Facebook, Google and Apple lobby for curb to NSA surveillance

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Technology companies lobby Senate to pass USA Freedom Act to curb NSA surveillance powers and enhance transparency disclosures. Photograph: Frederick Florin/AFP/Getty Images

A coalition of technology and internet companies is lobbying to curb US National Security Agency surveillance powers and for more transparency on government data requests.

The Reform Government Surveillance coalition, including Facebook, Google, Twitter, Microsoft and Apple, added its support for the race to pass a bill through the US Senate before the end of the year, which would inhibit mass data collection from emails and internet metadata.

The Senate has an opportunity this week to vote on the bipartisan USA Freedom Act, said the coalition in an open letter sent to the Senate. We urge you to pass the bill, which both protects national security and reaffirms Americas commitment to the freedoms we all cherish.

The bill would also allow technology companies to disclose the number and types of data demands from government as part of the continued transparency push from the industry.

If the USA Freedom Act fails to pass through the Senate before the end of the year the process will have to restart in January, and will be scrutinised by a new Congress controlled a Republican party more favourable to government surveillance.

The USA Freedom Act was passed through the House of Representatives in May with bipartisan support and is now set for a vote in the Senate after Nevada Democrat and Senate majority leader Harry Reid filed a procedural motion to have the bill heard.

Privacy advocates and technology groups championed the bill originally but many revoked their support after compromises expanded the definition of what data the government can collect.

The Senate vote on 18 November will allow debate on amendments to begin on the bill, although whether enough senators will vote in favour is unknown.

Gary Shapiro, chief executive of the Consumer Electronics Association, which represents hundreds of technology companies globally and hosts the largest electronics trade show in the world International CES, wrote an open letter urging support for the bill.

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Shailene Woodley in talks to star in Oliver Stone's Snowden film

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Shailene Woodley in talks to play Lindsay Mills, the girlfriend of Edward Snowden. Photograph: C Flanigan/FilmMagic

Shailene Woodley is in talks to play Edward Snowdens girlfriend, Lindsay Mills, in Oliver Stones upcoming film about the NSA whistleblower, according to the Hollywood Reporter.

The star of blockbuster dystopian sci-fi saga Divergent and hit weepie romance The Fault in Our Stars is tipped to appear opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt, who has already signed up to portray Snowden. Stones biopic is based on Guardian journalist Luke Hardings book The Snowden Files: The Inside Story of the Worlds Most Wanted Man, as well as Time of the Octopus, an upcoming novel from Snowdens lawyer Anatoly Kucherena, which is based on her experiences working with the whistleblower in Russia.

The mystery of Mills whereabouts was resolved via a documentary on Snowden, Citizenfour, that premiered in New York last month. Laura Poitrass film revealed the one-time dancer has been living with her boyfriend in Moscow since July. The revelation torpedoed the impression regularly recycled in the media of a woman abandoned in the wake of the biggest leak in US intelligence history. Reports suggested Mills had fled Hawaii, where the couple had been living prior to the NSA revelations, in a fit of pique following Snowdens departure for Hong Kong, and eventually Russia. It was thought the dancer and blogger went to stay with her parents in the US mainland.

But Snowden hinted to the Guardian that the two were not in fact estranged during an interview in July and later revealed that the pair had reconciled. Now Stones film promises to reveal what really happened in the intervening period.

She was not entirely pleased but at the same time it was an incredible reunion because she understood me. That meant a lot to me, Snowden (speaking via video link) told an audience at the New Yorker festival last month.

Snowdens revelations, first reported in the Guardian, lifted the lid on a culture of mass government surveillance and sparked a global furore. The former NSA employee has been granted temporary asylum in Russia but faces a 30-year prison sentence if he returns to the US.

Stones still-untitled film could compete with a rival project titled No Place to Hide after the book by Glenn Greenwald, the freelance journalist to whom Snowden leaked thousands of classified documents in June 2013. That film is being brought to cinemas by James Bond producers Michael Wilson and Barbara Broccoli, though the Stone version looks likely to arrive on the big screen first. It goes into production in Munich in January.

