Top Posts on TIME's Swampland:States Seek A Way To Pass On Digital Accounts After You Die |
- States Seek A Way To Pass On Digital Accounts After You Die
- This Week’s Best Politico Instagram Photos
- Another Day in Washington: About 50 Arrested At Keystone XL Protest
- John McCain Defends Strippers, Not For The First Time
- San Diego Mayor to Get Therapy Amid Scandal
- U.S. Seeks Transfer of 2 Gitmo Detainees to Algeria
- Like a Rock Star, Pope Francis Calls For “Disorder” In Rio
- Ethics Committee Investigating GOP Rep. Bachmann
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Posted: 27 Jul 2013 02:45 AM PDT
What happens to all your digital possessions—your witty Gmails, your candid Facebook snapshots, your exhaustive iTunes collection of Barry White—when you shuffle off this mortal coil? More than 10 states have considered bills so far this year related to so-called digital assets, and two made it past the governor’s desk. That brings the total to seven states that have laws on the books, addressing an issue that will only become more important as tech-obsessed generations age. A digital asset is essentially anything with financial or sentimental value that you can’t hold in your hand, from emails to gaming accounts to domain names. And unlike your record collection or your box full of love letters, it’s often unclear how—or whether—you can give others access to them. When TIME did a deep dive into digital legacies last year, the five states that had related laws were Connecticut, Indiana, Idaho, Oklahoma and Rhode Island. In March, now-beleaguered Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell signed a measure that helps survivors access deceased minors’ online accounts. Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval approved another bill in June, empowering personal representatives to obtain a deceased person’s emails. But the new laws, like the older ones, deal with only pieces of the digital-assets puzzle. Virginia’s narrow scope—applying just to minors—reflects the nature of recent controversies about digital assets, which often involve service providers and parents who have lost children. In Virginia, resident Ricky Rash and his wife fought for better access to Facebook after their 15-year-old son committed suicide in 2011; looking for answers, they turned to his account but were initially blocked and later given limited access. “We were just grieving parents reaching out for anything we could,” Rash told the Washington Post in February. Companies like Facebook may look rather heartless in such stories, but they’re in a sticky position, needing to respect federal privacy laws and their own terms of service, a contract that often says an account is non-transferrable. One fix the companies themselves can implement is letting account holders indicate once-I’m-out-of-touch preferences. In April, Google announced a
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Posted: 27 Jul 2013 02:45 AM PDT
More political personalities are joining Instagram by the day, using it to engage with voters, record moments in history—and post silly photos of cats wearing sunglasses (we’re looking at you, Issa). This week, White House photographer Pete Souza, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and Rep. Kevin McCarthy’s dog all shared their first shots. Here’s the latest in our occasional roundup of the best Instagram photos from political personalities. Posted by: Chief Official White House Photographer Pete Souza Handle: @petesouza Caption: Pres Obama boards Air Force One Posted by: California Rep. Darrell Issa Handle: @darrellissa Caption: Went and saw the giant Corpse Flower today. It didn’t smell too bad though. Posted by: Kansas Sen. Jerry Moran Handle: @senjerrymoran Caption: It’s an honor to wish Senator Bob Dole a happy birthday today. Americans know the sacrifice Senator Dole made on their behalf during WWII, and every Kansan knows that he’s been there for them every day since. God bless Bob Dole — a true role model for us all. Here, we’re pictured at the WWII Memorial in front of a plaque that was dedicated in his honor. Posted by: Vermont Gov. Peter Shumlin Handle: @govpetershumlin Caption: Bringing this year’s garlic in to dry. Posted by: New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo Handle: @nygovcuomo Caption: At yesterday’s #adkchallenge w/ Mayor Bloomberg#tourism #rafting #
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Posted: 26 Jul 2013 02:50 PM PDT
