law

(quote)

Dec 19, 2016
Michigan elector Michael Banerian wants to cast his vote for Donald Trump, but says he’s been overwhelmed with thousands of emails, Facebook messages, letters and even death threats since the billionaire businessman won the election.
“I’ve had people that have been talking about putting a bullet in the back of my mouth, burning myself and my family, sending pictures of nooses saying if I don’t vote for Hillary Clinton, they’ll get me,” he told the FOX Business Network’s Maria Bartiromo.

Dec 14, 2016
Electors around the country are being harassed with a barrage of emails, phone calls and letters — and even death threats — in an effort to block Donald Trump from being voted in as president by the Electoral College on Monday.

The bullying is overwhelming Sharon Geise’s tech devices, but not her resolve to support Trump. The Mesa, Arizona, grandmother woke up Wednesday morning to more than 1,500 emails demanding she not carry out her legal duty to vote for the president-elect. “They just keep coming and coming,” Geise told The Post, estimating she’s received more than 50,000 emails since the election. “They’re overpowering my iPad.”
Reports of GOP electors being badgered have been reported in numerous states, including Georgia, Idaho, Tennessee, Arizona, Utah and Michigan.  read more »

Brown was passionate about his driverless car which was speeding into truck trailer and killed its master

(quote)

Washington: Joshua Brown, 40, a former Navy SEAL is the first person to die at the wheel of his confidently-trusted self-driving car. His computer-guided Tesla Model S hit a tractor trailer on a freeway in Williston, Florida, in May.

And here's what the Model S owner's manual has to say about Autopilot: "...Always drive attentively and be prepared to take immediate action." (Note: How fast can you switch yourself from relax mode into controlling the wheel to avoid a fatal accident?)

"When machines unsure to make decisions

Where's the lane? Self-driving cars confused by shabby U.S. roadways

(unquote)

Photo courtesy heavy.com, Reuters / Mario Anzuoni, and Ben Cawthra / Rex / Shutterstock

Extended Preview of Ken Burns documentary series on PBS, THE NATIONAL PARKS: AMERICAS BEST IDEA. The 12-hour, six-part documentary series, directed by Burns and co-produced with his longtime colleague, Dayton Duncan, who also wrote the script, is the story of an idea as uniquely American as the Declaration of Independence and just as radical: that the most special places in the nation should be preserved, not for royalty or the rich, but for everyone.

(quote)

"One touch of nature makes the whole world kin."
- John Muir, Our National Parks

On August 25, 2016, the National Park Service turned 100
The centennial celebrates the achievements of the past 100 years, but it is really about the future. It’s about kicking off a second century of stewardship for America’s national parks and for communities across the nation. Most importantly, it’s about inviting you to join us. We all have a role to play in ensuring that future generations of Americans will be able to enjoy the thrilling experiences of nature and wildlife, history and culture, and the spirit of adventure that is waiting at every national park.  read more »

(quote)

MiamiHerald July 25, 2016 Judge ruled: Bitcoin is not actually money
In a case closely watched in financial and tech circles, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler ruled that Bitcoin was not backed by any government or bank, and was not “tangible wealth” and “cannot be hidden under a mattress like cash and gold bars.”

A Miami-Dade judge ruled Monday that Bitcoin is not actually money, a decision hailed by proponents of the virtual currency that has become popular across the world.

In a case closely watched in financial and tech circles, the judge threw out the felony charges against website designer Michell Espinoza, who had been charged with illegally transmitting and laundering $1,500 worth of Bitcoins. He sold them to undercover detectives who told him they wanted to use the money to buy stolen credit-card numbers.

But Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Teresa Mary Pooler ruled that Bitcoin was not backed by any government or bank, and was not “tangible wealth” and “cannot be hidden under a mattress like cash and gold bars.”

“The court is not an expert in economics; however, it is very clear, even to someone with limited knowledge in the area, the Bitcoin has a long way to go before it the equivalent of money,” Pooler wrote in an eight-page order.

The judge also wrote that Florida law — which says someone can be charged with money laundering if they engage in a financial transaction that will “promote” illegal activity — is way too vague to apply to Bitcoin.  read more »

(quote)

On July 4, 1776, The Declaration of Independence was adopted by the Second Continental Congress meeting at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, which announced that the thirteen American colonies, then at war with the Kingdom of Great Britain, regarded themselves as thirteen newly independent sovereign states, and no longer under British rule. Instead they formed a new nation—the United States of America. John Adams was a leader in pushing for independence, which was passed on July 2 with no opposing vote cast. A committee of five had already drafted the formal declaration, to be ready when Congress voted on independence. The term "Declaration of Independence" is not used in the document itself.

John Adams persuaded the committee to select Thomas Jefferson to compose the original draft of the document, which Congress would edit to produce the final version. The Declaration was ultimately a formal explanation of why Congress had voted on July 2 to declare independence from Great Britain, more than a year after the outbreak of the American Revolutionary War. The next day, July 3, John Adams wrote to his wife Abigail: "The Second Day of July 1776, will be the most memorable Epocha, in the History of America." But the national birthday, Independence Day, is celebrated on July 4, the date that the Declaration of Independence was signed.  read more »

(quote)

2016/06/06 Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg hacked Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram and LinkedIn accounts were allegedly hacked Sunday by a group believed to be from Saudi Arabia as a demonstration of the vulnerability of social media accounts, even for top tech leaders. Embarrassing security lapses are nothing new for Zuckerberg. He was hacked in 2013 by an unemployed Palestinian, Khalil Shreateh. The group claims that it hacked two of Zuckerberg’s social media accounts, supposedly to alert the Facebook founder to a security weakness by tweeting to Zuckerberg:
"@finkd, we got access to your Twitter & Instagram & Pinterest, we are just testing your security, please dm [directly message] us. "

Zuckerberg responded less than an hour later, telling the “skids” to leave him alone. But six minutes later, a tweet on Zuckerberg’s account revealed a password that OurMine claims to have acquired in last month’s database leak at LinkedIn.  read more »