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Shailene Woodley in talks to star in Oliver Stone's Snowden film

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Gun Lobby Organizes & Open Carry March In St Louis Smith & Wesson And Bushmaster – Video

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Gun Lobby Organizes Open Carry March In St Louis Smith Wesson And Bushmaster
Gun Lobbyist explains gun owners don #39;t have the same rights as the elderly or the disabled because they are singled out in spite of their Second Amendment Rights To Bare Arms. Lobbyist states...

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Gun Lobby Organizes & Open Carry March In St Louis Smith & Wesson And Bushmaster - Video

The Donald trumped event with praise for Foley, others

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Donald Trump phoned the other day. It was the morning after the Nackey Loeb School had honored the late James Foley with its annual First Amendment award. Trump had been the featured speaker and he met Foleys mom and dad and aunt and uncle and a French journalist who had been held captive with Jim.

Trump said he goes to a lot of events. Sometimes, afterwards, he asks himself, Why did I do that event?

He said that wasnt the case with the Loeb School program. Even though it was in some ways sad, he told me he was glad he had been invited.

He didnt have to say anymore. I know exactly how he felt.

From the moment Dianne Mercier of Peoples United Bank welcomed the audience and directed her own poignant remarks to the Foley family, I had the feeling this was going to be a memorable event, notwithstanding some excellent past recipients and featured speakers.

What James Foley accomplished as a professional journalist in war zones was itself remarkable. In words and pictures, which were shown in a brief video that also included Foley speaking, it became clear that this was a young man passionate about his work, very good at it, and concerned about innocent people being caught up in turmoil.

French journalist Nicolas Henin, himself held captive by ISIS for more than a year, was an impromptu speaker at the event. He had spent time with Foley as a hostage and, as others have noted, said that Foley was always self-effacing, always concerned for other hostages, always upbeat.

Foley would not have been comfortable as the center of attention, Henin told the audience. But he would want people here to remember the suffering going on elsewhere.

Watching and listening to his parents, you could see why Foley was who he was. His dad is a doctor, his mom a nurse. Their New Hampshire roots run deep. Dr. Foleys father was a big part of Plymouth State College for years. Their pride in their family is evident and despite their ordeal, it is they who reach out to comfort others.

I think everyone at the event sensed that. Donald Trump certainly did. His own remarks had gone from bemoaning the state of American affairs, to chiding the President for chewing (nicotine) gum in public, to asking, with a smile, who better to speak of First Amendment freedoms than an outspoken guy like himself.

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The Donald trumped event with praise for Foley, others

Cryptocurrency Round-Up: Pro-Bitcoin Founder Returns to Reddit and Coinbase Seeks Funding

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As cryptocurrency markets begin to settle, Coinbase reportedly seeks funding and Reddit's cryptocurrency receives an unexpected boost.(IBTimes UK)

The price of bitcoin currently hovers at around $400 following another tumultuous few days for the world's most valuable cryptocurrency.

The dramatic price swings of last week continued into the weekend, however most markets have remained relatively stable over the last 24 hours.

One of the biggest movers across all markets was scotcoin. The unofficial national cryptocurrency of Scotland rose in value by 30% since yesterday to take its market cap up towards $70,000.

The unusual resignation of Reddit CEOYishan Wongon Thursday has seen the return ofReddit co-founder Alexis Ohanian to the role of executive chairman of the company.

While Wong was an outspoken critic of bitcoin, Ohanian has been vocal in his support of the digital currency, leading to speculation that cryptocurrency communities on the site could be featured more prominently on the social news site's homepage.

"If it can get to the point where my Dad is like, 'Hey, tell me about this Bitcoin thing, I'm really intrigued by it' then I'll be like, 'OK, all right.' That'll be the moment," Ohanian said in 2013.

In September, Reddit announced plans to create its own cryptocurrencyfollowing a $50m funding round.

According to Re/code, between $40m and $60m is expected to be raised, with venture capital firm Draper Fisher Jurvetson rumoured to be the biggest contributors.

In a recent interview with IBTimes UK, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong revealed that over 1.7 million Coinbase bitcoin wallets had been downloaded, giving the firm around a quarter of the consumer wallet marketshare.

