Daily Archives: April 7, 2017

Making Academic and Legal First Amendment Issues More Accessible – Ricochet.com

Posted: April 7, 2017 at 8:41 pm

Some Ricochet readers may already be familiar with the First Amendment Library, launched last November and maintained by the non-partisan non-profit Foundation for Individual Rights in Education (FIRE, where I work). Today, weintroduced a First Amendment Glossary to the library. Featuring definitions and explanations for over 75 terms commonly associated with First Amendment law, we hope this glossary gives people the resources to feel confident entering discussions related to free speech.

For those interested in going beyond the definitions featured, our glossary also serves as a great jumping off point for conducting additional research. Many of the meanings and applications for the terms featured in this glossary have evolved over time, so we have included links that take readers to other parts of the library which offer further explanations and added context.

For example, clicking on obscene material points readers to the portion of FIREs Guide to Free Speech on Campus which provides further analysis of the Miller v. California (1973) test for obscenity. If readers are interested in viewing Miller or any other Supreme Court opinion related to obscenity, the links included in the definition direct readers to related opinions in the librarys First Amendment Case Database.

Here at FIRE we are uniquely understanding of the fact that most people, especially students busy with class work and extracurriculars, do not have the time to sit down and read through the seemingly endless amount of First Amendment scholarship and case law available. Now though, understanding the difference between expressive association and intimate association just a few clicks away. We hope this glossary, along with other library resources, gives readers the foundation required to intelligently argue for and protect their civil liberties.

Read more here:
Making Academic and Legal First Amendment Issues More Accessible - Ricochet.com

Posted in First Amendment | Comments Off on Making Academic and Legal First Amendment Issues More Accessible – Ricochet.com

Florida video game shop owner claims First Amendment violation over town’s inflatable Mario ban – WFTV Orlando

Posted: at 8:41 pm

by: Mark Boxley Updated: Apr 6, 2017 - 11:39 PM

ORANGE PARK, Fla. - The owner of a video game store in Orange Park has filed a federal lawsuit against the town over a 9-foot inflatable Mario that officials say is a sign code violation.

Mario, the iconic Nintendo character, has caused a visible increase in foot traffic and even became a local attraction, Gone Broke Gaming owner Scott Fisher said in the suit.

Fisher opened his store in 2015 on Kingsley Avenue in Orange Park, a suburb of Jacksonville.

After getting the OK from his landlord and neighboring businesses, Fisher decided to put up the towering inflatable Mario character in July.

The impact on his business was immediate, he said.

People who came in often commented to Scott that they never knew the store was there until they saw Mario, the lawsuit said. Others said that Mario made it much easier to find Gone Broke Gamings small storefront on the otherwise busy road.

By the end of the month, though, an Orange Park Code Enforcement officer issued a notice of code violation, saying the inflatable display was an illegal portable sign.

If he left the Mario in front of the store, Fisher could have faced fines of up to $250 a day.

Fisher pointed out in his lawsuit that the towns sign code allowed inflatable displays, specifically if it constitutes a creative idea that lacks a commercial message.

Under (the creative idea) category, a business could display the same exact inflatable Mario that Gone Broke Gaming was displaying, so long as that business was not selling Mario-related products, the lawsuit said.

Fisher claims the towns prohibition of the inflatable Mario under its sign code constitutes discrimination and a violation of his First Amendment right to free speech.

The lawsuit is seeking the court to declare the Orange Park sign code unconstitutional, a permanent injunction prohibiting the town from taking enforcement action against the store for displaying the Mario, attorneys fees and $1 for the violation of Fishers constitutional rights.

As of Thursday, Orange Park leaders had not filed a response to Fishers lawsuit.

2017 Cox Media Group.

Here is the original post:
Florida video game shop owner claims First Amendment violation over town's inflatable Mario ban - WFTV Orlando

Posted in First Amendment | Comments Off on Florida video game shop owner claims First Amendment violation over town’s inflatable Mario ban – WFTV Orlando

Appeals Court Hears First Amendment Tattoo Case – Courthouse News Service

Posted: at 8:41 pm

CHICAGO (CN) The Seventh Circuit heard oral arguments Friday about whether Chicago police officers tattoos are protected by the First Amendment or whether they can be required to cover them up.

