And Lulzers turn on m_nerva
The international investigation into the notorious LulzSec hacking crew has moved from the UK to the US Midwest with the search of a house in Hamilton, Ohio by FBI agents.
Feds searched the house without making any arrests - at least initially - according to local media reports (here and here). It is unclear whether intelligence that led to the arrest was secured during the investigation of Ryan Cleary, 19, the British teenager last week charged over denial of service attacks linked to the infamous LulzSec hacking crew.
Puppet Masters
© Reuters
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez addresses the nation during a televised speech on June 30, 2011 in this still image taken from TV. Chavez on Thursday said he had undergone a successful operation in Cuba to extract cancerous cells and was on the road to full recovery. Chavez said the medical process was "slow and careful" and he was on the road to "full recovery".
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez addresses the nation during a televised speech on June 30, 2011 in this still image taken from TV. Chavez on Thursday said he had undergone a successful operation in Cuba to extract cancerous cells and was on the road to full recovery. Chavez said the medical process was "slow and careful" and he was on the road to "full recovery".
The announcement, which confirmed rumors swirling for nearly three weeks, convulsed the South American OPEC nation ahead of what was already looking like a tight race for a presidential election next year.
Speaking from Havana where he underwent surgery June 10, a pale and emotional Chavez gave no indication when he would return to Venezuela. Nor did he name a temporary substitute to lead the country of 29 million people.
"They confirmed the existence of a tumorous abscess, with the presence of cancerous cells, which needed another operation to extract the tumor completely," he said in his first address to the nation since his surgery.
Chavez, 56, said he was receiving "complementary treatments to combat different types of cells that were found" -- possibly implying chemotherapy.
"I deeply appreciate the demonstrations of solidarity by Venezuelans and other brotherly people," he added, standing at a lectern by a Venezuelan flag and a painting of his inspiration, South American independence hero Simon Bolivar.
© Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg News
Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be released on his own recognizance, and freed from house arrest.
Dominique Strauss-Kahn could be released on his own recognizance, and freed from house arrest.
Although forensic tests found unambiguous evidence of a sexual encounter between Mr. Strauss-Kahn, a French politician, and the woman, prosecutors now do not believe much of what the accuser has told them about the circumstances or about herself.
Since her initial allegation on May 14, the accuser has repeatedly lied, one of the law enforcement officials said.
Senior prosecutors met with lawyers for Mr. Strauss-Kahn on Thursday and provided details about their findings, and the parties are discussing whether to dismiss the felony charges. Among the discoveries, one of the officials said, are issues involving the asylum application of the 32-year-old housekeeper, who is Guinean, and possible links to people involved in criminal activities, including drug dealing and money laundering.
Prosecutors and defense lawyers will return to State Supreme Court in Manhattan on Friday morning, when Justice Michael J. Obus is expected to consider easing the extraordinary bail conditions that he imposed on Mr. Strauss-Kahn in the days after he was charged.
© C.G.P. Grey
It all comes down to two competing visions of how we should use pesticides -- either as much or as little as possible. For the most part, the EPA approves a pesticide when a company "lists" the chemical with the agency under the terms of the Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act (FIFRA). To get a pesticide listed with the EPA, a company has to submit its own data showing that the pesticide won't cause undue environmental harm. Once a pesticide is listed, in most cases, farmers can use it as they see fit -- with one notable exception.
© Reuters
Senate to halt PA aid?
Senate to halt PA aid?
The US Senate approved a bill Wednesday that calls for suspension of American aid to the Palestinian Authority if it insists on carrying out a plan to gain UN recognition for its statehood declaration in September.
The bill was approved by all 89 senators present. Its initiators are the Jewish and Democratic Senator Ben Cardin of Maryland and Republican Senator Susan Collins of Maine.
It stipulates that the Senate opposes "any attempt to establish or seek recognition of a Palestinian state outside of an agreement negotiated between leaders in Israel and the Palestinians".
Cardin explained that the Senate has conveyed a clear message to the international community with the bill, which states that UN recognition of a Palestinian state at this stage does not promote peace. An accord is achievable through negotiations alone, he said.
The bill also "urges the President to consider suspending assistance to the Palestinian Authority pending a review of the unity agreement between Fatah and Hamas".
© Unknown
Recent developments in the region, assassination of Osama bin Laden and a direct call by the US President Barack Obama on Israel to return behind 1967 borders and pave the way for the establishment of a Palestinian state are three sides of a historical triangle not only in the Middle East, but for the whole world. Some analysts believe that recent developments represent awakening of nations as a result of the accumulation of unheeded calls from those nations and suppression of their religious and national requests by despots. Others, however, allude to the hidden influence of the United States on these developments and maintain that they are in line with Washington's plan to form a new Middle East. Anyway, four months after the beginning of the Arab Spring, there are still questions as to the real nature of these uprisings, their temporary and long-term effects on regional stability and their relationship to Obama's concept of smart power and his promise for change. Perhaps, only time will respond to some of those questions. In the following interview with Khabar Online, Seyed Mohammad Sadeq Kharrazi, has discussed regional developments from a whole new angle and has explained position of Iran and its foes in the region. Iran's former ambassador to France and the United Nations maintains that under present circumstances, Iran, Turkey, and Egypt continue to be dominant powers in the region. However, certain players are trying to play a more effective role in power relations of the Middle East by banking on their relations with the United States. One of those players is Saudi Arabia.
© Unknown
The UK's Office for National Statistics and Lockheed Martin are racing to check if hacker group LulzSec has got its hands on this year's census data.
Such a massive data loss would be embarrassing even for a government with such an amazing record of data protection failures.
LulzSec's Twitter page has no mention of the supposed hack, but a message on PasteBin - which is open to anyone - suggests they have obtained the records.
© NY Times
Lulz Security claimed responsibility for knocking the Central Intelligence Agency’s Web site offline last week.
Lulz Security claimed responsibility for knocking the Central Intelligence Agency’s Web site offline last week.
The Internet may be about to get a little more chaotic than usual. Over the weekend, a group of hackers declared that they are initiating cyber warfare with governments and security companies around the world.
© Unknown
In his 2006 book, State of War: The Secret History of the CIA and the Bush Administration, author and New York Times reporter James Risen describes a CIA effort to thwart Iran's nuclear ambitions by secretly providing them with faulty blueprints. In the end, a Russian defector working for the CIA exposed the plot.
Risen was subpoenaed twice to testify about his sources. The first grand jury was dissolved before he could be forced to testify. For reasons that have not been revealed, U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema quashed the second subpoena last year.
© Reuters
Libyan rebels in the west of the country are battling their way towards Tripoli
Libyan rebels in the west of the country are battling their way towards Tripoli
Light arms and ammunition were sent to Berber tribal fighters in the Nafusa mountains in early June, it said.
Earlier, a report in Le Figaro newspaper said the arms included rocket launchers and anti-tank missiles.
France, a leading force in the Nato operation in Libya, did not inform its allies about the move, Le Figarosaid.
"We began by dropping humanitarian aid: food, water and medical supplies," said Col Thierry Burkhard, spokesman for the French general staff.
"During the operation, the situation for the civilians on the ground worsened. We dropped arms and means of self-defence, mainly ammunition," he told AFP news agency.
He said the arms were "light infantry weapons of the rifle type", dropped over a period of several days "so that civilians would not be massacred".
