Society's ChildS


Target

Federal Reserve hacked: Files stolen from 'internal website to be used as a contact database for banks during a natural disaster' by Anonymous

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US central bank confirms intrusion after hacktivist group Anonymous was claimed to have stolen 4,000 bankers' details

The US Federal Reserve bank has confirmed one of its internal websites was broken into by hackers after the hacktivist group Anonymous was claimed to have stolen details of more than 4,000 bank executives.

"The Federal Reserve system is aware that information was obtained by exploiting a temporary vulnerability in a website vendor product," a spokeswoman for the US central bank said.

"Exposure was fixed shortly after discovery and is no longer an issue. This incident did not affect critical operations of the Federal Reserve system," the spokeswoman said, adding that all individuals affected by the breach had been contacted.

Eye 2

Six Spanish female tourists in Acapulco beach resort raped at gunpoint after five armed and masked gunmen tied up their partners

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© Pedro Pardo/AFP/Getty ImagesA Mexican marine stands guard outside the property in Acapulco where six Spanish tourists were raped by masked gunmen.
Masked gunmen rape six Spanish women at Mexican beach resort in latest attack on tourists in recent days

A masked gang raped six Spanish women in Acapulco, authorities have said.

Five armed attackers broke into a property on a beach resort on Monday, tying up six men before raping the women.

The Guerrero state attorney general, Martha Garzon, said a seventh woman begged the men not to rape her and the assailants told her they would spare her because she was Mexican. "Fortunately, we have strong evidence to lead us to those responsible for this reprehensible act," Garzon told Radio Formula.

The mayor of Acapulco, Luis Walton, was later forced to apologise after he said the attack was "regrettable" because it would damage the city's image, but it "could have happened anywhere".

Magic Hat

Media circus: Outrage in Belgium as Marc Dutroux bids for early release from 30-year term for killing four young girls

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Murderer: Marc Dutroux, seen being escorted by police officers at Brussels' Palace of Justice today, is seeking early release from prison
The notorious paedophile and serial killer Marc Dutroux could be freed from jail just nine years after being jailed for life for a series of child murders which shocked his native Belgium and the rest of the world.

Dutroux, 57, kidnapped young girls and imprisoned them in tiny dungeons beneath his home before raping them and killing them in the 1990s.

He was sentenced to life in prison in 2004.But today the reviled killer appeared before a court in Brussels seeking to be released early and placed under house arrest with an electronic tag.
Shortly after his arrest in 1996 two teenage girls were found alive in one of the specially constructed cells which Dutroux had built.

His accomplice ex-wife Michelle Martin, 53, who left two other girls to starve to death whilst her husband was in custody, was jailed for 30 years for crimes including abduction in 2004.

She was released last year despite angry protests in Belgium.

She is now living with nuns in Malonne, where hundreds of furious villagers staged a mass demonstration upon her arrival at the convent to embark upon a period of ten years 'at prayer'.

Now under Belgian law Dutroux could also be freed, as he will have served one third of his minimum sentence when his years spent in custody are taken into account.

Comment: The Dutroux media circus continues... by giving Dutroux this opportunity to publicly appeal for release, while reassuring the public that it will 'never happen', it's almost as if the Belgian state is taunting people... or distracting them from what's not being said:

Belgian MP exposes truth behind West's 'War on Terror'


While the corrupt Belgian state is considering releasing the other half of the Dutroux-Martin murdergang, Marc Vervleosem is rotting away in jail in Belgium for the crime of taking direct action to expose the powerful pedophile network in Belgium and elsewhere...

Working Class Hero: Marcel Vervloesem Against the Pedocratic Elite


Card - VISA

International credit fraud scheme 'stole $200m'

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FBI agents entered Raja Jewelers, implicated in connection with the scheme, on Tuesday
Eighteen people have been charged with stealing at least $200m (£127m) in a credit card fraud ring, possibly one of the largest in US history.

The scam allegedly involved thousands of fake identities and businesses, lying to credit rating agencies and wiring some of the proceeds abroad.

An FBI agent said the accused had used "a virtual cafeteria of sophisticated frauds and schemes".

The New Jersey-based scam is alleged to have operated in 28 states.

Beginning in 2007, the elaborate scheme involved falsely improving the credit scores of 7,000 fake cardholders, allowing the scammers to borrow high amounts of money which they never repaid, investigators said.

Che Guevara

Native American confronts 'anti-illegal immigration' protesters


A Native American man criticized protesters at an Arizona rally against illegal immigration, calling them the real "illegals" for invading his country and killing Native Americans when Europeans first settled on US soil.

"You're all fucking illegal. You're all illegal," the Native American man yelled at the protesters, who had gathered in Tuscon, Arizona to demonstrate their opposition to illegal immigration by Central and South Americans. "We didn't invite none of you here. We're the only native Americans here."

Some have applauded the man for pointing out the protesters' hypocrisy, who at one point immigrated to the US themselves or are descendants of immigrants. The Native American man, who was pushing his baby through town in a stroller, staged his own protest when he came across the rally.

"Get on with your bogus arguments. We're the only legal ones here," he yelled.

