declan

hace 8 añosdiscuss

Section 4(J): "YouTube reserves the right to discontinue any aspect of the Service at any time."

Section 6(F): "YouTube reserves the right to remove Content without prior notice."

https://www.youtube.com/static?template=terms

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

If you have normal blood pressure (normotensive population), then a high-salt diet has no association with cardiovascular events and death:

http://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-67... /"Compared with moderate sodium intake, high sodium intake is associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular events and death in hypertensive populations (no association in normotensive population), while the association of low sodium intake with increased risk of cardiovascular events and death is observed in those with or without hypertension. These data suggest that lowering sodium intake is best targeted at populations with hypertension who consume high sodium diets."/

Eating too little salt can result in increased risk of cardiovascular events and death: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3558770/ /"we cannot extrapolate that lowering sodium consumption would reduce cardiovascular risk or premature death. In fact, randomized controlled trial evidence suggests just the opposite: that lower sodium intake may lead to worsened cardiovascular disease and earlier death."/

Low salt == higher risk of a heart attack resulting in death: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21540421 /"Among 3681 participants followed up for a median 7.9 years, CVD deaths decreased across increasing tertiles of 24-hour sodium excretion... Lower sodium excretion was associated with higher CVD mortality."/

Salt intake is not associated with blood pressure, although body mass index and age are: https://academic.oup.com/ajh/article/28/3/362/2743418/Relati... /"Considering their squared partial correlation coefficient, age and BMI were the most important parameters relating to SBP [systolic blood pressure] level. Salt intake was not associated with SBP in either sex after multiple adjustments."

If you do have high blood pressure, supplement with potassium: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26039623 /"Potassium supplementation is associated with reduction of blood pressure"//

Salt intake is not linked to heart problems for adults 71 to 80 years old: http://jamanetwork.com/journals/jamainternalmedicine/fullart... /"we observed that sodium intake estimated by FFQ [food frequency questionnaire] was not associated with mortality or risk for CVD [cardiovascular disease] and HF [heart failure] in a cohort of adults 71 to 80 years old. These findings extended to sex-based and race-based subgroups and in participants with and without hypertension at baseline."/

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

I think there is a big difference between merely requiring IDs (which as you say may well be the case today) and being subject to thousands of pages of regulations, of which requiring IDs is only a subset. For example, a big part of those thousands of pages of regulations has to do with submitting SARs--suspicious activity reports about customer activity--to the Feds. They have a handy web interface, complete with a FAQ, for you to use to submit those reports: http://bsaefiling.fincen.treas.gov/main.html

As for individuals transmitting cryptocurrency, I haven't spent enough time with the bill and the existing part of Title 31 to be able to answer that question. I would point out, though, that other sections of the bill make existing law even more onerous than it is today.

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

Not quite illegal, but not quite legal (in the current relatively unregulated sense) either. I did a writeup of the Senate bill in the HN thread on it: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14567005

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

I tried here: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14567005

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

This is a far-reaching bill that gives the Feds much more discretionary authority over digital currencies. The reason it's so far reaching is that it tweaks definitions that are embedded in thousands of pages of existing laws and regulations. It's like changing stdio.h in C--one tweak could have a big impact throughout an entire system.

So let's wade through it.

Federal law (31 USC 5312) currently regulates "financial institutions," which are defined as including banks, credit card companies, insurance companies, securities dealers, loan issuers--and that's not even an exhaustive list! One of the categories that's currently regulated is: "an issuer, redeemer, or cashier of travelers’ checks, checks, money orders, or similar instruments."

The legislation would rewrite that definition to include:

  (K) an issuer, redeemer, or cashier of travelers’ checks, checks, money orders, prepaid access devices, digital currency, or similar instruments, or any digital exchanger or tumbler of digital currency;

Another definition that gets changed is "monetary instruments," which expands to include prepaid access devices:

  as the Secretary may prescribe by regulation, coins and currency of a foreign country, travelers’ checks, bearer negotiable instruments, bearer investment securities, bearer securities, stock on which title is passed on delivery, prepaid access devices, and similar material...

Prepaid access devices is a term of art that would now be defined broadly as:

  an electronic device or vehicle, such as a card, plate, code, number, electronic serial number, mobile identification number, personal identification number, or other instrument, that provides a portal to funds or the value of funds that have been paid in advance and can be retrievable and transferable at some point in the future.

I don't know what the good senators are intending, but that seems pretty broad, and likely broader than necessary if their goal was to target prepaid Visa cards. Is a Bitcoin wallet "paid in advance" and "retrievable and transferable at some point in the future?" I'm not saying it necessarily is--what I am saying is that it's like wildcard matching when doing an 'rm -f', always a little dangerous. Better to be specific than something like any "portal to funds."