In mid-2015, former police superintendant Gary McCarthy implemented a policy requiring Chicago police officers to cover up any visible tattoos while on duty. Tattooed officers were required to wear long sleeves, even during the hot summer, or wear cover-up tape.

Three officers filed a federal lawsuit challenging the policy on First Amendment grounds.

Lead plaintiff Officer Daniel Medici, an Iraq War veteran, has a wings-and-halo tattoo in remembrance of his fallen comrades. The two other plaintiffs, Officers John Kukielka and Dennis Leet, each have a religious tattoo of St. Michael, the patron saint of police.

At oral arguments Friday, U.S. Circuit Judge Richard Posner wanted to know, How does a halo with wings communicate something about people killed in combat?

The officers attorney Linda Friedman said, The symbol is one recognized in the military, but would not go so far as to say it would be readily recognized as a war memorial by a person on the street in Chicago.

The judges were skeptical that the officers could recover any monetary damages for emotional injuries allegedly caused by the policy, which was only enforced for nine months before an arbitrator found that it violated the police unions contract.

The Chicago Police Department scrapped the rules in September, citing the need to boost morale.

But the Seventh Circuit panel also questioned the citys stated interest in preserving the uniformity and professionalism of the force.

Dont you have to say why uniformity is important? Judge Kenneth Ripple asked city attorney Stephen Collins. Uniformity and professionalism we hear that a lot, and it strikes me like a buzzword. What does the city gain by making an officer wear long sleeves in the summer to cover up a halo with wings?

Posner proposed that perhaps a citizen, seeing an officers tattoo of St. Michael, might suppose they were being pulled over for violating the policemans religious sensibilities.

But that has to be in the record, Ripple said.

Judge Diane Sykes sought to compare the tattoo policy to a prohibition on jewelry with a religious connotation, such as a crucifix, but Collins was not familiar with the departments policy.

Judge Ripple said he would be concerned if he was pulled over by an officer wearing a Masonic ring.

In rebuttal, Friedman informed the panel that the uniform policies allow officers to wear up to three rings, and do not regulate the content of those rings.

So an officer could wear a KKK ring, but not a tattoo of St. Michael? Ripple asked.

That is correct, Friedman said.

She repeatedly told the judges that no citizen had ever complained about an officers tattoos, and the policy was simply a result of the former superintendants personal dislike of tattoos.

Friedman asked the panel to reverse the dismissal of the case on standing grounds and allow the officers a trial on the question of damages.

It is unclear when the Seventh Circuit will rule in the case.

Original post:
Appeals Court Hears First Amendment Tattoo Case - Courthouse News Service

Posted in First Amendment | Comments Off on Appeals Court Hears First Amendment Tattoo Case – Courthouse News Service

Share Secure Tips – vtdigger.org

Posted: at 8:40 pm

VDigger offers several ways to share sensitive information with us, including new encryption services through a secure server.

Investigative journalists rely on members of the public to expose corruption and wrongdoing. No system is 100% secure, but weve set up methods to contact us that help protect your identity.

We are making an especial effort to protect our sources. We do not reveal the identities of anonymous sources who wish to give us confidential information. These methods of contact are designed to ensure communication is as secure as possible.

VTDigger for years has offered a place for tipsters to send us information without identifying themselves by name. While our system automatically records IP addresses, we respect your anonymity and do not trace the source of any submission. Here is a link to the tipster form. Here is a link to our document upload form.

Mail delivered through the postal service is a secure means of communication. We recommend that you use a public mailbox a blue box on the corner instead of a post office.

Send a letter with no return address to VTDigger at 26 State St., Montpelier VT 05602.

Signal is an encrypted phone and messaging app for mobile phones. It stores a number, but not your activity while using it. You can also set it to erase content from your phone automatically. For more info, go to https://whispersystems.org

Once youve got the Signal app, you can call or message us at +1 802-595-9159

If you want to send an anonymous tip that does not identify your Internet Protocol address, please use our GlobaLeaks service. You can write to us securely and attach documents which will be encrypted.

Remember that online security starts with you, so here are some simple ways for you to protect your identity.

