Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Looming North Korean famine, and then some...
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| A Triangular Shadow of a Large Volcano |
*Dead fish spotted near site of Bohai Bay oil spill: "The incident which was said to have happened around June 10 only came to light on June 21 after stories were posted online Conoco and its Chinese partner CNOOC Ltd had not spoken about the spill until last Friday after it had hit the headlines."
*Contaminated river water causing fish deaths in Moradabad: "Dozens of dead fish were noticed by local residents, and they said this is a regular practice. "Most of the times it happens that the contaminated water, mixed with the toxic chemicals, become detrimental to aquatic animals, and it is dangerous for us as well," said Gopal Sharma, a local"
*Industries lobby against voluntary nutrition guidelines for food marketed to kids: "Core members of the coalition — including General Mills, Kellogg, PepsiCo and Time Warner — spent $6.6 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year, disclosure records show. Overall, records show, the coalition’s main members have spent nearly $60 million on lobbying since the start of the Obama administration.
One of the main players is media giant Viacom. It owns the Nickelodeon television network, whose animated characters — including Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants — are featured prominently on food products marketed to children. Viacom’s corporate parent spent nearly $1 million a month on lobbying in the first three months of this year, mostly on media and technology issues."
*Netizens shed light on looming North Korean famine: "Scattered accounts across various social networks piece together a patchwork picture of life inside authoritarian-ruled North Korea where, it seems, the threat of a massive famine looms large over its citizens.With the obvious absence of state reports on hunger affecting North Koreans, social media sites such as Reddit and Storify have become platforms of discussion and information disemmination regarding the impending famine."
*Industries lobby against voluntary nutrition guidelines for food marketed to kids: "Core members of the coalition — including General Mills, Kellogg, PepsiCo and Time Warner — spent $6.6 million on lobbying in the first quarter of this year, disclosure records show. Overall, records show, the coalition’s main members have spent nearly $60 million on lobbying since the start of the Obama administration.
One of the main players is media giant Viacom. It owns the Nickelodeon television network, whose animated characters — including Dora the Explorer and SpongeBob SquarePants — are featured prominently on food products marketed to children. Viacom’s corporate parent spent nearly $1 million a month on lobbying in the first three months of this year, mostly on media and technology issues."
*Netizens shed light on looming North Korean famine: "Scattered accounts across various social networks piece together a patchwork picture of life inside authoritarian-ruled North Korea where, it seems, the threat of a massive famine looms large over its citizens.With the obvious absence of state reports on hunger affecting North Koreans, social media sites such as Reddit and Storify have become platforms of discussion and information disemmination regarding the impending famine."
*Sir David Frost was paid £57,000 by shadowy management consultancy to boost Gaddafi's image "They were part of the U.S.-based consultancy’s effort to ‘enhance the profile of Libya and Muammar Gaddafi’ between 2006 and 2009 and create an international image of the dictator as ‘a thinker and intellectual’."*Crisis? What crisis? As Europe wrestled with Greek bailout, Governor of Bank of England spent six days at Wimbledon: "He was there on its first day, Monday June 20, alongside guests including the Duke of Kent, Sir Terry Wogan and Sir Jackie Stewart.
In the early afternoon, as the International Monetary Fund warned that if Europe failed to tackle the Greek crisis it could cause a second global financial meltdown, Sir Mervyn saw first-round victories for Nadal and Murray."
In the early afternoon, as the International Monetary Fund warned that if Europe failed to tackle the Greek crisis it could cause a second global financial meltdown, Sir Mervyn saw first-round victories for Nadal and Murray."
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No more Lulz as hackers log off
A publicity-seeking hacker group that has left a trail of sabotaged websites around the world has unexpectedly dissolved itself.
Lulz Security made its announcement yesterday through its Twitter account. It gave no reason for the disbandment, which could be a sign of nerves in the face of law enforcement investigations.
One of the group's members was interviewed by The Associated Press on Friday, but gave no indication that its work was ending.
LulzSec claimed hacks on major entertainment companies, FBI partner organisations, the CIA, the US Senate and a pornography website.
Kevin Mitnick, a security consultant and former hacker, said the group had probably concluded that the more they kept up their activities the greater the chance one of them would make some mistake to enable authorities to catch them.
They inspired copycat groups around the globe, he noted, which meant similar attacks were likely to continue even without LulzSec.
"They can sit back and watch the mayhem and not risk being captured," Mr Mitnick said.
As a parting shot, LulzSec released documents and log-in information apparently gleaned from gaming websites and corporate servers.
The largest group of documents - 338 files - appears to be internal documents from AT&T , detailing its buildout of a new wireless broadband network in the US.
Lulz Security made its announcement yesterday through its Twitter account. It gave no reason for the disbandment, which could be a sign of nerves in the face of law enforcement investigations.
One of the group's members was interviewed by The Associated Press on Friday, but gave no indication that its work was ending.
LulzSec claimed hacks on major entertainment companies, FBI partner organisations, the CIA, the US Senate and a pornography website.