Fincen (part of Treasury) said in 2013 that "A person's acceptance and/or transmission of convertible virtual currency cannot be characterized as providing or selling prepaid access because prepaid access is limited to real currencies." But that was based on the old definition, not the newly broadened one. (https://www.fincen.gov/resources/statutes-regulations/guidan...)

Now let's walk through some of the existing laws that reference these new definitions. A good start is the long list of existing Title 31 regulations primarily aimed at banks that would now get levied on any "issuer" or "redeemer" or "exchanger" of digital currency. That includes the obligation to:

- "Verify[] the identity of any person seeking to open an account" (31 USC 5318)

- "Maintain[] records of the information used to verify a person’s identity, including name, address, and other identifying information" (31 USC 5318)

- "Report any suspicious transaction" to the Feds (31 USC 5318)

- "Establish anti-money laundering programs, including, at a minimum" developing internal policies, compliance officer, training program, and independent audits (31 USC 5318)

- File reports on transactions (31 USC 5313)

- "Maintain appropriate procedures to ensure compliance with this subchapter and regulations prescribed under this subchapter" (31 USC 5318)

- "Guard against money laundering" (31 USC 5318)

- Allow the examination of "any books, papers, records, or other data of domestic financial institutions" related to reporting requirements (31 USC 5318)

- Be summoned by Treasury to "produce such books, papers, records, or other data" and give testimony under oath up to 500 miles away (31 USC 5318)

Note that many of the above sections of existing law give a heck of a lot of authority to the Treasury Department. Treasury could cough up very specific and narrow regulations that would lessen the impact. Or Treasury could follow the statutory text (aka go big or go home).

The bill also expands the sweep of existing criminal law. Existing criminal law (31 USC 5324) prohibits any attempt to "structure or assist in structuring, or attempt to structure or assist in structuring, any transaction with one or more domestic financial institutions." (Structuring is defined as "evading the reporting requirements" in which banks tip off the Feds that you're, say, moving high volumes of cash.)

Because an "issuer" or "redeemer" or "exchanger" of digital currency is now a financial institution, if you or I tried to dodge reporting requirements, we'd be looking at a federal felony punishable by up to 5 years in prison. Note that many other sections of Title 31 grant the Treasury Department discretion in rulemaking, so the blow could be lessened. At first glance this section does not seem to be one of those.

The bill also means that no financial institution (remember this now includes any "issuer" or "redeemer" or "exchanger" of digital currency) would be allowed to "issue" any "monetary instrument" (which includes any code "retrievable and transferable at some point in the future") unless "the individual furnishes the financial institution with such forms of identification as the Secretary of the Treasury may require." (31 USC 5326)

I'm getting a bit tired but did want to raise the question of whether or not the 31 USC 5332 rules against moving cash across the U.S. border now extend to digital currencies.

One section of the bill requires CBP to devise a "strategy to interdict and detect prepaid access devices, digital currencies, or other similar instruments, at border crossings and other ports of entry for the United States." (Emphasis added)

Existing law punishes anyone who: "Attempts to transport or transfer such currency or monetary instruments from a place within the United States to a place outside of the United States" -- and remember, "monetary instrument" is newly expanded. At least this seems at first glance to target only physical border-crossing and not electronic, and to require intent to evade reporting requirements. Would you have to declare a cold storage wallet if one happened to live on your electronic device? (CBP's forensic searches and scans just got a bit more worrisome...)

Anyway, that's my quick take. I may be wrong on some items--as I'd like to be! That means this bill would not be as broad and potentially worrisome as it seems to be at first glance.

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

Any lasting solution would be negotiated by Congress.

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

Current headline: "GOP’s “Internet Freedom Act” permanently guts net neutrality authority"

More accurate headline: "GOP’s “Internet Freedom Act” preserves 2015-era FCC Internet regulation status quo"

Another headline: "GOP’s “Internet Freedom Act” temporarily prevents FCC from enacting 3-2 partisan Internet regulations, unless a future Congress changes things"

Yet another headline: "GOP’s “Internet Freedom Act” shifts authority for Internet regulation from unelected bureaucrats, who may not even have the power to regulate here, to elected officials in Congress, who do"

Keep in mind that "Net neutrality" has become a partisan issue. The current 2015 rules were passed by a 3-2 party line vote when the Democrats controlled the FCC. (They're currently being litigated, with U.S. Supreme Court review likely.)