Update the operating system for your computer so that its more secure. Make sure your computer has been scanned for malware and viruses. Be careful where you access the server. We recommend using broadband or wifi service that is protected by a Virtual Private Network. Do not use it from public places where your screen may be viewed by other people or cameras. Here is a list of popular VPNs.

VTDigger hosts a secure information transmission service on the GlobaLeaks platform, which has been independently verified by journalists around the world. You will need to take precautions to help protect yourself, and download special software to your computer:

1> Get on the internet using a Virtual Private Network connection to mask your computers IP address.

2> Download and install the Tor browser here.

3> Once you load the Tor browser, copy and paste the URL http://loyjvljzuhxzbifk.onion into your browsers address bar. When the page loads, you will see additional information on how to submit your content to us.

NOTE: If the Tor browser does not work, you are most likely on a monitored network and need to find a different network to avoid being detected.

4> On submission of your data, you will be assigned a randomly generated 16-digit code. When we respond to your message, you will use this code to log back into the site and communicate with us.

NOTE: This code is the only way we have of reaching you. To protect your anonymity, we do not ask for other contact information.

Please do not lose that code: it will not be stored in your computers keychain or browser history: you must write it down.

The Globaleaks server is highly secure. All your communication with us is over the Tor network, and we cannot collect any information about your location. Only a few of our most trusted journalists have access to information stored on our Globaleaks server. Its also geographically, physically, and digitally separate from all the rest of VTDiggers servers, email system and identifiable digital assets.

The GlobaLeaks software powering this system is an open-source project used by newsrooms around the world. You can learn more about it here: https://www.globaleaks.org

If the GlobaLeaks system is unavailable or TOR is blocked for you, you can use our PGP keys to send us encrypted email. If you do not wish to identify yourself, create an email address on a free webmail service, such as Gmail, using a pseudonym. Download a PGP extension (we recommend the Mailvelope Chrome extension), and send an encrypted email to [emailprotected] using the encryption at the link below.

VTDigger PGP Keys(Anne Galloway)

If youre going to send us PGP-encrypted email and would like us to encrypt our response, please send your public key.

If you are using the Tor browser you should ensure that there is no keylogging malware on your PC, MAC or tablet. If your computer has already been compromised, we cannot safeguard your identity or the information you are sending us. Its good practice to routinely run malware checkers on your devices.

Any content uploaded to the platform will be treated in the utmost confidentiality by us to protect your anonymity unless you indicate you wish to waive it.

Sending us your material is no guarantee that we will report on it or publish a story using that material.

VTDigger will not set cookies, fingerprint your browser/machine or display third party content when you use our system. Use is ultimately at your own risk. Thank you for helping us to promote secure, independent, not-for-profit journalism.

Originally posted here:
Share Secure Tips - vtdigger.org

Posted in Tor Browser | Comments Off on Share Secure Tips – vtdigger.org

A new law allow ISPs to sell your data without your consent. Here’s how to shield your privacy – Technical.ly

Posted: at 8:39 pm

Editors note: This post is a companion piece to this guide on how to take action and protect your privacy in light of the bill that President Trump recently signed into law that allows internet service providers (ISPs) to sell consumers browsing data.

Picking a good, secure VPN even for tech-savvy people can be difficult.

Im not a lawyer and someone with legal background should examine this, but something people need to understand is that VPN providers can also be classified as ISPs as theyre providing an internet service. And if theyre based in the U.S. or their servers are in the U.S. or in a country with similar anti-privacy laws, they may still be able to monetize your browsing habits. So basically by picking a bad VPN service, you might make the problem in hand even worse.

There are very very few service providers whom I know and trust that dont have any interest in the users data and take active measures to either not to have access to it in the first place or secure it if they have. Riseup.net and Calyx.net are two of them.

For more technical users, here are some tools I recommend. Each have their own pros and cons.

To be perfectly clear, Tor is NOT a VPN and is not even remotely comparable. Apples and oranges. But its probably your best shot at protecting your privacy. Tor Browser is a hardened browser built on top of Firefox. It makes it harder for sites and adversaries to track you by anonymizing your path to the website you visit. If this is the first time hearing about Tor, I encourage you to watch this short animation.

