the digital space, so making the arbiters of what digital imports are okay and which are not may not be an intelligent approach.

Do we need a Digital Transmission Commission? If the FTC is to get digital ban authority it will need strong oversight.

Photo by Uberpenguin at Wikipedia

Federal Court's data breach decision shows new tilt toward victims, class-action lawsuits

Federal Court’s data breach decision shows new tilt toward victims, class-action lawsuits

John Fontana writes at ZDNet:

In an interesting twist, the Court said the fact Neiman Marcus offered free credit monitoring services was evidence that there was harm to these victims. The ruling turned on its head the way courts historically view such services as compensation for harm while negating a victim's right to file a lawsuit (re: standing).

This may get very interesting very fast: if companies are at risk of being held ot have tacitly admitted liability by offering credit protection services to potential breach victims, they will stop offering that stuff.

The possibility of class actions instead of free credit monitoring may appeal to those whose data has been stolen, but it’s not really a great trade at all. Credit monitoring is expensive and the industry is still suffering growing pains, but class actions usually net plaintiffs an insignificant amount of money in damages while making lawyers very, very rich.

"Happy birthday" lawsuit takes a(n unexpectedly interesting) turn

“Happy birthday” lawsuit takes a(n unexpectedly interesting) turn

Did you know copyright lawyers have waged a legal battle over ‘Happy Birthday’ for a long time? They have, and, somehow, it recently got interesting.

If this proposition is accepted by the judge, Warner/Chappell may lose out on a cash cow that is reported to reap $2 million a year in revenue. Filmmakers like the named plaintiffs — and others who have forked over as much as six figures to license — would no longer have to pay a penny to feature "Happy Birthday" in motion pictures and television shows.

If the copyright the company has been using for years to charge people licensing fees is invalidated, we may see a whole lot of lawsuits aimed at the would-be copyright holders to recoup those licensing fees.

"Birthday candles," Licensed under CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons

China-Tied Hackers That Hit U.S. Said to Breach United Airlines

China-Tied Hackers That Hit U.S. Said to Breach United Airlines

This is starting to look like a concerted effort to gather a specific data set for some sort of coordinated use:

The previously unreported United breach raises the possibility that the hackers now have data on the movements of millions of Americans, adding airlines to a growing list of strategic U.S. industries and institutions that have been compromised. Among the cache of data stolen from United are manifests -- which include information on flights’ passengers, origins and destinations -- according to one person familiar with the carrier’s investigation.

Drone regulation, firefighting and basic decency

Drone regulation, firefighting and basic decency

Michael Martinez, Paul Vercammen and Ben Brumfield report at CNN:

Five such "unmanned aircraft systems" prevented California firefighters from dispatching helicopters with water buckets for up to 20 minutes over a wildfire that roared Friday onto a Los Angeles area freeway that leads to Las Vegas.

This is an inappropriate use of drones, wholly lacking in basic decency. It’s not impossible, or even implausible, that a drone-related delay will some day result in the destruction of one or more homes or even get someone burned to death.

It’s not far removed from scumbaggery like the Ohio jackass who filmed the aftermath of a fatal car accident instead of helping the victims. Drone enthusiasts who want to minimize regulation already have a tough road ahead, so they would be wise to engage in some self-regulation.

Connecticut lawyer and commercial drone lobbyist Peter Sachs created the Drone Pilots Association to advocate for more commercial drone use. There is even video on his website of his using a drone to assist the volunteer fire department he works with.

The difference between sachs and the California morons is that Sachs offered his drone to the department for its use in battling a blaze. So it’s clear that drones can be a useful tool in fighting fires, they just shouldn’t be used for fire tourism when firefighters, homes and civilians are potentially in danger.

Photo of a 2008 California wildefire via Wikimedia Commons

Democracy.io - Contact your Members of Congress

Democracy.io - Contact your Members of Congress

Great stuff from the Electronic Frontier Foundation:

Failure to effectively reach members of Congress has disastrous consequences. Studies show that politicians fundamentally misconceive their constituents’ views, making it harder for them to represent us in the lawmaking process.

That’s why we built Democracy.io: a new tool to put you in touch with your members of Congress—with as few clicks as possible.

Google's alleged gender-based pay disparity

Ex-Googler says she exposed company-wide pay inequality with crowdsourced spreadsheet

Kristen V. Brown wrote for Fusion about Googler Erica Joy’s recent salary spreadsheet. Google had no response to her request for comment, which is the worst kind of response to something like this. Apple released, deliberately, a dismal diversity report (read: majority male, majority white) last year, and Tim Cook took responsibility for fixing it.

If there is a pay disparity problem at Google, or even the illusion of a pay disparity problem, Google PR needs to be on top of this story. The only time silence is ever okay is when you’re prepping a statement that will include unequivocal evidence that there is no disparity.