Kevin Mitnick, a security consultant and former hacker, said the group had probably concluded that the more they kept up their activities the greater the chance one of them would make some mistake to enable authorities to catch them.
They inspired copycat groups around the globe, he noted, which meant similar attacks were likely to continue even without LulzSec.
"They can sit back and watch the mayhem and not risk being captured," Mr Mitnick said.
As a parting shot, LulzSec released documents and log-in information apparently gleaned from gaming websites and corporate servers.
The largest group of documents - 338 files - appears to be internal documents from AT&T , detailing its buildout of a new wireless broadband network in the US.
A spokesman for the phone company could not immediately confirm the authenticity of the documents.
In the earlier interview, the LulzSec member said the group was sitting on at least five gigabytes of government and law enforcement data from across the world, which it planned to release in the next three weeks. Yesterday's release was less than a tenth that size.
In an unusual strategy for a hacker group, LulzSec has sought publicity and conducted a conversation with the public through its Twitter account.
Observers believe it is an offshoot of Anonymous, a larger, more loosely organised group that attempts to mobilise hackers for attacks on targets it considers immoral, such as Middle Eastern governments and opponents of WikiLeaks.
LulzSec, on the other hand, claimed it attacked anyone it could for "the lulz", which is internet jargon for "laughs".
A British teenager diagnosed with autism and accused of attacking websites as part of LulzSec was remanded in custody at the weekend.
Ryan Cleary, 19, appeared at a London court charged with offences including hacking into the website of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Judge Nicholas Evans initially granted him bail after his defence team said the teenager had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, since his arrest.
The decision was swiftly overturned after objections by prosecutors.
From: theaustralian.com
Info is free, spread it!
In the earlier interview, the LulzSec member said the group was sitting on at least five gigabytes of government and law enforcement data from across the world, which it planned to release in the next three weeks. Yesterday's release was less than a tenth that size.
In an unusual strategy for a hacker group, LulzSec has sought publicity and conducted a conversation with the public through its Twitter account.
Observers believe it is an offshoot of Anonymous, a larger, more loosely organised group that attempts to mobilise hackers for attacks on targets it considers immoral, such as Middle Eastern governments and opponents of WikiLeaks.
LulzSec, on the other hand, claimed it attacked anyone it could for "the lulz", which is internet jargon for "laughs".
A British teenager diagnosed with autism and accused of attacking websites as part of LulzSec was remanded in custody at the weekend.
Ryan Cleary, 19, appeared at a London court charged with offences including hacking into the website of the Serious Organised Crime Agency.
Judge Nicholas Evans initially granted him bail after his defence team said the teenager had been diagnosed with Asperger's syndrome, a form of autism, since his arrest.
The decision was swiftly overturned after objections by prosecutors.
From: theaustralian.com
Info is free, spread it!
A Tweet Response to a Government Contractor Hack
By Nathan Hodge
The Twitterverse is, well, atwitter over an apparent hack attack against government contracting and consulting heavyweight Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
Fittingly enough, the company is sticking to the microblogging website in reply.
AntiSec, an apparent spinoff of the hacking group Anonymous, said Monday it had infiltrated networks belonging to Booz Allen – and had obtained thousands of military email addresses and passwords in the process. “We infiltrated a server on their network that basically had no security measures in place,” read a message posted on a website called the Pirate Bay. “We were able to run our own application, which turned out to be a shell and began plundering some booty. Most shiny is probably a list of roughly 90,000 military emails and password hashes."
Booz Allen’s official response? The following tweet: “As part of @BoozAllen security policy, we generally do not comment on specific threats or actions taken against our systems.”
The attack, dubbed “Military Meltdown Monday” quickly picked up a Twitter hashtag (#militarymeltdownmonday). And plenty of tweeters are weighing in on the crisis P.R. response of Booz Allen, a major Beltway contracting firm that provides myriad services to U.S. agencies and private clients, including cyber security.
It’s hard to gauge, then, how seriously the company – or the government, or its clients – take the incident. “We are aware of the incident and coordinating with our federal partners,” said a Department of Defense official, without further elaboration.
From: Washington Wire
Info is free, spread it!
The Twitterverse is, well, atwitter over an apparent hack attack against government contracting and consulting heavyweight Booz Allen Hamilton Inc.
Fittingly enough, the company is sticking to the microblogging website in reply.
AntiSec, an apparent spinoff of the hacking group Anonymous, said Monday it had infiltrated networks belonging to Booz Allen – and had obtained thousands of military email addresses and passwords in the process. “We infiltrated a server on their network that basically had no security measures in place,” read a message posted on a website called the Pirate Bay. “We were able to run our own application, which turned out to be a shell and began plundering some booty. Most shiny is probably a list of roughly 90,000 military emails and password hashes."
The attack, dubbed “Military Meltdown Monday” quickly picked up a Twitter hashtag (#militarymeltdownmonday). And plenty of tweeters are weighing in on the crisis P.R. response of Booz Allen, a major Beltway contracting firm that provides myriad services to U.S. agencies and private clients, including cyber security.
