Society's ChildS


Light Saber

Hollywood studios employees caught pirating films


RT
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:00 UTC
Image
BitTorrent logo
The US movie industry claims online piracy is costing it billions of dollars in lost revenues. However, data released by TorrentFreak shows "BitTorrent piracy is rampant in Hollywood" where studios employees are busy pirating films.

­"Hollywood isn't without 'sin' when it comes to piracy. The MPAA and others lobby very hard for anti-piracy measures, but can't even stop piracy in the offices of their own member studios," Torrentfreak.com reported.

The website dedicated to reporting the latest news and trends on the BitTorrent protocol and file sharing claims "BitTorrent piracy is rampant in Hollywood."

Torrentfreak published some of the files that Hollywood studios were sharing; starting with Paramount Pictures who's static IP-addresses were associated with the downloading of a wide variety of content. The indie production Battle Force was one of the movies shared, as well as the Lionsgate film The Hunger Games. However, the list also included Happy Feet, a movie distributed by competitor Warner Bros.
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Better Earth

Does Hillary Clinton have brain cancer? White House denies report that debilitating illness was behind her collapse and decision to step down


Daily Mail, UK
Thu, 27 Dec 2012 00:00 UTC
  • Image
    © National EnquirerThe National Enquirer splashed the story across its front page, pictured
    The National Enquirer claims brain cancer is behind Clinton's recent collapse and that she is facing a barrage of medical tests
  • State Department labelled the claims 'absolute nonsense' and insists she is recovering well at home
  • The Secretary of State suffered a concussion after she collapsed in her home earlier this month
  • On Friday, President Barack Obama nominated Senator John Kerry to replace Clinton after she chose to step down
Government officials have vehemently denied claims that Hillary Clinton is undergoing extensive tests for brain cancer.

The National Enquirer reported the debilitating illness was behind the Secretary of State's recent collapse and that she was facing a barrage of medical tests to confirm the diagnosis.

But a spokesman for the 65-year-old Democrat labelled the claims 'absolute nonsense' and insisted Clinton was recovering well from the fall and subsequent concussion.

The Secretary of State suffered a concussion after she collapsed in her home earlier this month.
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Pistol

Man accused of shooting at Edmonton police faces 31 charges with more pending


Yahoo! Canada News
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 00:00 UTC
Edmonton, Canada - A man accused of shooting at Edmonton police and holding RCMP at bay in a rural motel faces 31 criminal charges, with more pending.

Police say things went wrong Sunday night during a routine traffic stop in Edmonton when the driver of an SUV fired a shot at officers before speeding off.

Edmonton police say they found a suspect on Christmas Day at a motel in Redwater, a rural community north of the capital.

Police say when more shots were fired an RCMP tactical team surrounded the motel and arrested a man after a seven-hour standoff.

Patrick Young, 22, faces aggravated assault on a police officer and 30 other charges, including firearms offences.

Police say RCMP are to lay additional charges.

Source: The Canadian Press
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Health

Nelson Mandela released from the hospital, will get more care at home


Yahoo! Canada News
Thu, 27 Dec 2012 02:37 UTC
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela
Johannesburg - South Africa's presidency says Nelson Mandela, the anti-apartheid icon and former president, has been released from the hospital.

The 94-year-old had been in the hospital since Dec. 8. He was diagnosed with a lung infection and also had a procedure to remove gallstones.

In recent days, officials have said Mandela is improving, but doctors have taken extraordinary care with his health because of his age.

Presidential spokesman Mac Maharaj says Mandela will receive more medical care at his Johannesburg home until he fully recovers.

Maharaj requested that the public respect Mandela's privacy at this time.

Source: The Associated Press and The Canadian Press
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Laptop

Zuckerberg family photo questions Facebook's privacy settings


Franchise Herald
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:43 UTC
Zuckerberg Family
© TwitterZuckerberg family photo posted publicly on Twitter by one of Randi Zuckerberg's subscribers on Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg's own sister, Randi, has complained about a Facebook privacy policy after a family photo she posted on Facebook as private was actually visible to more than her friends and started making the rounds online.

Randi Zuckerberg found it "way uncool" that one of her subscribers on Facebook saw and tweeted a family photo that she had shared. "Not sure where you got that photo," tweeted Zuckerberg. "I posted it to friends only on FB."

Randi Zuckerberg, the former head of marketing for Facebook and the executive producer of Bravo's reality series Silicon Valley, was surprised when she discovered that a Zuckerberg family photo of Randi and her family (including Mark) reacting to the new Poke app.

One of her Facebook subscribers, Callie Schweitzer, director of marketing and projects at VoxMedia, re-posted the Zuckerberg family photo publically on Twitter.
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Magnify

TSA agent: 'We laugh at your nude images, dear passengers'


RT
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 19:17 UTC
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© AFP Photo / Kevork DjansezianTransportation Security Administration (TSA) agents screen passangers at airport
If you were ever hesitant to walk through TSA's nude scanners at an airport, you had good reason: A former TSA employee has revealed that fellow officers frequently laugh at the sight of passengers' naked bodies.