While Tor Browser is my primary browser these days, I dont use it for my banking, for example. They might freak out as your IP address changes from one country to another roughly every 10 minutes. Using Tor makes it extremely difficult for anyone to see or collect your online behavior.

Full disclosure, Im a volunteer and core member of The Tor Project.

Pros

Cons

[Related: A beginners guide to Tor.]

Once setup, Algo is probably the easiest and one of the most secure way to get a VPN up and running to be used on MacOS or iOS. If youve ever used the command line, setting up an instance of Algo should be fairly easy for you. Just be mindful, if youre using Algo for your privacy against the recent deregulation in the U.S., you might want to pick a data center that resides in a privacy- friendly jurisdiction. Another thing you might want to consider is that Algo uses Google DNS by default. If youre worried about this recent deregulation, you should as well be worried about the visibilities the Silicon Valley companies such as Google have on your traffic.

Pros

Cons

The design of Bitmask is based on OpenVPN and you can easily hook it up with Riseup or Calyx servers. In fact, theyre both already two of the built-in service providers. I hear from the developers that the MacOS version is on its way, but if youre like me and cant wait to see it, you could chip in with your money or skills to speed up the development process.

Also find it here.

Pros

Cons

A separate operating system housed on a USB stick, DVD or SD card that includes a suite of privacy-ninja applications built in. Everything runs over Tor. Tails is built and maintained by a mostly anonymous, international collective of highly respected developers (yes, all of those things). It can be tricky to set up the USB stick, but once you have it set up, Tails is easy to use. The best part about Tails is that it doesnt touch your currently running operating system. Whether you have Windows or MacOS or Linux, you can install Tails on a USB, reboot and do your work in Tails and when youre done, reboot and unplug the USB stick.

Neither your computer nor Tails would have any memory of what articles you read online or which newspaper you leaked documents to.

Pros

Cons

This new operating system, currently in alpha release, is based on Debian and not only sends all of your traffic over Tor by default, but also protects you from zero-day attacks by taking advantage of grsecurity patches. And on top of that, it has some amazing sandboxing features. If youre a little more savvy and want to try things at the bleeding edge, definitely give it a shot. Imagine Tails but built to be your primary OS.

Pros

Cons

Nima Fatemi is an independent security researcher and core member of Tor.

See the original post:
A new law allow ISPs to sell your data without your consent. Here's how to shield your privacy - Technical.ly

Posted in Tor Browser | Comments Off on A new law allow ISPs to sell your data without your consent. Here’s how to shield your privacy – Technical.ly

CryptoCurrency | Digital Currency Bitcoin

Posted: at 8:39 pm

Cryptocurrency is a term used for the digitalized currency that is generated and circulated exclusively on internet. It is similar (not same) to that of fiat currency, except for a few points of differences. Laying down those few differences, the first one to top the list is the platform. While the money that many people are still onto fiat currency i.e. paper money or in coin money in the real world, this is in the form of bitcoins (infact bitcoin is the first decentralized cryptocurrency to be introduced in 2009,) altcoin like litecoin, titcoin, so on and so forth which is prominently used in virtual world.

While the paper money is being issued and distributed by the central bank, the cryptocurrency is circulated online in a P2P model. P2P is peer to peer network where the bitcoins are usually given and taken from person to person without any banking control or instruction. You may ask, what are the advantages of using this? There are ample of reasons as to why this is more preferable than printed money and there is also a lot of speculations as to how it has the caliber to take over the world.

Firstly, the mother earth has a restriction to how much of resources she can provide us with. Sure, right now, we might say we can preserve and conserve the resources like gold, steel, metal etc but till when? At one point or another, people will give into their greed and a time will come when the machines might not detect the presence of any metal or non metal, elements or compounds. So, around that time, a digitalized currency can be used as gold or cash. Just like gold, you need to mine, not in the ground but by cracking the cryptography keys.

The second important factor which arises temptations is the fact that no authority, no government or not banks control this digitalized currency. It is decentralized and works in a peer to peer network. The bitcoin is ruled by no one except the parties that are present in the network. The process of giving and taking or buying and selling the bitcoins is very easy and the transaction fee involved is very minimal.

