Category: enforcement archive
More than 300 arrested in Capitol Hill protest urging cease-fire in Israel-Hamas war
More than 300 people were arrested for illegally demonstrating and three people were charged with assaulting police after protesters descended on Capitol Hill to call for a cease-fire between Israel and Hamas. Hundreds of demonstrators from Jewish advocacy groups, including Jewish Voice for Peace and If Not Now, poured into a congressional office building on Wednesday. They wore shirts that read “Jews say cease fire now” and they chanted “let Gaza live” and “not in my name” before they were…
Pharmaceutical Production Manager Sentenced in Counterfeit Drug Trafficking Conspiracy
U.S. Attorney’s Office Eastern District of Florida FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Thursday, October 12, 2023 BEAUMONT, Texas – A Houston man who served as a production manager in a counterfeit drug trafficking scheme has been sentenced to federal prison for drug trafficking and money laundering violations in the Eastern District of Texas, announced U.S. Attorney Damien M. Diggs today. Willis Reed, 61, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and was sentenced to 60 months in federal prison today by U.S. District Judge Marcia…
French police use teargas on banned pro-Palestinian rally as Macron calls for calm
French police used teargas and water cannon to break up a banned rally in support of the Palestinian people in Paris on Thursday, as President Emmanuel Macron urged the French to remain united and refrain from bringing the Israel-Hamas conflict home. Macron’s interior minister had earlier banned pro-Palestinian protests, saying they were “likely to generate disturbances to public order”. France is home to Europe’s largest Muslim and Jewish communities. The Middle East conflict has often stoked domestic tensions in the…
How An Undercover Lawyer Helped to Topple Denmark’s Torrent Tracker Scene
Last Thursday, a Danish court sentenced a 24-year old programmer from Silkeborg to 60 days probation for his role in operating the torrent tracker ShareUniversity. The sentencing is the latest in Denmark following an unprecedented crackdown on local torrent trackers that has already resulted in more than a dozen prosecutions, with more yet to come. The National Unit for Special Crime (NSK) reports that it’s happy with the conviction. In addition to serving the suspended prison sentence, the man must…
Reddit Sees Copyright Takedowns Peak While Subreddit Bans Drop
Reddit’s latest transparency report shows a modest increase in DMCA takedown notices. The number of copyright infringement-related user- and subreddit bans has declined, however. The latest data follows a hectic period at Reddit, where protests over an API policy change triggered a ‘dramatic’ 1169% increase in user data requests. With millions of daily users, Reddit is without a doubt one of the most visited sites on the Internet. The community-oriented platform has “subreddits” dedicated to pretty much every topic one…
Popular “AI Hub” Discord Taken Down Following Copyright Complaints
In just a few months, “AI Hub” became a massively popular Discord server with over half a million members. While copyright infringement was strictly forbidden, not all users stuck to the rules. This previously raised the attention of the RIAA, and now appears to have caused the server’s downfall after it was suddenly shut down. Artificial intelligence is booming. Dozens of companies are enthusiastic about its potential and many regular people are tinkering with it too. The ‘AI Hub’ Discord…
FCA calls on insurers to take action as it publishes latest fair value data
In letters sent to all insurance firms, the regulator reminded them of its expectations to make sure they’re checking their products are providing fair value to their customers. The FCA also identified further evidence that some Guaranteed Asset Protection (GAP) products may be failing to provide fair value to customers. This comes as the FCA publishes its latest insurance Value Measures Data (Jan-Dec 2022), which revealed potential concerns over the value of GAP products to customers. GAP insurance is an…
FCA sets out initial findings on bank account access and closures
The information supplied by banks, building societies and payment companies suggests that no firm closed an account between July 2022 and June 2023 primarily because of a customer’s political views. The Payment Accounts Regulations ban banks or building societies discriminating on this basis. The FCA will be doing further work with firms to verify the data and to better understand the reasons behind, for example, the closure of accounts due to reputational risk. By far the most common reasons providers…
Philippines Pirate Site Blocking Scheme Comes to Fruition
This month, the Philippines celebrates its creative industries by dedicating a special month to their work. On top of that, the Government presented a long-awaited ‘gift’. The Intellectual Property Office of the Philippines (IPOPHL) announced that local site-blocking plans are about to come to fruition. IPOPHL Director General Rowel Barba signed a memorandum that will go into effect in late November. As part of the agreement, Internet providers will voluntarily block access to known pirate sites. These plans aren’t new;…
What’s the basis of the Republicans’ Joe Biden impeachment inquiry?
Sept 28 (Reuters) – Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives hold their first hearing on Thursday in an impeachment inquiry into Democratic President Joe Biden after months of investigations of his son Hunter Biden’s foreign business dealings. They have not found any evidence of misconduct by Biden himself. The White House says Biden has done nothing wrong and Republicans have no basis for an impeachment inquiry. Following is some of the evidence that has come to light: HUNTER’S BUSINESSES Republicans have…
Biden impeachment inquiry opens with focus on son’s business dealings
WASHINGTON, Sept 28 (Reuters) – Republicans leading an impeachment inquiry of President Joe Biden detailed foreign payments to members of his family in their first hearing on Thursday, but did not provide evidence that the Democratic president had personally benefited. The initial impeachment hearing by the U.S. House of Representatives Oversight Committee served as a review of evidence that Republicans have gathered so far about foreign business ventures by Biden’s troubled son Hunter Biden, 53, which they say shows that Biden’s family…
Intel-linked UK official pushing censorship of Russell Brand -The Grayzone
The author of letters to social media companies demanding the financial punishment of Russell Brand is a British lawmaker implicated in London’s war on Covid-19 and Ukraine dissenters. Her husband was a commander in the Army’s psy-ops division. Allegations of sexual impropriety and abuse by comedian and podcaster Russell Brand by the British media prompted YouTube to demonetize the star’s popular channel on September 20. The Grayzone can now reveal that YouTube’s financial censorship of Brand is the result of…
U.S. v. Victor Btesh, et al.
Victor Btesh, Bruce Fish, BDF Enterprises, Inc. d/b/a “The Big Lebowski”, Michelle’s DVD Funhouse, Inc. d/b/a “The Amazing Express”, MJR Prime, LLC d/b/a “Ready 2 Go”, and Prime Brooklyn, LLC d/b/a “Super Super Fast”, knowingly entered into and engaged in a combination and conspiracy to suppress and eliminate competition by fixing prices for DVDs and Blu-Ray Discs sold through the Amazon Marketplace platform to customers located throughout the United States. The charged conspiracy began at least as early as October…
