Yearly Archives: 2013

36-Year Old Hacker Who Made ATMs Spit Out Cash Dies in San Francisco; Hastings Connection?

"This is a guy who had demonstrated the year before how he could wirelessly direct an implantable insulin pump to deliver a lethal dose. The year before that, he hacked an ATM to make it spray out bills like a slot machine. But trouble-making is what he’s paid to do at IOActive, and in that role he has developed a particular respect for the looming power of smartphones. What about the firm he was working for, IOActive? The video I put up on Thursday included two specialists who demonstrated how to takeover a car remotely. One of the specialists worked for IOActive. The last tweet by Barnaby Jack, before he died, was to feature an IOActive tweet about the video." Continue reading →

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VIDEO: Police Attacks on Protesters in Egypt

"Egyptian police have killed at least 72 people in an attack on pro-Morsi protesters early Saturday. An activist named Mohamed El-Zahaby recorded video Saturday that showed the pre-dawn street fighting, filmed from behind the pro-Morsi lines, reports NYT. Warning: the below video shows graphic images of wounded and dead protesters." Continue reading →

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FDA finally releases draft of new food import safety rules

"Importers would be accountable for verifying with their foreign suppliers that certain food safety standards are being met. Under current conditions, U.S. food safety inspectors examine food coming into the country but are able to inspect only a small percentage for potential problems. Importers have a market interest in ensuring the safety of the food they bring in, but currently are not required to mandate that their suppliers meet certain standards. Under the new rules, importers would be required to maintain records verifying that their foreign suppliers have met standards for the production of the food coming into the country. Importers would undergo audits." Continue reading →

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FATCA: ‘Simple premise’ gone terribly wrong

"Most Americans living outside the U.S. are not 'tax cheats,' 'tax evaders' or 'traitors' though they are often characterized that way in the media or even by members of Congress. Instead, they are honest, productive, contributing residents of other countries, which they call home. In many cases, they are also citizens of those countries. President Obama and members of Congress, how did the 'simple premise' of 'cracking down on illegal tax evasion and closing loopholes' become an attack on financial lives and personal integrity of millions of people living outside United States, their banks and laws and constitutions of their countries of residence?" Continue reading →

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Marijuana ad pulled from jumbotron at NASCAR Brickyard 400

"The Marijuana Policy Project said in a news release that Grazie Media, the company that owns the huge billboard at the entrance to the raceway, had approved the content of the ad and accepted payment for it. The ad was supposed to air over the weekend. The Drug Free America Foundation, Inc. had complained that the ad promoted drug abuse. Though 19 states and the District of Columbia have legalized the medical use of marijuana, Indiana has not. The ad noted that smoked marijuana contained no calories, didn’t result in hangovers or overdoses, and wasn’t linked to violent behavior." Continue reading →

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U.S. Postal Service hopes to be the ‘cutting edge of functional fashion’

"Watch out Versace and Chanel. Next year the US Postal Service plans to start selling its own clothing range, based on its uniforms. There was a time when your local post office would mainly sell stamps and deliver letters. No longer. According to the Universal Postal Union (UPU), global letter- and light parcel delivery volumes dropped by 3.7 percent in 2011 from a year earlier, and by 5.1 percent when just counting Europe and the former Soviet Union. USPS tripled its losses in 2012, losing $15.9 billion as the state-owned enterprise faces tough competition and what it calls onerous and unfair retirement funding requirements." Continue reading →

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Baton Rouge sheriff’s office targets gay men under ‘crimes against nature’ law

"A sheriff’s office task force in Baton Rouge, Louisiana has been conducting undercover investigations that target gay men under the state’s defunct sodomy law. At least a dozen gay men have been arrested for agreeing to have sex with undercover officers, according to the report. The District Attorney Hillar Moore III told the Baton Rouge Advocate his office refused to prosecute the cases because they found no criminal violation had occurred. The Baton Rouge sheriff’s office, meanwhile, told the Baton Rouge Advocate that it would continue to prosecute all laws currently on the Louisiana books." Continue reading →

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SWAT Officers Dragged 10-Year-Old from Bathtub, Stood Him Naked Next to Sister, Terrorized Family

"Although the team purportedly sought to arrest William for quarreling with a drunk, off-duty police officer at a local veterans club early that morning, the family says that their 'terrorization' continued for another 45 minutes after William was apprehended. The officers threw to the floor, kicked and handcuffed Georgeia, her stepfather and her adult son Billy. They also injured Mark's shoulder and forced Billy to lie face down in broken glass, according to the complaint. When Georgeia pleaded repeatedly that she had young children in the house, at least one officer allegedly stated, 'You think you can get one of ours, and we won't get one of yours?'" Continue reading →

Continue ReadingSWAT Officers Dragged 10-Year-Old from Bathtub, Stood Him Naked Next to Sister, Terrorized Family

FBI admits to flying drones over US without warrants

"The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) says it has used drones for domestic surveillance purposes in the United States at least ten times without obtaining warrants. In three additional cases, drones were authorized but 'not actually used.' The bureau said that it would only be required to obtain a warrant to use a drone in cases for which a person 'would have a reasonable expectation of privacy.' The FBI stated that it has not yet needed to ask for a warrant, but that all requests for drone use must be reviewed by an agency lawyer and approved by a senior management official." Continue reading →

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Russia won’t extradite Snowden to US – Kremlin

"Moscow says security agency FSB is in talks with the FBI over Snowden. But the whistleblower will not be extradited to the US, a Kremlin spokesman said, adding he's sure the fugitive NSA contractor will stop harming Washington if granted asylum in Russia. 'Russia has never extradited anyone, and will not extradite,' said Vladimir Putin’s spokesman Dmitry Peskov. Meanwhile, the US Senate threatened Thursday that it might impose sanctions against any country that provides asylum to Snowden, including revocation or suspension of trade privileges and preferences." Continue reading →

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