Crypto currencies like bitcoin have the potential to solve the inflation of world economy and actually can also contribute to deflation. People nowadays seem to have more trust in this currency and the protocols involved as they are being vetted by internet specialists. We can trust the block chain which is basically the group of network because we can only transact the money only if we have the keys (private/public) or is able to solve the mathematical problems and is bring approved by the miners who maintain the ledgers. If someone tries to mess it up, the transaction will not work. Crypto currencies follow the principle and the policies of transparency. Several computers on a network have public ledger in the blockchain which contains the information of transactions and the dates and this block chain is accessible by the group of computer on the network.

According to some big companies, this is an innovative and a reliable way of online transaction and only time will tell when such a currency would dominate the economic side of the world.

Read More >> Bitcoin Mining Hardware,1 Bitcoin to Euro

Continue reading here:
CryptoCurrency | Digital Currency Bitcoin

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on CryptoCurrency | Digital Currency Bitcoin

Florida Man Goes From Multilevel Marketing To Cryptocurrency – What Could Possibly Go Wrong? – Forbes

Posted: at 8:39 pm


Forbes
Florida Man Goes From Multilevel Marketing To Cryptocurrency - What Could Possibly Go Wrong?
Forbes
About Cryptocurrencies. The best known and most used cryptocurrency is bitcoin. A website that tracks the cryptocurrency market indicates that the value of the over 700 currencies that it tracks is just shy of $27 billion. Of that over $18 billion is ...

See the original post here:
Florida Man Goes From Multilevel Marketing To Cryptocurrency - What Could Possibly Go Wrong? - Forbes

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Florida Man Goes From Multilevel Marketing To Cryptocurrency – What Could Possibly Go Wrong? – Forbes

Ukrainian Bitcoin Exchange Kuna Partners Dedicated Cryptocurrency Fund TaaS – Finance Magnates

Posted: at 8:39 pm

TaaS, a tokenized closed end fund dedicated to blockchain assets, has partnered with two cryptocurrency exchanges, Livecoin and Ukraines Kuna, to offer its tokens for trading. Userswill be able to trade the tokens after the conclusion of TaaS Initial Coin Offering (ICO), which will run untilApril 27, 2017.

The London Summit 2017 is coming, get involved!

So far, the TaaS ICO has raised more than BTC 2,873 ($3.3 million) from 1539 investors with twenty days left to go.

TaaS Co-founder and President Ruslan Gavrilyuk said: TaaS is proud to partner with Livecoin and Kuna, helping early adopters capitalize on the surging blockchain and cryptocurrency spaces. With the TaaS token tradable on the Livecoin and Kuna exchanges, more investors can gain easy, fully transparent and convenient access to the vast cryptocurrency market.

Livecoin CEO Svetlana Geller said: The partnership with TaaS will aid us in our mission to provide a modern and easy-to-use service for accessing cryptocurrency exchange markets. Our agreement with TaaS will prove mutually beneficial in allowing both companies to bring even more people into the burgeoning space of digital currency investments.

Kuna Founder Michael Chobanian added: Kuna is delighted to add TaaS, an innovator in blockchain technology investment, to the Kuna cryptocurrency exchange. We believe Kunas customers will greatly appreciate the opportunity to take advantage of TaaS groundbreaking offering and that the partnership will help to grow and strengthen Kunas platform.

Excerpt from:
Ukrainian Bitcoin Exchange Kuna Partners Dedicated Cryptocurrency Fund TaaS - Finance Magnates

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Ukrainian Bitcoin Exchange Kuna Partners Dedicated Cryptocurrency Fund TaaS – Finance Magnates

Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Publishes First Global Cryptocurrency Study – Crowdfund Insider

Posted: at 8:39 pm

The Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance (CCAF) has published its first study on digital currencies, its usage and the emerging ecosystem supporting the new type of currency. As the report explains, the world of money and finance is transforming before our eyes.

The Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study is CCAFs inaugural research focused on alternative payment systems and digital assets. Led by Dr. Garrick Hileman, the research is designed to holistically examine the global cryptocurrency market and, according to CCAF, is the first of its kind. Michel Rauchs, a Research Assistant at CCAF, co-authored the report.

