Monthly Archives: February 2015

Shealy tells sister's story during domestic violence debate

Posted: February 25, 2015 at 12:47 am

COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) - As debate dragged into a second week on a bill to toughen sentences for convicted domestic abusers in South Carolina and take away their guns, state Sen. Katrina Shealy made the issue personal with the story of her sister who was abused for years by her husband before he finally shot himself to death.

"When you make it personal, people understand," said Shealy, who got her sister's permission over the weekend to tell her story. "I bet there are a lot of people out there who have similar stories."

Shealy, the state Senate's only woman, took the floor of the chamber Tuesday and for the first time publicly recounted the story of her sister's 30-year abusive marriage which ended when her brother-in-law killed himself on the hood of his wife's car just days after she left. He had written several suicide notes outlining different scenarios, including one with him walking to her job and killing her before turning the gun on himself, the Lexington Republican said.

The Senate adjourned again Tuesday without voting on the bill. More debate is expected Wednesday, and Senate Judiciary Chairman Larry Martin hopes the bill will come to a vote before the Senate leaves early Wednesday because of the threat of snow in the Upstate.

"I don't know why this has taken so long," said Martin, R-Pickens. "I know there are strong passions when someone thinks their Second Amendment rights are at stake."

The main sticking point is a provision that would prevent people convicted of domestic violence from owning a gun for 10 years. Several amendments watering down or eliminating the provision for certain convictions have slowed debate.

The bill also defines three degrees of domestic violence. Penalties would increase with the violence of the attack.

Shealy said her sister's abuse was well known in their family at the time. She occasionally came around with black eyes and missed family gatherings without a reason. Shealy and other relatives would buy her clothes, and her husband would cut them to ribbons if he thought she owned too many things.

"Why didn't she leave? She was scared of him," Shealy said. "He had threatened to kill her and her children."

Shealy's brother-in-law killed himself 16 years ago. But she said her sister and her adult children still struggle with low self-esteem from his blows and his words.

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Bribing a Teacher! (BO2) – Video

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Bribing a Teacher! (BO2)
All events and characters in this story are entirely fictional and are meant for comedic and entertainment purposes only. Riley, aka "ImSilentLion," is protected under the first amendment and...

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Bribing a Teacher! (BO2) - Video

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Lazy People Rant! (BO2) – Video

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Lazy People Rant! (BO2)
All events and characters in this story are entirely fictional and are meant for comedic and entertainment purposes only. Riley, aka "ImSilentLion," is protected under the first amendment and...

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Snowden's favourite Linux – Tails – rushes sec-fix version to market

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Tails, the secure live-boot Linux made famous by Edward Snowden, has had a major revision release to Version 1.3.

The new version, released after testing since February 12, combines various security fixes with new apps and simplified install, the developers say.

The developers want to kill off the previous version, Tails 1.2.3, as soon as possible, with a list of 14 security issues covering everything from the Tor browser and its network security services (NSS) through to a sudo privilege escalation bug.

The new version of the Tor browser restricts reads and writes to a limited number of folders, and to help manage passwords, Tails 1.2.3 includes the Keyringer command line utility.

To make manual installation easier, the Mac and Linux installs no longer need isohybrid command support, and Tails now bundles GnuPG 2, which improves its support for OpenPGP smartcards.

Other major security fixes in Tails 1.3 include fixes to xdg-utils, the Jasper JPEG-2000 image manipulation library, a fix for the underlying Debian glibc implementation (eglibc), Open JDK, Unzip, the krb5 Kerberos library, Ruby 1.9.1, xorg-server, Libre Office, dbus, Bind 9, and the e2fsprogs file system utilities.

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What is The Best Bitcoin Wallet? – Video

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What is The Best Bitcoin Wallet?
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Activating BitClub Network with Bitcoin! – Video

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If you’re doubter, it’s probably because you don’t understand BitCoin – Video

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Bitcoin: The People’s Money with Roger Ver and Jeffrey Tucker – Video

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Bitcoin: The People #39;s Money with Roger Ver and Jeffrey Tucker
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Largest bitcoin exchange stops trading after hacking attacks February – Video

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Largest bitcoin exchange stops trading after hacking attacks February
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Largest bitcoin exchange stops trading after hacking attacks February - Video

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Why The Proposed Security Certification For Bitcoin Matters

Posted: at 12:46 am

I have said before on these pages that if Bitcoin is to fulfill its potential of shaking up payment and exchange systems in a manner that benefits the consumer and entrepreneur over existing financial institutions and practices, then some form of universal regulation of the businesses surrounding it must evolve. I understand the opposition to that concept voiced by many Bitcoin enthusiasts and early adopters; after all, regulation by central governments, by definition, puts the decentralized nature which is at the core of the concept of a peer to peer currency at risk.

The fact remains, though, that for the vast majority of people the stories of theft and deception related to digital currencies are what they most often see, hear and read. That may be unfair given that cyber crime in the realm of conventional currency is much more common and yet much less reported, but it is also undeniable. In those circumstances the wider use of Bitcoin that most desire simply will not happen. It is fine to say that individuals should do their own due diligence when dealing with companies in the alternative currency world, but the reality is that for most the issues surrounding cyber security are far too complex for them to understand or, at the very least the they are not motivated to allocate the time that such an understanding would demand.

Given that, the answer had to come from within the Bitcoin community in the form of some kind of security standard and certification that people could view as a reassurance that at least some minimum standard of security had been met. If the community shows a willingness and ability to self regulate the prospects of truly restrictive, even destructive, regulations by central governments around the world will be reduced. Two weeks ago, when the Cryptocurrency Certification Consortium(C4) unveiled their draft proposal for a set of standard rules covering key and seed generation and proof of reserve along with most other areas of security, Bitcoin moved a step closer to that goal. The full draft of the proposal can be found here.

I make no claim to be an expert on cyber security, so I do not have an opinion on the technical aspects of these proposals, or at least not one that counts for anything, but this is a start. It is in the nature of Bitcoin that any standard that is eventually decided on cannot be imposed on companies in the field. It must be voluntary and would likely not be universal, but anything that gives potential holders of Bitcoin a sense of security is surely a good thing. There is a reason that the Certified Financial Planner (CFP) designation exists. It doesn't mean that your advisor is any smarter, nor does it guarantee that he or she is 100% honest and will put your interests first, but it does mean that they have met a certain minimum standard. When it comes to reassuring consumers, perception is reality.

Of course, creating a warm and fuzzy feeling isn't the only thing needed if Bitcoin adoption is to grow. The extreme volatility that has been experienced this last couple of years is also a problem. To some extent though, if security concerns can be reduced and thus more people become regular users of Bitcoin, that volatility will inevitably decline. Liquidity enhances stability.

The words regulation and even standard seem to produce a visceral response from some cryptocurrency enthusiasts, but in this instance, when the proposal comes from within the community, and adherence to a set of standards would be voluntary, it is possible that it could be a solution to Bitcoins two biggest problems. These proposals may not be perfect and no doubt some refinement will take place before anything is adopted, but to dismiss the concept of standardized security protocols is a short sighted mistake as this could be an important step towards the wider adoption of Bitcoin.

The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of The NASDAQ OMX Group, Inc.

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