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18 Nov 2010 09:46

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U.S., World: Homeland Security: Stuxnet may be most dangerous virus yet

  • This code can automatically enter a system, steal the formula for the product you are manufacturing, alter the ingredients being mixed in your product, and indicate to the operator and your anti-virus software that everything is functioning as expected.
  • The Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity Center head, Sean McGurk • Explaining why the Stuxnet computer virus is unprecedented and scary and stuff. The virus, which appears to be targeting Iran’s nuclear power plants, has infected 44,000 computers worldwide, mostly in Iran, although around 1,600 are in the U.S. Even though it’s targeted against Iran right now, it’s clear what McGurk is implying here: That the virus could be rewritten to attack other systems, at which point it could prove extremely dangerous. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

18 Nov 2010 00:13

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U.S.: Two dudes floated NYC-Subway-under-Hudson-River idea first

  • Know what’s awesome? When you offer up a crazy idea to make people’s lives easier, it gets ignored, and then, all of a sudden, The New York Times is playing it up as a lead headline. Such is the life of Steve Lanset and Ralph Braskett, who floated the idea of putting a NYC Subway tunnel under the Hudson River a whole five years before Michael Bloomberg got to the idea. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Nov 2010 22:27

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U.S.: Haiti’s cholera outbreak finds its way to American shores

  • 1 case of cholera in Florida thanks to the Haiti outbreak; uh-oh source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Nov 2010 21:09

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U.S.: What happened to Hollywood publicist Ronni Chasen? She’s dead

In case you were in need of a good Hollywood whodunit, the death of publicist Ronni Chasen the other day has the city gripped like a Phil Spector murder case. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

17 Nov 2010 20:42

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U.S.: Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani finds civilian court nicer than military court

  • 224 number of people killed in the 1998 embassy bombings in Kenya and Tanzania
  • 285 number of charges Ahmed Khalfan Ghailani faced in front of a civilian court recently
  • one number of charges he was actually convicted of; he’ll go to jail for at least 20 years source
  • » Why this trial is a big deal: Ghailani was the first suspect who served time in Guantanamo to face trial in a civilian, rather than a military, court. The suspect once faced much harsher charges that could’ve led to the death penalty, but instead will receive a much lighter sentence. For its part, the Justice Department is OK with that: “We respect the jury’s verdict and are pleased that Ahmed Ghailani now faces a minimum of 20 years in prison and a potential life sentence for his role in the embassy bombings,” they wrote.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 1 Comment • Permalink

17 Nov 2010 11:04

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U.S.: Thanks, budget cuts: Arizona man can’t get life-saving liver transplant

  • lucky Francisco Felix, a Phoenix man on the list for a liver transplant, receives a liver donation late Monday night. He has Hepatitis C, and a transplant is his only option.
  • dumb Because the state’s cuts to health care, liver transplants are no longer covered, which means that he couldn’t pony up the $200,000 to pay for the liver. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Nov 2010 20:25

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U.S.: NYC has another idea to expand New Jersey’s subway service

  • Commuters in New Joisey, you aren’t screwed yet. Weeks ago, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie announced he was killing off a massive public works project to get a subway line under the Hudson River into New York City. While fiscal conservatives feted the decision, many long-suffering commuters felt burned. New York City is considering coming to the rescue, offering to extend a subway line out of the city and into New Jersey – at a fraction of the shuttered plan’s cost:
  • $11.4
    billion     the estimated cost (with overruns) of the New Jersey subway project that Gov. Chris Christie killed
  • $5.3
    billion     the estimated cost of New York extending the No. 7 subway line under the Hudson River source
  • » Agreement still needed: While Michael Bloomberg’s administration is spearheading this, incoming NY Gov. Andrew Cuomo, along with Christie, would have to come to terms with the plan, which, while less expensive, definitely isn’t cheap. But the long-term benefits could prove worth it.
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

16 Nov 2010 19:57

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U.S.: Congressional commission: China Telecom hijacked U.S. traffic somehow

  • 18 minutes in April where it was like we were living in China source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2010 23:33

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U.S.: TSA to people they feel up: We need to do this, guys

  • Obviously, everybody has their own perspective about their personal screening. The question is, how do we best address those issues … while providing the best possible security?
  • TSA administrator John Pistole • Offering an explanation why the organization is being so hardcore about John “not my nuts, please” Tyner. We have an answer to your rhetorical question, John! It’s pretty straightforward: Focus your energy on improving intelligence and behavioral cues (which almost always catch the bad guys, anyway) and stop focusing so much on trying to cover every possible leak that goes through your scanners once. Security theater is just an act; John Tyner’s crotch is not a threat to national security. And pretending it is is a threat to national privacy, which is just as important.  source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Nov 2010 20:49

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U.S.: Unemployed man offers big bucks for a job

  • $25k reward for finding this guy a job source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink
 
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