Mainstream News

Ex-CIA agent convicted of Italian kidnapping and held in Panama being returned to US

"A former CIA base chief convicted in the 2003 abduction of a terror suspect from an Italian street is headed back to the U.S. after being arrested in Panama. Lady was detained in Panama after Italy requested his arrest for kidnapping Egyptian Muslim cleric Osama Moustafa Hassan Nasr-- in one of the most notorious episodes of the U.S. program known as extraordinary rendition, according to Italian and Panamanian officials. The government of Panama, which maintains one of the region's closest relationships with the U.S., was officially silent on the case. Italy conducted an aggressive investigation and charged 26 CIA and other U.S. government employees." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-CIA agent convicted of Italian kidnapping and held in Panama being returned to US

Ex-Honolulu TSA screener denies stealing cash, resigns and denounces agency

"Owens said she was arrested at her home on her day-off. 'I told them I didn't do it,' she said. TSA spokesman Nico Melendez said Owens has resigned. 'I couldn't see myself working for an agency falsely accusing me of theft,' Owens said, adding that she had been thinking about quitting at the end of the year. She said she disliked all the 'disgusting' and 'invasive' pat-downs she was required to do on the job. 'It was just humiliating to have to do that to people,' she said." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingEx-Honolulu TSA screener denies stealing cash, resigns and denounces agency

$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car

"Spanish engineers Javier Vázquez Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera will give a demonstration at the Black Hatsecurity conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. They have built a $25 device that lets them bypass security in a car's electronic control unit. Vázquez Vidal and Garcia Illera will show how their device – which they claim uses a $1 chip to break encryption – can read from and write data to the flash memory of commonly used ECUs, made by Bosch of Germany. 'And it would take no time to gain total control over a vehicle – deploying an airbag, activating the brakes, or immobilising a car at any moment,' says Vázquez Vidal." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car

$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car

"Spanish engineers Javier Vázquez Vidal and Alberto Garcia Illera will give a demonstration at the Black Hatsecurity conference in Las Vegas, Nevada. They have built a $25 device that lets them bypass security in a car's electronic control unit. Vázquez Vidal and Garcia Illera will show how their device – which they claim uses a $1 chip to break encryption – can read from and write data to the flash memory of commonly used ECUs, made by Bosch of Germany. 'And it would take no time to gain total control over a vehicle – deploying an airbag, activating the brakes, or immobilising a car at any moment,' says Vázquez Vidal." Continue reading →

Continue Reading$25 gadget lets hackers seize control of a car

Tablet cash machines: The ATM of the future?

"As payment methods move digital, so cash machines will need to develop from the terminals that we have all become used to, experts say. The main challenge comes from the smartphone. Mobile banking allows customers to check balances, organise transfers, make swift payments between friends in restaurants or pay the local tradesman. The answer from the industry, it appears, is to make the cash machine more like a smartphone. That can have benefits for consumers too. Live link video screens will give them the opportunity to talk to customer services staff at any time of day, instead of just normal opening hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTablet cash machines: The ATM of the future?

Tablet cash machines: The ATM of the future?

"As payment methods move digital, so cash machines will need to develop from the terminals that we have all become used to, experts say. The main challenge comes from the smartphone. Mobile banking allows customers to check balances, organise transfers, make swift payments between friends in restaurants or pay the local tradesman. The answer from the industry, it appears, is to make the cash machine more like a smartphone. That can have benefits for consumers too. Live link video screens will give them the opportunity to talk to customer services staff at any time of day, instead of just normal opening hours." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingTablet cash machines: The ATM of the future?

Over 1,000 flee homes in south Mexico over violence

"Some 1,000 people have fled their homes in southwestern Mexico after gunfights erupted in their villages and criminal groups threatened them, officials said Thursday. Residents of three villages in the state of Guerrero abandoned their homes Wednesday after an unspecified number of people were wounded and houses were set ablaze, said Bolivar Ochoa, secretary general of the San Miguel Totolapa municipality that oversees the communities. The gang violence has led several communities in another region of Guerrero, the mountainous and rural Costa Chica area, to form vigilante groups in order to conduct their own policing." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingOver 1,000 flee homes in south Mexico over violence

Bitcoin Downloads Surge in Argentina

"Since early June, Argentina’s share of global bitcoin software downloads has more than doubled, as the country edges towards what Barclays called 'a balance-of-payments crisis, in slow motion.' With bitcoin, Argentines can transfer their wealth to anywhere in the world instantly, outside of the domain of local authorities. Also, although bitcoin transactions are stored on a public ledger, it’s extremely difficult to determine the identities of the parties involved in the transactions. That anonymity could help Argentines avoid the scrutiny of the national tax agency, which has aggressively used enforcement actions to contain the public’s dollar purchases." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin Downloads Surge in Argentina

Bitcoin’s Open-Air Trading Floor

"People gather every Monday evening in New York’s Union Square to buy and sell the crypto-currency known as Bitcoin. Flashing cash and smartphones, men make trades worth thousands of dollars in a nook of the park they call Satoshi Square. The scene is like an open-air trading floor, and indeed, participants liken themselves to the men who hatched New York’s first stock exchange under a buttonwood tree in 1792. Similar gatherings have taken place in London, and an inaugural one will take place in Toronto next week. The vibe at Satoshi Square was a cross between a stock exchange, a religious revival, and buying weed in the park." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingBitcoin’s Open-Air Trading Floor

Going, Going, Gone: Crisis-Plagued Madrid Sells Out City Assets

"Mayor Ana Botella would like to bring the Summer Olympics to Madrid in 2020, following the city's third attempt to capture the games. Her predecessors have already invested more than €6 billion in the effort, and she needs at least another €2.5 billion. That might explain why, in recent months, Botella has begun to sell off public buildings and properties -- even if she hasn't managed to raise very much money so far. A Chinese bank snatched up a magnificent building near the Prado Museum at a price discount of almost a third. The fire sale also included 26 works by Spain's best-known contemporary artists, which were part of the city hall's inventory." Continue reading →

Continue ReadingGoing, Going, Gone: Crisis-Plagued Madrid Sells Out City Assets