The former Transportation Security Administration agent exposed the disturbing behavior on his blog, Taking Sense Away, after a reader asked him what goes in in the agency's private rooms. The agent, who responds to questions anonymously, said he never heard of anything illegal or inappropriate going on in private screening rooms, but often witnessed agents acting improperly in the image operator (IO) rooms, which is where TSA agents review nude X-ray images.

No surveillance cameras or recording devices are placed in these rooms, making it impossible for private conversations between the officers to be exposed.
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Magnify

Buyer beware: Toyota pays more than $1bn over car faults

Conal Urquhart
Guardian
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:36 UTC
Image
© Photograph: Kevork Djansezian/Getty Images
Largest settlement in US history involving car defects must now be approved by a judge

The Toyota car company has agreed to pay over $1bn to settle claims that its cars could unintentionally accelerate out of control. A judge must approve Toyota's offer of $1.1bn (£683m) which was filed in a Californian court on Wednesday.

Toyota was taken to court by owners of its cars who claimed there was an electronic fault in the acceleration system. Toyota said any accelerator problems were caused by driver error, pedals sticking or badly fitted mats. The settlement means Toyota does not admit blame and avoids a lengthy trial.
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Arrow Down

JFK conspiracy theorists ask for inclusion in 50-year ceremony

Ana Campoy
The Wall Street Journal
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 18:21 UTC
John Judge
© Melissa Golden for The Wall Street JournalJohn Judge says Dallas is preventing conspiracy theorists a permit to gather at Dealey Plaza, the assassination site.
Dallas - Officials in the city where President John F. Kennedy was gunned down Nov. 22, 1963, want to observe the 50th anniversary of that day with a celebration of his life.

The city plans a ceremony that would include readings from Kennedy speeches by historian David McCullough and military jets flying over Dealey Plaza, where the 35th president was shot.

But some who believe the assassination was a conspiracy involving high-ranking U.S. officials say their views shouldn't be excluded from the commemoration.

"It's absurd to move the discussion of his death to another moment," said John Judge, executive director of the Coalition on Political Assassinations, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit that studies 1960s murders of public figures. "Our First Amendment rights are being violated."

Mr. Judge, 65 years old, said conspiracy-theory proponents have gathered at Dealey Plaza every Nov. 22 since 1964. Next year, he added, will be the first that Dallas hasn't granted a permit for the meeting, which usually involves a moment of silence and a few speeches.

He said the city should move its ceremony elsewhere, adding that his group's members would find a way to disseminate their theories during the city event, possibly even dropping protest banners from nearby buildings.

"The world and the nation turned against Dallas," Mr. Payne said.
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Bizarro Earth

Giant aquarium bursts, injures 15 at Nanjing Road Pedestrian Mall

Zhao Wen and Zha Minjie
Shanghai Daily
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 16:01 UTC
A large, 33.5-ton aquarium burst late yesterday in a busy shopping center on the pedestrian mall on Nanjing Road E., injuring 15 people, including customers and shop staff.

One male customer, in his 30s, was hit by falling glass and had broken bones in his leg. Others had cuts and bruises.

Image
© http://www.sina.com.cn/
Three sharks raised inside the 7-meter-long, 3-meter-high aquarium, on the first floor of the Orient Shopping Center, died in the incident about 7:50pm.

Local police and work safety authorities said the cause of the accident was under investigation.

Eight of the injured were believed to be customers while the rest shop assistants and security staff. The aquarium was built about two years ago.

Several cosmetics counters along the aquarium on the inside of the center were damaged and water flooded the pedestrian street. Wreckage of the aquarium and the dead sharks, about 30 to 40 centimeters long, remained until staff picked them up.

"It just suddenly broke and fell off," said an injured man, surnamed Li. He was hit by a falling metal frame.
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Crusader

New petition urges U.S. to keep Piers Morgan 'because UK doesn't want him'

Amanda Holpuch
Guardian
Wed, 26 Dec 2012 15:53 UTC
Image
© Photograph: Jae C Hong/APPiers Morgan, who became the subject of an online petition after lambasting the pro-gun lobby.
Following a groundswell of support in America for demands to expel Piers Morgan from the country and deport him back to the UK over his views on US gun controls, it seems that any return home for the chatshow host would not be greeted warmly by everyone.

The White House has yet to respond to an online petition calling for the TV presenter to be marched to the nearest American exit, but it has not stopped UK citizens from launching a pre-emptive strike against any such move.

The petition to "Keep Piers Morgan in the USA" had nearly 600 signatures by Wednesday night, far from the 25,000 signature threshold necessary to prompt a White House response.

It was created in response to the petition "Deport British Citizen Piers Morgan for Attacking 2nd Amendment", which had attracted more than 73,000 supporters. "Kurt N" in Austin, Texas, created the petition following Morgan's repeated calls for increased US gun control in the wake of the Newtown shootings.

On 14 December, the day of the primary school shooting, Morgan used his nightly broadcast to lambast the pro-gun lobby, shouting down John Lott, author of More Guns, Less Crime, in an angry exchange.

In a subsequent blogpost on CNN.com, Morgan wrote: "The senseless killing has to stop," and called for a ban on high-powered assault rifles and high-capacity gun magazines.
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