Now that the Republicans control the FCC, the 2015 rules are probably going to be repealed by a 3-2 party line vote. Even if Congress does nothing.

Whatever you think of the reasoning behind "Net neutrality" regulations, it makes little sense for hundreds of pages of regulations to be enacted when the Ds win and repealed when the Rs win. It means regulations applying to a multi-billion dollar industry bounce back and forth every 4 or 8 years. It makes more sense for Congress to come up with a lasting solution that isn't subject to regulatory bounce-back, and this is what the bill being described in the article seems to do.

declan

hace 9 añosdiscuss

<zabana>: The threshold question is: do you want to make money on a "cyberpunk-inspired" news site operated as a business, or is your "cyberpunk-inspired" hobby site expected to lose money--as hobbies typically do?

I've started both and worked as a journalist for both. Hobby sites are more fun. News sites are more work.

If you can make a decent income from this site, then you might be encouraged to write for it when you might otherwise be uninterested or unwilling (and you also might be able to hire freelancers or a staff). On the other hand, as anyone following the digital media business knows, making a decent income from an online news site is a non-trivial task.

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

"Also, don't get me started on the construction here in the Bay Area vs. some of the amazing craftsmanship like the one seen in the article."

Drive around Menlo Park south of Santa Cruz Ave and west of El Camino and you'll see many beautiful houses with craftsmanship at least as high quality. This is new construction but with a traditional design, interspersed with 1950s ranchers that haven't yet been torn down. Of course you may be paying $1,000+ a square foot to build these new custom homes, so your 3,000 sq. ft home is closer to $5M including land.

So only an order of magnitude more than these "New Silicon Cities..."

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

Framing requirements have become far, far stricter. Here's one construction project currently being framed on the SF peninsula: https://goo.gl/photos/hdDmcqWkEuQenvku9

It's a one-story room with a 9' ceiling height. The structural engineer specified two massive Simpson Strong-Walls, side by side. There was barely any room for the window, which had to be askew as a result. A local architect tells me the requirements were far less onerous even a decade ago.

Also foundation requirements have increased as well. You may be on a flat lot with no history of problems based on a soils analysis, but end up having to drill piers anyway. Just in case. Your municipality wants them. Which will likely increase foundation costs by tens of thousands of dollars--so much for affordable SF bay area housing!

I know one fellow building a new home on the SF peninsula who spent $500,000 to pour a roughly 1,000 sq. ft basement. (Small lot, not much outdoor space, so he was determined to have a place for his kids to play in.)

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

I'm generally familiar with SF bay area construction costs so let me use that as an example. That "Saratoga" house is about 1,800 sq. ft; the cost to merely frame 1,800 sq. ft two-floor new construction on the SF peninsula is about $120,000-$130,000 assuming no steel. That does not include foundation, roof, flooring, plumbing, HVAC, insulation, drywall, painting, siding, cabinetry, doors, windows, etc.--which could be 5x-12x more depending on finishes.

That sum also does not include general contractor overhead and profit of perhaps 12%, architect fees, building permit fees, structural engineering fees, planning review fees, school district permit tax, road impact fees, civil engineering fees, landscape architect fees, Title 24 consultant fees, soils engineering fees, etc.

If you were magically given a vacant lot for free in Palo Alto and wanted to build that house as shown with a basement, it would probably cost you about $2M in construction costs today. Again, that's assuming you got the land for free.

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

NSLs are likely not the case here with Yahoo (and in fact are not the most significant privacy threat, IMHO). An NSL is a demand from the FBI, not a court order. NSLs also have unique First Amendment vulnerabilities that would help a company choosing to publicize receiving one.

A FISA court order, which can force you to do much more than NSLs, is the more significant operational threat to Internet companies. These court orders typically have "do not disclose" provisions. Willfully violating that court order will almost certainly result in contempt charges.

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

I'm acquainted with a construction worker who's the foreman for a general contractor working on the mid-peninsula. Current projects include single family homes in Palo Alto, Atherton, Woodside, and Menlo Park. The foreman makes $44/hour without health insurance and is about to close on a house in Hollister.

Hollister to Atherton is 68 miles. To get to Atherton by 8am tomorrow, Google says he should leave at 5:50am: https://goo.gl/maps/bfSBp4vFtJQ2

If cheaper housing could be built on the peninsula--where there happens to be lots of low-density housing and open space!--he could live closer to work and the 101 and the 280 would have one less vehicle twice a day. But for reasons we all know, this will not happen.

PS: The structured wiring guys on this project are driving in from Tracy in the Central Valley and staying at a hotel on the mid-peninsula. That commute is even worse than Hollister. Google estimates it at 2hrs 40min one-way (!) for an 8am arrival time tomorrow.

