Monday, April 29, 2013
MPAA executive admits to tampering with key evidence in Finnish topsite trial
In Finland, a long-running prosecution of six men who were accused of
running a piracy "topsite" ended with disappointment for the big
rightsholder groups when two men were acquitted and the remaining four
got comparatively mild sentences. Now, TorrentFreak sheds some light on
the situation with the revelation that the prosecution was forced to
admit, at sentencing time, that a senior MPAA executive had tampered
with the logfiles that formed a key piece of evidence in the case, and
had not disclosed that to the defense or the judge. The MPAA exec made
changes to ten files, apparently in a bid to hide the identity of a spy
it had employed to infiltrate the group.
The video, a screencast of the investigation, showed a particular username accessing an Angel Falls FTP server. However, the corresponding text log for the same event showed a completely different username.
“When the IFPI investigator was asked about this he acknowledged that the names did not match. He said that the Finnish anti-piracy people and IFPI had collected the information together, but there was also an MPAA executive in the room while the evidence gathering took place,” Hietanen explains.
The IFPI investigator was then asked to reveal the name of the MPAA executive. He declined, but did offer an explanation for the inconsistencies in the evidence.
In an apparent attempt to hide the identity of one of their spies, the MPAA executive edited the evidence gathered during the session.
The First She And She Wedding In Kazakhstan
Czech communist whiskey matures to excellence
The journey beyond the Iron
Curtain during the Cold War turned out to be the easy part. When the
batch arrived, the Czech distillers had only a faint idea how to make whisky — and it took years to get things right.
"It was one thing to read about it in books, but reality is something different," recalled Vaclav Sitner, a member of the team tasked with creating a premium whisky.
Now, almost 40 years on, the last batches of "Hammer Head"
are winning rave reviews. And, in a historical twist, they are owned by
a U.S. hedge fund that bought the beverage company that Sitner worked
for.
Sitner, whose name still appears on the label, recalls the "alchemy"
and "joy" as they concocted the whiskey. It sold well despite its
relatively high price in a communist economy.In Czechoslovakia, living standards were higher than in most other communist nations, but only a limited variety of Western products were available at special stores for those privileged enough to have access to foreign currency. In common stores, there was a significant shortage of Western goods, from bananas to electronics.
"There were no means to import foreign whiskey," Sitner said. Communist states' currencies were not convertible and the struggling command economies failed to produce enough decent goods to sell in exchange for hard currency.
The original plan was to source all the ingredients and equipment locally — but met no luck.
"The problem was with the peat, because it didn't work," said Sitner. "The peat we had was from South Bohemia and in combination with oak shavings it created all sorts of problems."
"It was the most expensive peat in Europe. The (Scottish) peat didn't actually cost that much but the transport cost a fortune. We placed it on trucks and a train carriage. One carriage was enough for us for 5-6 years."
Sitner and his colleagues had to
rely completely on their own skills since they had no chance to travel
to Scotland to visit distilleries. They needed a good barley supplier
and knowledge of how to grind it, a source of suitable water and new oak barrels where the product could mature for at least three years.
A small distillery in Pradlo, in the west of the country,
coincidentally had a hammer mill of the kind used in Scottish
distilleries. Dating from the 1920s, it was the only one in the entire
country. Work started in 1976; three years of tests were needed before
trial production could start — and mass production started eight years
later.Communist apparatchiks liked it so much that the bottles became a favored present.
"The comrades liked to drink whiskey, despite the fact that people (in those days) were obligated to drink vodka," Sitner said. "But comrades still liked the whiskey."
The 1989 Velvet Revolution toppled the regime and the Czech whiskey also vanished from sight as the market was flooded by whiskeys from all over the world. Then whiskey ceased to be made for good. What left had time to mature in the original oak barrels for years to improve gradually into its current level of excellence.
The liquor company that the distillery belonged to, Stock Plzen-Bozkov, was privatized. The new owners felt the drink had no future. They sold some 250 barrels for a ridiculously low price — "barbarism," recalled Sitner.
In 2007, U.S. hedge fund Oaktree Capital Management acquired the company.
When officials from London-based Stock Spirits Group that controls the company for the fund were presented the local whiskey, their first response was "impossible it was made here," Sitner remembered. After it passed a test in a tasting with some other single malt whiskeys that followed, the company decided to put it on the market.
"Look at the gold," Sitner said with pride during a recent visit to Pradlo cellar where hundreds the original oak barrels are still in place. "It's a beautiful color," he said, holding a glass just taken from a barrel.
Demand for Hammer Head has been solid around the globe, but Sitner would not reveal how much was made and how much is still available. He would only said if the current sales remain at the same level of 10,000 - 15,000 bottles a year, it is expected to be sold out in five to seven years. The whiskey sells for about €45 ($59) a bottle.
Since 2011, Hammer Head has been listed in Jim Murray's Whiskey Bible, an annual international whiskey guide, where it scored 88.5 points out of 100 — putting it among "very good to excellent whiskeys definitely worth buying."
"This is one of Europe's maltiest drams ... if not the maltiest," the guide said.
In 2011, it won a Masters award at the 2011 Whiskeys of the World Masters.
Petr Nemy, an organizer of whiskey tastings from the Scottish Club in Prague said that after more than 20 years of aging, Hammer Head "is beautifully matured. It's delicately malty and smoky with a taste of nuts and maybe, vanilla. It has a beautifully rounded taste. It's a joy to taste it."
Man lived with decomposing corpse of 72-year-old woman on his sofa for several months
A 64-year-old Michigan man has been charged with living with the dead
body of a woman in his Redford Township trailer for several months.