One protester was caught standing near the angry Native American and became the target of his criticism. The man was carrying a small American flag and a sign that read, "We should have put that sign up when you son of the bitches came."

Pointing towards the American flag held by the protester, the Native American said that it "represents blood spilled by Native Americans, protecting this land from the invaders."

"You don't want to hear the God damn truth!" he yelled. "Get on, bitch! All the Native Americans you killed, you plant your houses here. That's the truth."

Heart - Black

Gang-rape victim's companion testifies at trial in New Delhi

The companion of an Indian medical student who died after being gang-raped identified the bus on which the attack took place.


The 28-year-old, confined to a wheelchair as a result of injuries sustained in the attack, confirmed that a white bus was the vehicle on which the deadly assault took place on December 16, his father said.

"Yes, my son could identify the bus. The cross-examination is going to start now," said the father, whose son cannot be named for legal reasons.
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Indian demonstrators protest for better safety for women following the rape of a student.
Although proceedings are subject to a gagging order, police allowed reporters to see the young man being taken in the company of lawyers and the judge to the bus which has been parked in the court compound.

No photographs were allowed.

He then returned inside the courtroom where he was expected to be cross-examined by lawyers for the five adult accused, who have all denied murder, rape and robbery charges.

A sixth defendant is being tried separately as a juvenile.

Piggy Bank

Almost half U.S. households living on brink of financial ruin

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According to a new report released by the Corporation for Enterprise Development, almost half of U.S. households don't have enough savings for emergencies, college tuition, health care and housing, reports BusinessInsider.com.

The report, entitled 'Assets & Opportunity Scorecard,' says that 132.1 million people wouldn't last three months if their income stopped. The report also said more than 30 percent of Americans don't even have a savings account.

More than 25 percent of families earning $55,465 - $90,000 annually have less than three months of savings, while another 25 percent of households are considered "net worth asset poor," meaning their assets (a home, business or car) are worth far less than their total debt amount.

The household median net worth has declined by more than $27,000 since 2006, while the cost of housing, food, and education have soared.

Comment: This is what results when 1% of the population controls most of the wealth:
The Price of Inequality
Plutocracy: Extreme Income Inequality the Major Reason for the Great Recession
Half of America In Poverty? The Facts Say It's True


USA

Hagel picked by Obama because of shared views on a post-superpower world?

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© Mark Wilson/Getty ImagesFormer U.S. Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., speaks at the White House on Monday after President Obama nominated him to replace U.S. Defense Secretary Leon Panetta.
In the first months of the Obama presidency in 2009, Chuck Hagel, who had just finished two terms as a U.S. senator, went to the White House to visit with the friend he had made during the four years they overlapped in the Senate.

So, President Obama asked, what do you think about foreign policy and defense issues?

According to an account that Hagel later gave, and is reported here for the first time, he told Obama: "We are at a time where there is a new world order. We don't control it. You must question everything, every assumption, everything they" - the military and diplomats - "tell you. Any assumption 10 years old is out of date. You need to question our role. You need to question the military. You need to question what are we using the military for.

"Afghanistan will be defining for your presidency in the first term," Hagel also said, according to his own account, "perhaps even for a second term." The key was not to get "bogged down."

Obama did not say much but listened. At the time, Hagel considered Obama a "loner," inclined to keep a distance and his own counsel. But Hagel's comments help explain why Obama nominated his former Senate colleague to be his next secretary of defense. The two share similar views and philosophies as the Obama administration attempts to define the role of the United States in the transition to a post-superpower world.

Comment: There is no real evidence to suggest that Obama has any reluctance whatsoever to engage in war, allow rendition and torture and kill civilians indiscriminately:
Obama's dirty wars exposed at Sundance Film Festival
"The President Who Became an Actor": And This Year's Oscar Goes To... Barack Obama
Watching Obama Morph Into Dick Cheney


Cowboy Hat

Outrage at Duke University over fraternity's Asian-themed 'racist rager'

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© Facebook
A Kappa Sigma theme party held Friday has drawn major backlash from the Asian community and others at the University.

At 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday several students including seniors Ashley Tsai, Tong Xiang and Ting-Ting Zhou posted flyers across Duke's campus protesting a Kappa Sigma party that took place Feb. 1. The flyers included emails sent out to party invitees as well as photographs of students at the party, which were taken from Facebook.

The party was originally called "Kappa Sigma Asia Prime" before a report was filed with the Office of Fraternity and Sorority Life, after which a second email was then sent to invitees. The message said Asia Prime was canceled and a new party "International Relations" would instead take place.

Attention

Australia warns: Stay away from washed up deadly chemical canisters

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AFP Photo / Greg Wood
Australian authorities have issued a warning for all citizens to report and stay away from 20 silver canisters of highly toxic chemical washed up on east coast beaches. Reportedly the deadly substance may have fallen from a passing ship.

The chemical is believed to be aluminum phosphide and is deadly if inhaled or ingested. When the chemical comes into contact with air, it produces highly toxic and flammable gas, which can be fatal if inhaled, AAP reported.

It is often used to fumigate ships, but can also be applied as a pesticide and rabbit poison in Australia.

"This is a highly restricted toxic substance and indeed a very dangerous poison," Fire and Rescue NSW (FRNSW) said in a statement.