Two major American Universities have been thrust into a state of unrest due to activism in the name of "social justice" and "diversity" late this fall semester. Yale University's crisis was triggered by duelling emails concerning Halloween costumes, while trouble at the University of Missouri began with a isolated incidents of drunks using racial slurs and has escalated into a series of boycotts hindering campus services. Continue reading
Monthly Archives: November 2015
Theymos Threatens Coinbase's Social Media Privileges
Brian Armstrong, CEO of the YCombinator incubated startup Coinbase has been vocal in supporting BIP-101. He claims Coinbase will begin using full nodes with BIP-101 code patched in sometime in December if no other proposal reaches "consensus". Theymos who moderates the Bitcoin subreddit and Bitcointalk, threatened to ban Coinbase representatives if they were to begin promoting software that implemented BIP-101 to the public before a consensus is reached.
Torrent Infrastructure Hindered as Demonii/YIFY/YTS Fall
Late in October the torrent outfit YIFY took down their website and mysteriously ceased operating. TorrentFreak is now reporting the operator of the outfit has reached an undisclosed settlement with the MPAA (archived). A substantial casualty of this settlement is Demonii, the largest public torrent tracker which had been operated by persons affiliated with YIFY. The unprecedented settlement is suggestive of the possibility that the entire YIFY operation may have been a false flag for its entire duration. Readers using torrent software are advised to block connections to the Demonii tracker as it may be used as a data collection tool by the MPAA and other Copyrast operations.
Fiat/Bitcoin Interfaces Experience Week of Extreme Price Volatility
Man Convicted as Serial Killer Over Circumstantial Evidence
Charles Severance was convicted of three murders involving prominent Alexandria, Virginia residents which occurred over more than a decade in spite of the entirely circumstantial nature of the evidence against him and the existence of credible alternative suspects (archived, archived). The first murder to occur for which Severance has been convicted was that of Nancy Dunning, a real estate agent and wife of James Dunning, a former Alexandria sheriff. Her husband the former sheriff was a suspect for a long time though he was never charged in a crime.
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Fox Lake "Hero" Officer Accused of Suicide and Embezzlement
Fox Lake Police Lieutenant Charles Joseph Gliniewicz whose death in September ignited a manhunt for his alleged yet unidentified killers has now had his cause of death redetermined to be a suicide (archived). Gliniewicz's motive for commiting this killing is alleged to stem from fear that his theft of equipment and funds would be discovered. Living police officials allege that among other actions Gliniewicz stole money from the department's "Police Explorer" youth program, which Lieutenant Gliniewicz directed and mentored and used the money for his own purposes (archived). Qntra can not determine the veracity of these allegations though an unsolvable killing of an officer would create opportunity for surviving members of the department to commit their own improprieties and hang the blame on the deceased. If this is indeed a suicide Lieutenant Gliniewicz would not be the only Illinois police officer to kill himself while on duty in the month of September 2015. Caseyville, Illinois Police Sergeant and one time interim chief of that department Scott Miller shot himself in his squad car with his department issued firearm (archived) after 21 years working in that department though no criminal acts were attributed to him posthumously yet.
Micon Gets Probation and $25,000 Fine
Reports are surfacing that Brian Micon who plead guilty to operating an unlicensed gambling site in June has been sentenced to two years of probation and a 25,000 United States dollar fine. The fine was negotiated earlier along forfeitures of computing equipment, 900 United States dollars, and 3.0996 Bitcoins. The only item to be determined during the sentencing was the length of his probation.
Bull Farmer Killed in Shootout While Protecting Life
Jack Yantis of Council, Idaho was killed by sheriff's deputies while defending one of his bulls from execution by those same sheriffs. The bull had been mauled earlier by a Subaru station wagon. The injured, disoriented, and likely concussed bull sought the attention of emergency responders who instead focused their efforts on the protected occupants of the Subaru which had attacked him. In Idaho livestock including bulls have the right of way on all roadways inside the state, and the Subaru occupants under the law had liability for the cost of treating the bull's injuries. By the time Yantis arrived to tend to his wounded bull, sheriff's deputies had made the decision to kill it for their convenience. The Associated Press reports that the official story from the Idaho State Police is that Yantis and both deputies all discharged their weapons even though Yantis was the only person struck down by gunfire (archived). No information has yet been made public on the value derived from the bull's use as a stud nor on the market value of the bull. Mr. Yantis was murdered in the defense of his property and his livelihood.
Ohio Ballot Measure Seeks Creation of Protected Monopoly
A ballot measure being voted on today in Ohio would legalize marijuana while explicitly restricting permitted production to a cartel of 10 farmers. Another measure on the ballot today in Ohio would prohibit the use of ballot initiatives to create protected cartels.
IBM Approves Third Party OS/2 Distro
According to TechRepublic IBM has approved the marketing of a third party OS/2 distribution produced by an outfit calling itself Arca Noae (archived). The updated OS/2 is supposed to include support for more modern hardware including USB 1.1 and USB 2.0 along with ALSA sound. This development suggest that certain perennial buyers of Microsoft Windows might be in the market for a proprietary replacement.