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Puppet Masters
Including the police, says former tabloid lawyer
James Murdoch was made aware in 2008 that alleged phone-hacking practices at the News of the World went beyond "one rogue reporter", the former legal manager of News Group Newspapers claimed to MPs today.
Tom Crone said that an email with the subject line "For Neville" was "the first piece of evidence we'd seen that showed [illegal voicemail interception] went beyond Clive Goodman".
Goodman was the News of the World's royal editor. He, alongside private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, was jailed for illegal phone hacking in early 2007.
Crone told the Media, Culture and Sports committee that he didn't make a copy of the email, nor did he ever refer to it as the "For Neville" [understood to be NotW reporter Neville Thurlbeck] email. But he insisted that James Murdoch knew about the existence of the document.
James Murdoch was made aware in 2008 that alleged phone-hacking practices at the News of the World went beyond "one rogue reporter", the former legal manager of News Group Newspapers claimed to MPs today.
Tom Crone said that an email with the subject line "For Neville" was "the first piece of evidence we'd seen that showed [illegal voicemail interception] went beyond Clive Goodman".
Goodman was the News of the World's royal editor. He, alongside private investigator Glenn Mulcaire, was jailed for illegal phone hacking in early 2007.
Crone told the Media, Culture and Sports committee that he didn't make a copy of the email, nor did he ever refer to it as the "For Neville" [understood to be NotW reporter Neville Thurlbeck] email. But he insisted that James Murdoch knew about the existence of the document.
Iranian 'Comodohacker' says he can still issue bogus certs
The digital miscreant known as ComodoHacker has claimed responsibility for the high-profile DigiNotar digital certificate authority hack.
Soon after the Comodo forged certificates hack an Iranian using the handle Comodohacker posted a series of messages via Pastebin account providing evidence that he carried out the attack. The account, which has been dormant since March, sprung back to life on Tuesday with claims that the individual or individuals behind it hacked DigiNotar as well, net security firm F-Secure reports.
The digital miscreant known as ComodoHacker has claimed responsibility for the high-profile DigiNotar digital certificate authority hack.
Soon after the Comodo forged certificates hack an Iranian using the handle Comodohacker posted a series of messages via Pastebin account providing evidence that he carried out the attack. The account, which has been dormant since March, sprung back to life on Tuesday with claims that the individual or individuals behind it hacked DigiNotar as well, net security firm F-Secure reports.
Director of cybercrime centres to increase Sony security
Gaming console maker Sony has hired a former US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defence official to fill its primary security post after a series of large scale attacks on its gaming networks by hackers earlier this year.
The position of chief information security officer and senior vice president will be filled by Philip Reitinger, who previously worked as director for the US National Cyber Security Centre and executive director for the US Department of Defence Cyber Crime Center, which gives him plenty of experience with cybercrime.
Reitinger will report to Nicole Seligman, executive vice president and general legal counsel for Sony US, suggesting that the appointment will not just be about bumping up security, but will also involve tracking down some of the people behind this year's attacks.
Reitinger has also previously worked for Microsoft as chief security strategist, so he also has experience working with top technology firms.
"Certainly the network issue was a catalyst for the appointment," said a Sony spokesperson, according to Reuters. "We are looking to bolster our network security even further."
Gaming console maker Sony has hired a former US Department of Homeland Security and Department of Defence official to fill its primary security post after a series of large scale attacks on its gaming networks by hackers earlier this year.
The position of chief information security officer and senior vice president will be filled by Philip Reitinger, who previously worked as director for the US National Cyber Security Centre and executive director for the US Department of Defence Cyber Crime Center, which gives him plenty of experience with cybercrime.
Reitinger will report to Nicole Seligman, executive vice president and general legal counsel for Sony US, suggesting that the appointment will not just be about bumping up security, but will also involve tracking down some of the people behind this year's attacks.
Reitinger has also previously worked for Microsoft as chief security strategist, so he also has experience working with top technology firms.
"Certainly the network issue was a catalyst for the appointment," said a Sony spokesperson, according to Reuters. "We are looking to bolster our network security even further."