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Cryptocurrency Round-Up: Pro-Bitcoin Founder Returns to Reddit and Coinbase Seeks Funding

Finland recognizes Bitcoin before Steam even does – Top 5 r/Bitcoin links Nov 15 – Video

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Finland recognizes Bitcoin before Steam even does - Top 5 r/Bitcoin links Nov 15
In other news: - Richard Branson sees potential in BTC. - An open letter to Sean #39;s Outpost - 100000 Transactions in a single day - Ethereum and Counterparty are competing for the Bitcoin 2.0 title.

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Finland recognizes Bitcoin before Steam even does - Top 5 r/Bitcoin links Nov 15 - Video

Bitcoin is getting under your skin, literally

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Martijn Wismeijer, also known as Mr. Bitcoin, is taking Bitcoin to a whole new level by keeping it safe inside two NTAG216 NFC tags implanted underneath his skin.

You read that right, Mr. Bitcoin has two NFC chips, made out of glass that can hold up to 888 bites of programmable memory or about 26 condensed bitcoin private keys, embedded under the skin of both his hands. Your first question, Im sure will be WHY???

First off, doing keeps your Bitcoins and other digital currencies offline, which in the digital world is the best way to keep anything secured. Second, if anyone wants to steal the chips, it will b, but it may be a bit tricky when the chips are holding various types of cryptocurrencye pretty hard to do so without cutting his hands off!

Also, Mr. Bitcoin sees huge potential in these tags as they can serve various purposes besides just storing digital currency. Because it uses an NFC chip, it can be used for contactless payment in stores just wave your hand over the machine for the transaction to go through. The chips can also be paired with a smartphone so the user can select which digital currency to use.

I did it because I wanted to experiment with strong bitcoins using subdermal implants because thats what I thought would be the Holy Grail of contactless payments, Mr. Bitcoin said in an interview.

At the moment, Mr. Bitcoin uses the chips as his morning alarm. He needs to scan either one of the implants to turn off the alarm which takes a few steps to accomplish meaning theres no chance for him to hit the snooze button and sleep in longer.

Hes looking into getting a special door lock fitted in his home that will allow him keyless entry. He just wants to be able to touch his palm on the door frame to unlock the door.

If youre interested in getting a chip implanted under your skin, Mr. Bitcoin doesnt recommend performing the procedure yourself. Unfortunately, most doctors will likely refuse to perform the procedure, and so your best bet is a body manipulation artist that follows strict hygiene codes. Also, one chip may not be enough, especially if you want to store various types of digital currency or use the chips for other purposes, so it may be wise to have to two chips implanted.

I thought that if the storage is limited then theres no point in just getting one if I could have two, because with one I could store private information like cryptocurrency or two-factor authentication for passwords, while the other one I could use for public things like my emergency contacts or my business card, Mr. Bitcoin explained.

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Bitcoin climbs 5% to trade back above the $400-level

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Investing.com -

Investing.com - Bitcoin prices rallied to trade above the $400-level on Monday, as speculators returned to the market amid bullish chart signals.

Bitcoin (BTC/USD) touched a session high of $415.00 on Slovenia-based BitStamp earlier in the day, before trimming gains to last trade at $406.60 during U.S. morning hours, up $18.37, or 4.73%.

The price of a bitcoin on Bulgaria-based BTC-e climbed $18.57, or 4.87%, to trade at $400.07, while prices on Singapore-based itBit tacked on $15.11, or 3.89%, to trade at $404.00.

According to the CoinDesk Bitcoin Price Index, which averages prices from the major exchanges, prices of the crypto-currency rallied 4.18%, or $16.22, to trade at $404.78.

Bitcoin prices have been well-supported in recent days as investors returned to the market amid bullish chart signals.

Prices of the virtual currency are up nearly 22% since hitting a recent low of $317.80 on November 1.

The price increase has been accompanied by a rise in trading volume and coincides with the recent crackdown of U.S. and European authorities against illegal websites operating on the so-called Tor network, such as online drug marketplace Silk Road 2.0.