Dr. Hileman told Crowdfund Insider;

The data we collected indicate that the number of people actively using cryptocurrency is much greater than many people previously thought. Many observers felt that fewer than a million individuals actively use cryptocurrency, but our data suggest that today there are likely well over a million active individuals using cryptocurrency.

The Global Cryptocurrency Benchmarking Study gathered data from more than 100 cryptocurrency companies in 38 countries around the world via secure web-based questionnaires. CCAF said they captured an estimated 75% of the cryptocurrency industry. Over 30 individual cryptocurrency miners were also surveyed. Four key areas were targeted including exchanges, wallets, mining, and payments.

Highlights of the CCAF research include:

Dr. Hileman said that digital currencies like Bitcoin are not a passing fad. The combined market value was estimated at $27 billion. Hileman compared it to the value creation of a high-profile startup like AirBnB.

While Bitcoin may be the first and best-known cryptocurrency to emerge there are now hundreds of different types of digital coinage. Bitcoin does remain the dominant cryptocurrency both in terms of market capitalisation and usage but it has conceded market share to other cryptocurrencies declining from 86% to 72% in the past two years. This was buttressed by the fact that almost 40% of wallets accept various forms of cryptocurrencies.

Emerging cryptocurrencies include; Ethereum, Dash, Monero, Ripple and Litecoin.

This benchmarking study sheds light on the burgeoning cryptocurrency industry and comprehensively examines the global development of exchanges, wallets, payments and mining sectors, added Robert Wardrop, co-founder and a Director of CCAF. It demonstrates that cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin are undergoing some profound changes in how digital assets are transacted, stored, channeled and generated. The findings of this study will serve to advance useful academic and policy research into cryptocurrencies and its many implications.

A forthcoming report will focus on Blockchain or distributed ledger technology (DLT) will also be released in the next few weeks.

. Bookmark the

.

See the original post:
Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Publishes First Global Cryptocurrency Study - Crowdfund Insider

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Cambridge Centre for Alternative Finance Publishes First Global Cryptocurrency Study – Crowdfund Insider

Dash-Forked Cryptocurrency SibCoin Enters Chinese Market – newsBTC

Posted: at 8:39 pm

Siboin, the Dash forked cryptocurrency is all set to enter the Chinese Markets after the successful run in Siberia (home).

Siboin, the Dash forked cryptocurrency is all set to enter the Chinese Markets after the successful run in Siberia (home). Known as the Siberian Chervonets, the cryptocurrency has launched the Chinese version of its website sibcoin.org. After consolidating its position in the Russian realm, SibCoin is ready to cater to Chinas promising market, full of crypto-enthusiasts and professional traders.

Created in 2015, initially focused on the Russian-speaking cryptocurrency community, SibCoin was intended to be a peoples patriotic project. However, the project gathered unprecedented support from both, the domain experts and rookies alike. Employing encryption algorithms developed by Russian cryptographers above the basics of Dash, SibCoin has not only been able to add value to peoples lives but also proved to be a solace for the ones jittered by the volatility of Bitcoin. In a couple of years, SibCoin has become the driving force behind the consolidation of Russian blockchain community.

Dash, an anonymity-oriented cryptocurrency that has enjoyed strong support in recent times, underwent block size increase to form the very base of SibCoin. As per Evan Duffield, the creator of Dash, the technology offers far less technical complexity as compared to Bitcoin due to an entirely different governance architecture. Noteworthy is the fact that recently, the cryptocurrency went past its earlier resistance level to create a new record.

Reaching more people day by day, SibCoin is now available to trade on Livecoin and YoBit platforms. Moreover, Bittrex one of the oldest and most reputable cryptocurrency exchanges out there, has also enlisted SibCoin recently.

The SibCoin team is currently working on two main areas; payout/payment collection services & exchanges, and the masternode-based services. As per the company, the SibCoin community is going to see a lot of feature additions to the platform during the year 2017.

See the rest here:
Dash-Forked Cryptocurrency SibCoin Enters Chinese Market - newsBTC

Posted in Cryptocurrency | Comments Off on Dash-Forked Cryptocurrency SibCoin Enters Chinese Market – newsBTC