It’s hard to gauge, then, how seriously the company – or the government, or its clients – take the incident. “We are aware of the incident and coordinating with our federal partners,” said a Department of Defense official, without further elaboration.
From: Washington Wire
Info is free, spread it!
Indonesian Volcano Spews Ash 15KM Into The Air
July 12, 2011
MANADO, INDONESIA (BNO NEWS) – Indonesia’s Mount Lokon, which is located on the northern tip of the island of Sulawesi, erupted Monday prompting officials to warn of possible disruption to air traffic in the region.
Indonesian Transportation Ministry’s Public Communication Center chief Bambang S. Ervan said volcanic ash reached 50,000 feet into the air after its latest eruptions, Antara news agency reported. Bambang also warned air traffic networks to avoid flying through the area and to take extra precautions.
In its ‘Notice to Airman,’ the Transportation Ministry established the eruption’s danger zone of 10 Nautical Miles, or some 18.52 kilometres (11.5 miles) from Mount Lokon. Meanwhile, local authorities said about 7,000 inhabitants, who reside near the foot of Mount Lokon, namely those in the Kakaskasen and Kinilow areas, will be evacuated starting Tuesday morning.
Residents had been advised to evacuate the area since Monday night, as Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency’s (BNPB) Data Center Chief Sutopo Purwon Nugroho said officials had established Lokon’s evacuation zone to at least 3.5 kilometre (2.2 mile) radius from its crater. He also urged resident to be aware of further eruptions, possible lava flow through a river, which flows down from Lokon’s peak, as well as dust, sand, and rock rains.
Tuesday’s evacuation will be carried out with dozens of school buses, cars, and trucks, which have already been lined up at the local search and rescue agency. Three evacuation centers are also being prepared in which several tents have been set up.
Earlier, BNPB raised the volcano’s alert level status after Mount Lokon, which is 1,500 metres (4,921 feet) high, increased its volcanic activity. Since 12:40 a.m. local time, it spewed varied amounts of ash until erupting at 3:50 p.m., producing a thick brownish volcanic ash cloud, North Sulawesi Volcanic Monitoring Post Farid Ruskanda Bina said.
Farid said the exact height of the the ash cloud could not be determined because the eruption was fresh. He did underline, however, that the eruption was big.Nonetheless, Sutopo called on residents to keep calm and follow indication announced by local officials and not believe rumors. Lokon is located some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away from Manado, Sulawesi’s second-largest city, and is located on the island’s northern tip, where large and small ash clouds have been seen. The latest ash cloud can be seen north of the mountain covering Jalan Tinoor, Warembungan, and may be heading towards Manado.
Indonesian Transportation Ministry’s Public Communication Center chief Bambang S. Ervan said volcanic ash reached 50,000 feet into the air after its latest eruptions, Antara news agency reported. Bambang also warned air traffic networks to avoid flying through the area and to take extra precautions.
In its ‘Notice to Airman,’ the Transportation Ministry established the eruption’s danger zone of 10 Nautical Miles, or some 18.52 kilometres (11.5 miles) from Mount Lokon. Meanwhile, local authorities said about 7,000 inhabitants, who reside near the foot of Mount Lokon, namely those in the Kakaskasen and Kinilow areas, will be evacuated starting Tuesday morning.
Residents had been advised to evacuate the area since Monday night, as Indonesia’s National Disaster Management Agency’s (BNPB) Data Center Chief Sutopo Purwon Nugroho said officials had established Lokon’s evacuation zone to at least 3.5 kilometre (2.2 mile) radius from its crater. He also urged resident to be aware of further eruptions, possible lava flow through a river, which flows down from Lokon’s peak, as well as dust, sand, and rock rains.
Tuesday’s evacuation will be carried out with dozens of school buses, cars, and trucks, which have already been lined up at the local search and rescue agency. Three evacuation centers are also being prepared in which several tents have been set up.
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| Mount Lokon Indonesia. Image wiki |
Farid said the exact height of the the ash cloud could not be determined because the eruption was fresh. He did underline, however, that the eruption was big.Nonetheless, Sutopo called on residents to keep calm and follow indication announced by local officials and not believe rumors. Lokon is located some 20 kilometers (12.4 miles) away from Manado, Sulawesi’s second-largest city, and is located on the island’s northern tip, where large and small ash clouds have been seen. The latest ash cloud can be seen north of the mountain covering Jalan Tinoor, Warembungan, and may be heading towards Manado.
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| Flickr Photo: zadoc |
Dozens of active volcanoes in Indonesia are part of the Pacific Ring of Fire, known for frequent earthquakes and volcanic eruptions. Next to Mount Lokon is its volcanic twin, Mount Empung, just 2.2 kilometres (1.3 miles) away
One of Indonesia’s most active volcanoes is Mount Merapi, which located in the island of Java near Jogjakarta, the country’s second-most visited area after Bali. Last year, more than 300 people were killed in a series of eruptions between October and November that also displaced over 300,000 people. Follow Irish Weather Online on Twitter
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