Meanwhile, euro-denominated Bitcoin prices (BTC/EUR) inched up 11.00, or 3.53%, to trade at 322.52 on U.S.-based Kraken Exchange.

Elsewhere, yuan-denominated Bitcoin prices on Shanghai-based BTC China advanced 101.29 yuan, or 4.28%, to trade at 2,467.01 yuan, while prices on Beijing-based OKCoin increased 101.57 yuan, or 4.29%, to trade at 2,469.00 yuan.

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Bitcoin climbs 5% to trade back above the $400-level

Bitcoin: Behind The Cryptocurrency Curtain

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Fans of bitcoin tout the digital currency as secure, anonymous and efficient. But wildly fluctuating exchange rates and charges recently in an alleged bitcoin Ponzi scheme in North Texas have put a spotlight on bitcoins risks.

Tyler Moore is an assistant professor of computer science and engineering at Southern Methodist University and he joins KERA's Justin Martin for a conversation on bitcoin.

Interview Highlights: Tyler Moore ...

... On bitcoinand cryptocurrency:

"Bitcoin is a currency just like dollars or euros or pounds, but its completely digital so theres no paper equivalent. To do that, you need to have some rules in place so that people cant willy-nilly copy the bits and steal each others bitcoins so thats where the crypto comes in you have some cryptography to protect against double spending and sort of enforce the rules of the system."

... On how to acquire bitcoin:

"So theres two main ways - the more esoteric way is to mine bitcoins, but if youre new to bitcoin the most common way is to go to a currency exchange, just like you would when you enter a new country, go the airport, go to the exchange, and provide your dollars and get whatever currency youd like. You can get to an online currency exchange and pay your dollars and whatever the current market rate is theyll give you the equivalent in bitcoin."

... On bitcoin's value:

"Its like any other digital commodity in that it finds its value in the people who use it. Which is one reason we see these huge fluctuations in that there can be wildly differing demands for the currency at a given time."

... On the McKinney Ponzi scheme:

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Bitcoin: Behind The Cryptocurrency Curtain

Turbulent times for the Russian travel market

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ITB World Travel Trends Report: Russian travel market remains stable despite crises positive forecasts for the coming year

In 2013 Russia's foreign travel market reported booming sales, whereas this year the travel market has lost. The devaluation of the rouble has led to foreign travel costing around 20 per cent more. In spite of this Russian citizens remain keen to travel. These are the findings of the annual ITB World Travel Trends Report, conducted by IPK International and commissioned by ITB Berlin, the world's leading travel trade show. The forecasts are good for the Russian travel market in 2015, despite expecting slower growth than in previous years.

In the first eight months of this year the number of foreign trips undertaken by Russians fell by one per cent. This decline is due mainly to an estimated 50 per cent decline in travel to Ukraine, the second most popular Russian destination in 2013. Without the Ukraine as a tourist destination the overall picture improves: at plus ten per cent, Russia's foreign travel market reported stable growth during the first eight months of this year.

According to the World Travel Monitor published by IPK International the number of trips to Turkey, which last year was the most popular Russian holiday destination, rose in the order of double digits. During the first eight months of 2014 Greece and the UK also welcomed more arrivals, as did Thailand and the USA, whereas visitors to Spain and Germany declined. One reason for this trend is the devaluation of the rouble which has led to foreign trips costing 20 per cent more. Many Russians are also worried about negative attitudes towards them in Europe because of the crises in the Crimea and Ukraine. Rising inflation and bankruptcy among several travel operators has also had a negative effect on travel behaviour.

Despite the difficult situation the World Travel Monitor forecasts stable growth for 2015, albeit at a lower rate. 67 per cent of those polled said they would take the same number of foreign trips, possibly more, while 23 per cent intended to travel less and ten per cent had no plans for going abroad. Based on these findings IPK International predicts that in 2015 Russian trips abroad will increase by around four per cent which would confirm that the country possesses a stable foreign travel market. With its annual double-digit growth Russia has recently become one of the biggest driving forces of Europe's foreign travel market. Between 2005 and 2013 the number of trips undertaken abroad doubled, reaching 31.5 million last year, equivalent to a growth rate of 118 per cent.

