Municipal Wi-Fi Actually (still) Exists?

I was under the impression that municipal Wi-Fi was a dead idea that municipalities had abandoned a couple of years ago.  Apparently, Coshocton, Ohio didn’t get the memo, because it’s municipal Wi-Fi network has been shut down by the MPAA.

Well, that’s what Gizmodo’s saying, based on a BoingBoing report.  Apparently, the town’s entire network was shut down due to a single user downloading something that was copyrighted.

But really?  How did this happen?  The way things are written, it sounds like the MPAA discovered the illegality and pulled the plug on the network.  Can things actually go that way?  Hmmm… even as powerful as private entities are, surely they don’t have the power to summarily wipe out a public service.  Right?  More digging is necessary!

KSM and Others to New York?

Interesting.  According to the AP (and others), five Gitmo detainees will be tried in a civilian court in New York for the 9/11 attacks.  Among these detainees will apparently be Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, who purportedly confessed to masterminding the attacks after severe waterboarding.  Which raises all sorts of evidentiary issues, as Charlie Savage of the New York Times points out:

The decisions about how to prosecute Mr. Mohammed and Mr. Nashiri have been particularly difficult because their defense lawyers are expected to argue that they were illegally tortured by the Central Intelligence Agency during their confinement, tainting any evidence gathered from their interrogations.

In addition to the civilian trial(s), five others will be sent to a brig (probably in South Carolina) for trial before a military commission.  Attorney General Eric Holder is expected to make an official announcement at 11a today.

This announcement, like the under-reported news that President Obama has sent war planners back to the table to come up with better ideas about Afghanistan, signals a potential shift in Obama’s resolve.  Neither decision will be politically popular, and we haven’t seen Obama flex his muscles in quite a while.

Google Books Update

The settlement agreement will not be presented to Judge Chin today as originally planned.  Instead, it should be submitted on Friday.  (Source)  Even when that happens, though, Judge Chin plans on holding a “fairness hearing” in December or January on whether to approve the settlement.  So there is still plenty more to happen.

Federal Robbery Sentencing

Like I’ve said before, “street crimes” don’t often get prosecuted in federal court, even though they technically can.  Which is why this announcement from last week is surprising:  an Indianapolis man has been sentenced to 22 years in prison for robbing a Steak ‘n Shake and brandishing a firearm while doing so.  (Source)  According to WIBC, US Attorney Tim Morrison, the man was tried in federal court because the Hobbs Act allows it.

This, again, is technically true.  Codified at 18 U.S.C. § 1951 et seq., the law states that it is a federal crime for a person to interfere with commerce by extortion or robbery.  The potential punishment for doing so is imprisonment up to 20 years, a fine, or both.  How, then, did he receive 22 years?  It’s a good question.  Most likely, there are a few other components to the case that haven’t been publicly disclosed, such as other charges, and it is entirely possible that the sentencing judge enhanced the sentence based on a variety of factors, including the individual’s criminal history record: “If reliable information indicates that the defendant’s criminal history category substantially under-represents the seriousness of the defendant’s criminal history or the likelihood that the defendant will commit other crimes, an upward departure may be warranted.”  (Source)  If the court does depart upward, however, it must do so on the record.

Interesting case, though, and it does raise an eyebrow or two.

Extraordinary Rendition–Convictions

It’s been awhile since extraordinary rendition has been in the news, but the Italians have done something that is both unexpected and not surprising.  It’s unexpected because it isn’t often that CIA agents are convicted of anything anywhere, and it’s not surprising because they were tried in absentia.

The convictions involve 23 CIA agents who allegedly kidnapped a very influential Italian Imam–Abu Omar–off the streets of Milan, and then sneaked him off somewhere, where he was then allegedly tortured.  The Italians have, from time to time, thought of having the agents extradited from the United States, but nothing ever came of that (mainly because the Secretary of State would never authorize the extradition, and it would cause diplomatic friction, so Italian authorities never pursued the matter).  In lieu of that, then, the Italians opted to try the agents in absentia and now they have been convicted.  (Link)  It really doesn’t mean a whole lot from a practical perspective other than that the agents are pretty much barred from going to Europe now.

Intel Antitrust Suit Filed

Intel has been fighting an antitrust suit in Europe for years (recently getting hit with €1.06bn in fines) and now it must deal with essentially the same allegations in the United States.  According to the NY Times (found via Gizmodo, but there are more here), New York’s Attorney General–Andrew Cuomo–has filed a federal antitrust claim in the District of Delaware alleging that Intel “used bribery and coercion to maintain a stranglehold on the market.”