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Chances are, if you've ever sent a package overnight, bought a PC or a can of soda, you've paid your hard-earned money to a major Pentagon contractor. While large defense corporations that make fighter jets and armored vehicles garner the most attention, tens of thousands of "civilian" companies, from multi-national corporations hawking toothpaste and shampoo to big oil behemoths and even local restaurants scattered across the United States, all supply the Pentagon with the necessities used to carry on day-to-day operations and wage America's wars. And they've made a killing doing it since 9/11.
In 2001, the massive arms dealers Lockheed Martin, Boeing and Northrop Grumman ranked one, two and five among Department of Defense contractors, raking in $14.7 billion, $13.3 billion and $5.2 billion, respectively, in contracts. Last year, Lockheed's contract dollars were almost double their pre-9/11 level, clocking in at $28 billion, while Boeing's had jumped to almost $19 billion and Northrop Grumman, still in the five spot, had more than doubled its 2001 take, with $12.8 billion in contracts.
America's recent wars have obviously been good to these companies. On September 10, 2001, Lockheed's share price was $38.32. Today, it tops $70 per share. In 2001, the company's net sales reached $24 billion. Last year, they were almost $46 billion. Likewise, Northrop Grumman's net income has more than quadrupled in the last decade, according to the investment analysis website, Seeking Alpha. Still, these corporations are just a fraction of the story when it comes to the massive sums of money made by the military contractors since September 11, 2001.
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Unlikely partners. Netanyahu and Obama
Unlikely partners. Netanyahu and Obama
Former US secretary of defense says Prime Minister Netanyahu's policies isolating Israel on a global level
Washington - Former US Secretary of Defense Robert Gates blasted Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, saying that his policies were ungrateful towards the US and were isolating Israel on a global level.
Gates' harsh words were said during a meeting of the National Security Council Principals Committee, Bloomberg's Jeffrey Goldber reported Tuesday.
Gates believes Netanyahu's government has offered the Obama administration "nothing in return" for its generous security aid, which includes access to top-quality weapons, assistance in developing missile-defense systems and high-level intelligence sharing.
The former defense secretary said that not only is Netanyahu ungrateful, but his polices were "endangering his country by refusing to grapple with Israel's growing isolation and with the demographic challenges it faces if it keeps control of the West Bank."
Listen to my complete interview with Susan Lindauer here. Below is a transcript of the first half of the interview.
Comment: While we need to look at with skepticism anything that someone who "used to" work with the CIA tells us, there are some new angles here. At the very least what some faction in Spookland wants us to think is a datapoint in itself. And Kevin Barrett's questions address directly what Susan Lindauer seemed reluctant to: Israel's role in planning 9/11.
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Israeli warplanes
Israeli warplanes
There has been no immediate report of casualties from Gaza following the overnight attack, AFP reported on Tuesday.
On August 22, a ceasefire was agreed to by Hamas and Tel Aviv, but it has not stopped the Israeli regime from launching further deadly airstrikes on the Gaza Strip, leading to more Palestinian casualties.
Israel has increased its attacks on the Palestinian territory in recent months, killing and wounding scores of individuals in the impoverished Gaza.
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The poll, jointly conducted by Washington Post and ABC News, found that 53 percent of Americans disapprove of Obama's job performance and 77 percent think the country is on the wrong track.
The survey, which was published on Monday, also illustrated that 35 percent of Americans believe they have become worse off financially under Obama's presidency.
The poll also found that a majority of Americans were angry with Republicans and they had lost their confidence in the Republican-dominated US Congress.
The Obama administration has decided to drop the number of U.S. troops in Iraq at the end of the year down to 3,000, marking a major downgrade in force strength, multiple sources familiar with the inner workings and decisions on U.S. troop movements in Iraq told Fox News.
Senior commanders are said to be livid at the decision, which has already been signed off by Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
Panetta, touring sites Tuesday in advance of the Sept. 11 10th commemoration, insisted "no decision has been made" on the number of troops to stay in Iraq.
"That obviously will be the subject of negotiations with the Iraqis and as a result of those negotiations. As I said no decision has been made of what the number will be," he said.
Currently, about 45,000 U.S. troops are stationed in Iraq. The generals on the ground had requested that the number of troops remaining in Iraq at the end of the year reach about 27,000. But, there was major pushback about "the cost and the political optics" of that decision that the number was then reduced to 10,000.
