All posts by nedhamson

Activist, writer, researcher, addicted to sharing information and facts.

Man who attacked police with flagpole at Capitol sentenced – Los Angeles Times

A man who used a flagpole to attack officers who were trying to defend the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021, was sentenced Thursday to four years in prison.

Michael Steven Perkins, 40, of Plant City, Fla., was sentenced in District of Columbia federal court, according to court records. His co-defendant, Joshua Christopher Doolin, 25, of Lakeland, Fla., received a sentence of 1½ years in prison Wednesday…

Source: Man who attacked police with flagpole at Capitol sentenced – Los Angeles Times

‘New York Times’ Considers Legal Action Against OpenAI As Copyright Tensions Swirl – Slashdot

If OpenAI is found to have violated any copyrights in this process, federal law allows for the infringing articles to be destroyed at the end of the case. In other words, if a federal judge finds that OpenAI illegally copied the Times’ articles to train its AI model, the court could order the company to destroy ChatGPT’s dataset, forcing the company to recreate it using only work that it is authorized to use. Federal copyright law also carries stiff financial penalties, with violators facing fines up to $150,000 for each infringement “committed willfully…” Source: ‘New York Times’ Considers Legal Action Against OpenAI As Copyright Tensions Swirl – Slashdot

Lithuania denies asylum to Belarusian human rights defender, Weimar Prize honoree Olga Karach. Authorities argue threat to state security. — Meduza

Luthuania has denied an asylum request from Olga Karach, a Belarusian human rights advocate who currently lives in the country.

An alumna of Stanford University’s Leadership Academy for Development, Karach has been honored with numerous international awards for advancing civil liberties in Belarus for decades. This includes the Weimar Human Rights Prize she received last December, for her work with the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, as well as the advocacy work of Our House, an NGO she founded to counter repressions, violence, and abuses in Belarusian politics…

Source: Lithuania denies asylum to Belarusian human rights defender, Weimar Prize honoree Olga Karach. Authorities argue threat to state security. — Meduza

ADL, Law Enforcement Investigating Nationwide Outbreak of Swattings Targeting Synagogues – Algemeiner.com

The recent, ongoing wave of swattings — at least 26 across 12 states — mostly struck synagogues that livestream their services and, in some cases, caused interruptions of prayer. The most recent incident took place on Wednesday, when members of the Jewish Federation of Greater Atlanta were forced to evacuate the building after law enforcement told them a bomb would detonate in 20 minutes. Source: ADL, Law Enforcement Investigating Nationwide Outbreak of Swattings Targeting Synagogues – Algemeiner.com