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Rights Group Fined For Not Paying Artist For Anti-Piracy Ad
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Five years ago a composer created music for use in a one-off anti-piracy video. However, without his permission it was used time and again on dozens of commercial DVDs such as Harry Potter. Even in the wake of a huge controversy over “corrupt” and “mafia-like” practices, the local music rights group that got involved in the case failed to pay him the money he was owed. The case went to court and this week the music rights group lost.
HSBC ‘allowed drug cartels to launder money’
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Lax controls at Europe’s largest bank, HSBC, allowed Mexican drug cartels to launder billions of dollars through its US operations, an investigation by the US senate has found.
The extensive report on London-based HSBC Holdings PLC by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations also says US regulators knew the bank had a poor system to detect problems but failed to take action.
HSBC executives brushed off complaints from other bank employees, so that the problems persisted for eight years, the report says.
In addition, some HSBC bank affiliates skirted US government bans against financial transactions with Iran and other countries, according to the report.
The laser-powered bionic eye that gives 576-pixel grayscale vision to the blind
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After a lot of theorizing, postulating, and non-human trials, it looks like bionic eye implants are finally hitting the market — first in Europe, and hopefully soon in the US. These implants can restore sight to completely blind patients — though only if the blindness is caused by a faulty retina, as in macular degeneration (which millions of old people suffer from), diabetic retinopathy, or other degenerative eye diseases.
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The second bionic eye implant, the Bio-Retina developed by Nano Retina, is a whole lot more exciting. The Bio-Retina costs less — around the $60,000 mark — and instead of an external camera, the vision-restoring sensor is actually placed inside the eye, on top of the retina. The operation only takes 30 minutes and can be performed under local anesthetic.
US Security Agents ‘At Heathrow For Olympics’
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US security agents are to be based at Heathrow and some other UK airports for the duration of the Olympic Games, according to Sky sources.
The Department for Transport has reached an agreement with the US Transportation Security Administration for specialist agents to be working at several UK airports.
They will arrive one week before the Olympics, and leave around a week after the end of the Paralympics.
This is an added security layer that has been done to help boost and aid the American airlines in particular that fly in and out of the likes of Heathrow and other airports.
The move is also aimed at helping UK airlines flying in and out of America.
The agents will not be allowed beyond boarding gates or onto UK aircraft.
UK legislators grill former Barclays official
One of the key figures in the Barclays Bank scandal says he was merely acting under orders when he asked his staff to manipulate interest rates.
Ah, the old “Third Reich” defence…sorry luv, only legal orders should be obeyed.
Heathrow is already a pain. Had the “pleasure” to transfer there, there was 5 extra checking points.
1: Checking boarding card
2: 5 meters later checking passport + please stand on yellow feet shapes, look into camera
3: Security check again (x-ray, everything I had to do in Zurich on the first leg)
4: Gate, stand on yellow feet shapes, look into camera, don’t tilt your head please, thank you
5: 2 meters later boarding card and passport please.
Five checkpoints.
Three pleases and a thank you. A lot better than in the good ole USofA.