In 2013 beach holidays in the sun were a clear favourite with Russian citizens. 55 per cent visited beach destinations, while 15 per cent took city breaks and around ten per cent went on round trips. Russian tourists spent more money and stayed longer at their destinations. Between 2007 and 2013 the average length of a holiday increased from 11 to 12 nights, while spending on overnights rose by 35 per cent. More and more Russians tend to book their holidays considerably in advance. The internet has become an increasingly important booking tool and now accounts for about 50 per cent of reservations being made. Nonetheless, at 40 per cent, the percentage of trips booked through travel agencies has remained stable.

All the findings are based on information from papers held at the World Travel Monitor Forum in Pisa, which is sponsored by ITB Berlin. Every year the consultancy IPK International invites more than 50 tourism experts and researchers from around the world to present the latest statistics and trends in international tourism.

Other results of the January to August 2014 trend surveys conducted by IPK as well as the assessments of more than 50 tourism experts from over 20 countries and the core data of the World Travel Monitor will be published exclusively by ITB Berlin. Detailed information will be available in the ITB World Travel Trends Report in early December at http://www.itb-berlin.com. At the ITB Future Day of the ITB Berlin Convention Rolf Freitag, president of IPK International, will present the findings of the World Travel Monitor for the entire year, as well as the latest forecasts for 2015. The World Travel Monitor is based on the findings of representative interviews carried out with more than 500,000 people in over 60 global travel markets. It has been published regularly for more than 20 years and is recognised as the most widescale continuous survey examining global travel trends.

ITB Berlin 2015 will take place from Wednesday to Sunday, 4 to 8 March. From the Wednesday to the Friday ITB Berlin is open to trade visitors only. The ITB Berlin Convention is held parallel with the trade fair, from Wednesday to Saturday, 4 to 7 March 2015. It is the world"s largest specialist convention for the industry. More details are available at http://www.itb-convention.com. ITB Berlin is the leading trade fair for the worldwide travel industry. In 2014 a total of 10,147 companies and organisations from 189 countries exhibited their products and services to 174,000 visitors, who included 114,000 trade visitors.

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Turbulent times for the Russian travel market

Kenya to host Africa Travel Association world congress in 2015

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Kenya has won the bid to host the Africa of Travel Association (ATA) World Congress next year, 2015.

Announcing the news during the 39th ATA Congress in Kampala Uganda, East Africa Commerce and Tourism Cabinet Secretary Phylis Kandie said the conference will spur tourism business in the country.

She said the event, which will bring together close to 500 delegates from over 20 countries across the globe, is among a number of key international conferences that the country has lined up next year, a sign of expected growth in conference tourism.

This is definitely good news for the country as we refocus on Meetings Incentives Conference and Exhibition (MICE) segment that is rapidly growing, especially in Nairobi and other major towns in the country, said Mrs Kandie.

In addition to ATA, Kenya has also won the bid to host SKAL international Congress next year, in Mombasa. The conference will bring together about 1,500 travel and tourism professionals from around the world.

We have also won another bid to host the World Public Relations Forum sometimes next year. All these international events are a show of confidence in the country that continues to leverage on its strategic position as the regional hub in hosting key international forums said Mrs Kandie.

She lauded ATA for its effort in marketing Africa as a tourism destination and highlighting on the challenges that needed to be addressed by the member States for the growth of the tourism business.

Kenya Tourism Board (KTB) Managing Director Muriithi Ndegwa while delivering a paper on Marketing African destinations at the conference noted that insecurity, political instability, infrastructure and air connectivity were among the key challenges affecting Africa destination.

He said though intra-Africa tourism has prove a huge potential in growing tourism in line with market diversification, low air connectivity within the continent has dealt a blow to smooth travel.

Movement within some of African countries from Africa, at most times require one to travel via Europe or Middle East, a major obstacle to access especially when research indicates that about 55% of global travel is by air, said Mr Ndegwa.

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Kenya to host Africa Travel Association world congress in 2015