A copy of the 87-page complaint can be found here (PDF), and the first 77 pages or so lay out the alleged acts which led to the case being filed.   There are actually only four claims in the complaint, and only one of which is covered by the Sherman Act.  The other three claims involve New York state laws.  The Sherman Act claim alleges that Intel exercises monopoly powers, and by virtue of those powers, it “willfully maintained, and unless restrained by the Court may continue to willfully maintain, that power by anticompetitive and unreasonably exclusionary conduct.”

15 U.S.C. § 2 makes it a felony for a company or person to monopolize, or attempt to monopolize, any part of trade or commerce.  It’s punishable by up to ten years in prison, up to a million dollars in fines, or both.  But you’ll notice that this is a civil complaint, and not a criminal indictment.  This is because 15 U.S.C. § 15 gives an injured person the right to bring suit in federal court, and seek treble damages plus reasonable attorneys fees.

Naturally, Intel disputes the claims and promises to defend itself against the allegations.  (Link)

By nook or by Crook

Barnes & Noble’s new ebook reader, the nook, is widely considered a Kindle killer.  (Full disclosure: I was once an employee of Barnes & Noble, but that has nothing to do with this post.)  But a California-based company is suing Barnes & Noble, claiming the publishing and retail giant stole its ideas to make the nook.  (Source)

This company is called Spring Design, and it alleges that it met with Barnes & Noble in February of this year to show the company a product they called “Alex.”  This meeting occurred 5 days after a nondisclosure agreement was allegedly negotiated.  And it is alleged, through the filings, that the features found in the nook were all things envisioned by Spring Design.  So Spring is suing for “breaching the non-disclosure agreement, misappropriating trade secrets, and violating unfair competition laws.”  In addition, Spring would like production of the nook to be ceased.

We’ll see.

Where’s the Map for That?

It appears that at&t doesn’t like Verizon’s snarky “There’s a Map for That” commercials.  You know, the ones that somewhat inaccurately equate Apple’s “There’s an App for That” slogan with at&t’s native 3G service.  (Kinda shows you just how important the iPhone is to at&t’s viability, doesn’t it? Once that exclusivity is gone, I wonder what will happen to at&t…)

Anyway, at&t has filed suit against Verizon, in Georgia of all places, alleging false and deceptive trade practices. (source)  The ads are pretty aggressive, really, showing that at&t has pretty anemic 3G coverage while Verizon’s is quite extensive.  What at&t doesn’t like is the insinuation that somehow at&t customers aren’t able to access voice and data in the areas not covered by the 3G map.  at&t’s 3G implementation isn’t quite as robust as Verizon’s, but it does have the EDGE network in many places, so at&t customers get a sort of half-fast data network in the places where 3G isn’t available.

That’s why at&t is suing Verizon, because it feels that Verizon is insinuating that at&t customers don’t get any service in the areas where 3G has not been implemented.  Verizon is having none of it, saying that the ads are accurate because they clearly state that they are talking about 3G technology and that at&t data and voice access are still available in many places.

What’s funny is that the whole case has the potential to be completely moot if it actually goes to trial.  By the time that happens, 4G will be the new standard, and 3G probably won’t matter one whit.

Federal Hate Crimes Legislation

Earlier today, I mentioned that the FBI (and other federal agencies) doesn’t typically investigate “street crimes” like assault.  Nonetheless, there’s a new federal crime to be aware of today, and it’s one that proponents of the legislation have been wanting for a very long time.

According to the AP and to the Human Rights Campaign, the new legislation was tacked onto a defense spending bill.  What does it cover?  Hate crimes.

From what I gather, a new section of the U.S. Code will be created: 18 U.S.C. § 249, which will be part of Chapter 13, and which will make it a crime to willfully cause injury (or attempt to cause injury) to a person based on that person’s actual or perceived race, gender, national origin, or sexual orientation.  The punishment will be imprisonment for up to 10 years, or for any term of years up to life if death, kidnapping, or sexual abuse occurs (or attempts to do such are undertaken).  Congress also stated that nothing about the law should be construed as a limit on expression: “Nothing in this division shall be construed to allow prosecution based solely upon an individual’s expression of racial, religious, political, or other beliefs or solely upon an individual’s membership in a group advocating or espousing such beliefs.”

Murder as Terrorism? Hold up a moment…

It is somewhat axiomatic that the FBI doesn’t generally investigate so-called “street crimes” such as assault, rape, murder, and even low-level drug use.  This isn’t because there aren’t federal laws for these activities.  For example, 18 U.S.C. §§ 1111 et seq. proscribes homicide,  18 U.S.C. §§ 2241 et seq. proscribes sexual abuse, 18 U.S.C. §§ 111 et seq. proscribes assaults, and 21 U.S.C. § 844 proscribes “simple possession” of controlled substances.  Despite having laws that could be enforced by federal authorities, though, it is generally considered an inappropriate use of resources when the states can handle the cases just fine, thank you very much.

That changes, apparently, when murder gets called terrorism.