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

Silicon Valley wages would have to increase by something like 3x--or house prices would have to drop by over 50%--to make houses here as affordable as the national average. Neither is likely to happen.

A median house in San Mateo County costs 11.3x median county income. A median house nationally costs only 3.3x median national income. So if you wish to buy a house in this area (and of course many people may prefer to rent), you should avoid moving here unless you can make those numbers work.

The reality for homebuyers is a bit worse than even those numbers indicate. Income taxes in California are very high, and most of the SF and peninsula housing stock is older and smaller than the national average. The median San Mateo County home is 1500 sq. ft; the median national home is closer to 2,500 sq. ft.

Construction, renovation, and maintenance costs are higher as well. Gas taxes are higher than the national average, sales taxes are higher, electricity costs are higher, etc. SF and peninsula municipalities have planning reviews that can add tens of thousands of dollars, plus state requirements (Title 24) and local requirements (no site development without survey, civil engineer, etc.) that add still more. Also geotechnical reviews and more expensive foundations--remember we're in earthquake country, folks.

On the other hand, we have very pleasant weather. :)

---

Sources: San Mateo County's median home value is $1.13M[1]. The county's median household income is approx. $100K[2]. A house costs 11.3x income. [1] http://www.zillow.com/san-mateo-ca/home-values/ [2] http://www.mercurynews.com/2014/08/28/can-working-class-fami...

The national median home is $188K[3]. The median national household income is $56.5K[4]. A house costs 3.3x income. [3] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/03/13/median-home-price-2... [4] http://www.census.gov/newsroom/press-releases/2016/cb16-158....

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

I visited the NeXT factory in Fremont, and it certainly seemed state of the art to me at the time.

NeXT Computer Inc. eventually became NeXT Software Inc. and ceased manufacturing hardware. That was 23 years ago. I'd be surprised if any significant presence from that manufacturing team remained in Cupertino today.

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

It looks like this guy's blog hosted photos of necrophilia (or what seems to have been labeled as such): https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogs...

Anal fisting: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fphotos1.bl...

Naked children from 1970s calendars: https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogs...

And something in the vein of bestiality (whether it is or not, I have no desire to know): https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2F1.bp.blogs...

I'm expressing no opinion here about what qualifies as art (or not) or what is legal (or not). But it is the type of content that, taken together, could cause a blog to be deleted for TOS violations.

It seems to me that if you want a free place to publish photos that appear to be necrophilia, anal fisting, and bestiality, well, maybe pay $5 a month to host your site somewhere yourself? I suspect that any free blog hosting service is not the place for you.

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hace 10 añosdiscuss

At the very least I presume you'd acknowledge that the U.S. Constitution lists crimes including treason, counterfeiting, and piracy. I can't think of a more canonical way to "govern the people" than a state actor specifying criminal sanctions that can include the punishment of death...

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hace 10 añosdiscuss

"he could probably get away with five years at worst"

For better or for worse, federal prison sentences do not work this way. There are sentencing guidelines, for one thing.

Chelsea Manning is serving a 35-year prison sentence at Fort Leavenworth; prosecutors asked for 60 years. Manning is eligible for parole after serving one-third (I recall) of that sentence.

declan

hace 10 añosdiscuss

Yup. There's a lot of mischief in "so far."

Some products take a while to build, especially when dealing with less-than-friendly .gov regulators.

Submissions

Feds put heat on tech firms for master encryption keys (2013)

“It shall be unlawful for any person to manufacture..encryption products” (1997)

Bring Back Poindexter’s Baby: Total Information Awareness

Read News the Smart Way with Recent News

John McCain wants to outlaw encryption that the US government can't crack

Recent News now has improved iOS 9 support and reader view

Federal judge puts limits on FBI use of “stingray” cell site simulators

Why Obama did not stop NSA domestic surveillance

Trans-Pacific Partnership bans requirements to access source code of software

FBI to Congress: Access to encrypted data “must be addressed” [pdf]

What if there were a good way to block ads on news sites?

The right way to block ads on news sites

Amazon Confirms It Will Stop Selling Apple TV, Chromecast

Google details Nexus Imprint fingerprint security

Recent News launches: Now publicly available for iOS and Android

Tinder and the Dawn of the “Dating Apocalypse”

When mobile apps outperform mobile web pages (hint: less bloat)

The Uber for Onesies Is Here, but Is It Worth $20B? [video]

Help to help the Internet: a startup defensive patent pool

Craigslist, 3taps Settle Their Scraping/Antitrust Suits; 3taps to Pay $1M

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