Court officers serving an eviction notice on Monday saw the body of Ann
Marquis, 72, on a sofa. Although investigators said they believe she
died of natural causes, they arrested her roommate of three years,
Dennis McCauley, who they believed lived with her decomposing body for
several months.
McCauley was arraigned on Friday in District Court in Redford Township on nine felony charges, including one count each of possessing a dead body, identity theft, conducting an illegal financial transaction, concealing the death of an individual, larceny between $1,000 and $20,000 and illegally possessing a credit card.
Prosecutors claim he failed to report Marquis' death, allowed her body to decay, used her credit card, stole her personal property and cashed her Social Security checks. "I think it's terrible, living with a corpse," said neighbor Connie Laesch, 92, who knew Marquis for 10 years. Laesch said she last saw Marquis in November, when Marquis complained about pain in her abdomen.
For weeks, Laesch had been asking others whether they knew what happened to Marquis. "I kept asking people, 'Have you seen Ann? Have you seen Ann? Nobody's seen Annie?' " Laesch said. She said she asked McCauley about three weeks ago. "I called him over and asked him where's Annie, and he told me she moved out three months ago," Laesch said. When she told the complex manager, she was told the complex was in the process of evicting Marquis for not paying rent.
McCauley was arraigned on Friday in District Court in Redford Township on nine felony charges, including one count each of possessing a dead body, identity theft, conducting an illegal financial transaction, concealing the death of an individual, larceny between $1,000 and $20,000 and illegally possessing a credit card.
Prosecutors claim he failed to report Marquis' death, allowed her body to decay, used her credit card, stole her personal property and cashed her Social Security checks. "I think it's terrible, living with a corpse," said neighbor Connie Laesch, 92, who knew Marquis for 10 years. Laesch said she last saw Marquis in November, when Marquis complained about pain in her abdomen.
For weeks, Laesch had been asking others whether they knew what happened to Marquis. "I kept asking people, 'Have you seen Ann? Have you seen Ann? Nobody's seen Annie?' " Laesch said. She said she asked McCauley about three weeks ago. "I called him over and asked him where's Annie, and he told me she moved out three months ago," Laesch said. When she told the complex manager, she was told the complex was in the process of evicting Marquis for not paying rent.
Can Facebook Guess Your Weight?
Your social-media habits and interests say a lot about your health, researchers find.
Plant Particles Slow Global Warming
The fresh piney forest scent is getting stronger as the
climate warms, and it's helping to seed clouds and mask global warming.
Speed of Light May Not Be Constant
Is it possible that the cosmic speed limit varies? Some physicists think so.
High performance semiconductor spray paint could be a game changer
Researchers at Wake Forest University’s Organic Electronics
group say they have come up with a novel solution to one of the biggest
technological barriers facing the organic semiconductor industry today.
Oana Jurchescu, an assistant professor [...]
Strange Deep-Sea Diving Suits
Suits designed for deep sea divers have gone through a lot of designs, and the modern ones look as strange at the first ones. Dark Roasted Blend has illustrations and photographs from the entire history of deep sea diving. Shown is a French diving suit from the 19th century, although it might easily be mistaken for an alien from outer space. More
Yoda and Friends
The Yoda we recall from the original Star Wars trilogy was infinitely more realistic than the CGI Yoda in the prequels, even though we knew he was a Muppet, controlled by the masterful Frank Oz. This photo is one of 66 behind-the-scenes snapshots from the set of The Empire Strikes Back, in which we get to see George Lucas skinny, Darth Vader's stuntman, and Carrie Fisher flirting with the entire cast. More
That's Not Fair!
Three-legged alligator attempted to speed up play at golf tournament
During first round play the Zurich Classic golf tournament in Louisiana a
three-legged alligator got bored sunning itself on the bank of a course
water hazard and decided to become a hazard of its own by wandering out
onto the course amidst the players and officials.
Golf channel analyst Nick Faldo jokingly said the reptile was being used as a tool by PGA officials to try and curb the growing problem of slow play on the course.
If that were the case they probably would have chosen an alligator with four fully functioning limbs. Sending one out with only three legs is like a warning shot across the bow.
Luckily for everyone involved the gator, estimated to be around 12 feet in length, was “Tripod,” a three-legged beast that has become somewhat of a regular at the course only seemed interested in meandering across the fairway, keeping to himself and minding his own business.
Golf channel analyst Nick Faldo jokingly said the reptile was being used as a tool by PGA officials to try and curb the growing problem of slow play on the course.
If that were the case they probably would have chosen an alligator with four fully functioning limbs. Sending one out with only three legs is like a warning shot across the bow.
Luckily for everyone involved the gator, estimated to be around 12 feet in length, was “Tripod,” a three-legged beast that has become somewhat of a regular at the course only seemed interested in meandering across the fairway, keeping to himself and minding his own business.
A mammal and bug food co-op in the High Arctic
University of Alberta researchers were certainly surprised when
they discovered the unusual response of pikas to patches of vegetation
that had previously been grazed on by caterpillars from a species
normally found in the high [...]
Man bitten by snake goes for a run, dies
The guy was cleaning up around the field hockey facility when he saw a snake that he thought was non venomous.He picked up the animal to move it and was bitten on the hand.
Thinking it was not anything to worry about he went about his business and then went for a training run.
It was then that 26 year old Karl Berry began to have problems and collapsed.
By the time Darwin, Australia paramedics arrived Berry was unconscious and was rushed to the hospital where he later died.
It turns out the snake he picked up was a western brown, one of the most venomous in the country.
Doctors confirmed the exercise caused the venom to circulate much more quickly through Berry’s system and caused him to be sick much more quickly.
Animal Pictures
Sunday, April 28, 2013
The Daily Drift
Coke Float
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Shakira! ...
Today is Biological Clock Day
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