About 50 people were arrested in a Keystone XL pipeline protest Friday, amid growing concern by environmentalists that the Obama administration will approve the project, which stretches 875 miles from the tar sands of Alberta to the Gulf of Mexico. Around12:15 pm, approximately 70 protestors rushed the DC lobby of Environmental Resources Management, a consulting firm which produced a bulk of the State Department’s March report that did not conclude that the pipeline should be shut down for environmental reasons. The crowd was a part of the ”Summer Heat” campaign and led by members of Greenpeace, 350.org, and Walk for Our Grandchildren. Organizers of the event claimed that over a hundred walked from Camp David to Washington, a 60 mile trek, in opposition of the pipeline, which they say violates President Obama’s rule that “it does not significantly exacerbate the problem of carbon pollution.” Once inside ERM’s office, six locked arms in metal pipes labeled “No KXL,” blocking the elevator doors. When asked to leave, those that did not wish to be arrested set up a protest outside, and watched about 50 of their colleagues taken into custody for unlawful entry. Police brought in bull cutters to cut off the metal arms. “Hey! Obama! We don’t want no pipeline drama!” the protesters chanted, led by the rhythm of tom-tom drums, and a single megaphone. ”Thank You! Thank You!” they cheered as their colleagues were escorted out in plastic zip ties. DC Police had three motorcycles and thirteen vehicles at the protest. “They lied about their ties to over a dozen oil companies that would profit from the Keystone Pipeline being build,” said Zack Gerdes a 21-old Amherst student from Germantown, MD. “We strongly believe and know that the Keystone pipeline is a huge detriment to the environment and it’s going to exacerbate the problem of climate change.” In March, Mother Jones reported that an ERM employee who worked on the report had previously worked for the owner of Keystone. “My future matters more than corporate greed,” said 14 year-old Anna Farlessyost from Mars Hill, North Carolina. She and her
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Posted: 26 Jul 2013 02:15 PM PDT
Arizona Sen. John McCain, 76, turned heads this week when The Hill reported he was hopeful that a proposal to eliminate the $1 dollar paper bill from circulation would help increase tips for the nation’s strippers. “Then I hope that they could obtain larger denominations,” he told the paper, in response to a question on the topic. Later, in a shout to the reporter, down the hall, he added, “Fives, tens, one hundreds!” But it was hardly the first time McCain had expressed concern over the wellbeing of exotic dancers. McCain’s turns with strippers and youthful hijinks from his time in the Navy actually played a role in his 2008 presidential campaign — at least for a week during a introduction tour of Florida. ”I enjoyed every single moment of my life here, from learning to fly to blowing my pay at Trader Jon’s,” he said in Pensacola, shortly after winning the Republican nomination. Trader Jon’s, during his time in the Navy, had been a bar often filled with dancing girls, some of whom he dated. The 1996 book The Nightingale’s Song describes the scene: ”He dated everyone from schoolteachers to the strippers at Trader John’s [sic], the fabled airdale raunch bar, often returning to base just in time to change clothes and drag himself out to the flightline,” Robert Timberg wrote. In his own book, Faith Of My Fathers, McCain said the bar scene was the watering hole of “almost every unmarried aviator in Pensacola,” featuring at the back “local girls, trained as exotic dancers” who “entertained rowdy crowds of aviators.” One of them was the “Flame of Florida,” whose stage name was Marie. “She was a remarkably attractive girl with a great sense of humor,” McCain wrote, saying their dates were on Sunday nights when the bar was closed. McCain recounted one night out with friends, when the Flame reached into her purse, popped open a switchblade and began to clean her fingernails, shocking some of those around her. Afterwards, McCain wrote, he took the “worldly, lovely Flame of Florida to dinner.” In the two
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Posted: 26 Jul 2013 12:25 PM PDT
(SAN DIEGO) — San Diego Mayor Bob Filner says he will undergo therapy after less than a year in office amid allegations that he sexually harassed women. Filner announced his plans ion Friday after a series of women claimed he kissed, groped and placed them in headlocks. The allegations resulted in widespread calls for him to resign, plunging the nation’s eighth-largest city into political turmoil. When the allegations surfaced, Filner apologized for disrespecting women and said he needed help. But soon after, he said he was innocent of sexual harassment and resisted calls to leave office. The chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee called on Filner to resign as did leaders of the San Diego Democratic party. The former congressman was San Diego’s first Democratic mayor in 20 years. MORE: San Diego Mayor Bob Filner Digs in as Sex Harassment Troubles Mount
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Posted: 26 Jul 2013 11:50 AM PDT
(WASHINGTON) — The Obama administration is transferring two Guantanamo Bay detainees to Algeria, the first movement of terrorist suspects from the prison since the president announced a renewed push to close the contentious military-run facility in Cuba. The White House said Friday it was starting the transfers as part of President Barack Obama’s goal to close the prison, a campaign promise that has eluded him since he took office. “We are taking this step in consultation with the Congress, and in a responsible manner that protects our national security,” Obama press secretary Jay Carney said in a statement. Pentagon spokesman Lt. Col. Todd Breasseale said that under long-standing policy, the names of the two detainees will not be released until after the transfer. He also wouldn’t say what security assurances they had from the Algerian government as part of the arrangement. “We will not discuss the sensitive, diplomatic arrangements associated with the transfer,” Breasseale said. (MORE: Judge Faults Gitmo Force-Feeding But Won’t Stop It) A spokesman for the House Armed Services Committee said the panel received the certification, which requires the defense secretary to ensure that in transferring a detainee to another country that the individual will not engage in terrorist activities. An administration official said the detainees were chosen because Algeria is a close U.S. ally that has successfully managed detainees in the past — none of the previous 12 to be released have returned to terrorist activities, unlike some returned to other countries. The official, speaking on a condition of anonymity without authorization to publicly discuss the process, said it has been in the works since several months before Obama announced his intention this spring to push anew for closure. Pentagon Press Secretary George Little said Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel signed off on the transfer based on the recommendation of an interagency team after a monthslong review. “Secretary Hagel fully supports the president’s goal of closing Guantanamo Bay and this upcoming transfer brings us closer towards reaching that goal,” Little said in a statement. That’s a high bar that had
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Posted: 26 Jul 2013 10:44 AM PDT
The Pope keeps shaking things up in Rio. From the moment he arrived on his visit to Brazil, the Pontiff has been traveling with the car windows down to be closer to the people. Then he shed his security detail and bulletproof car when visiting the slums and shantytowns. Now he is calling for young men and women to stir up trouble in their dioceses—on purpose. The message he gave a gathering of 30,000 young Argentines in Rio yesterday was so revolutionary he apologized to the bishops in advance for its implications: What is it that I expect as a consequence of World Youth Day? I want a mess. We knew that in Rio there would be great disorder, but I want trouble in the dioceses! […] I want to see the church get closer to the people. I want to get rid of clericalism, the mundane, this closing ourselves off within ourselves, in our parishes, schools or structures. Because these need to get out! If his message sounds almost evangelical in tone, it is because it is. Pope Francis wants young Catholics to spread the gospel, to evangelize, and to focus on relationships, especially with the poor. His message is on de-centralizing Vatican power, and getting the gospel message, literally, into the streets. The theme has been prominent throughout his young papacy, and even earlier. As Cardinal of Buenos Aires, he spoke out against the temptation of clericalism. “When the Church does not come out of itself to evangelize,” he said, “it becomes self-referential and then gets sick.” More than one million people came to hear him preach last night at Copacabana Beach, and his sermon itself had an evangelical tone. He used classic evangelical language about becoming Jesus’ friend and responding to Jesus’s invitation for salvation. The optics themselves were far more like a theatrical evangelical set up than a traditional Vatican mass. Francis arrived by helicopter. Blue and pink lights flooded an enormous stage. A giant cross—without a Christ’s body—hung front and center. The evangelical emphasis is
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Posted: 26 Jul 2013 09:47 AM PDT
(WASHINGTON) — The House Ethics Committee is continuing an investigation of Republican Rep. Michele Bachmann of Minnesota. The committee announced on Friday it had received a referral from the Office of Congressional Ethics, an independent investigative body, and said in a brief statement it would continue to look into Bachmann’s case. The committee says it will announce its course of action in September and notes that an extension does not in itself indicate an ethics violation. A lawyer for Bachmann had previously acknowledged the investigation by the OCE and said that Bachmann was cooperating. That probe is focused in part on her short-lived presidential bid. Bachmann, a leader in the tea party movement, announced earlier this year she would not seek re-election.
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