Who is Behind Al-Nusra Front (aka Al-Qaeda in Syria)?
October 7th, 2015This is a flyer that the Russians are dropping on the Syrian cities Rastan and Talbiseh.
Via: Daily Mail:
Dire warning: The leaflets (pictured) being dropped by Russian jets warn people to get out of the zone of ‘special operations’ – and one implies that terror group al-Nusra Front are backed by America and Israel
Hacking Risks to Nuclear Power Plants
October 6th, 2015haha. Somehow, I thought the control systems for nuclear power plants were air-gapped.
This article says that’s a, “Pervading myth.”
Via: Computer World:
The risk of serious cyber-attacks on nuclear power plants is growing, according to a new report by think-tank Chatham House. If you follow this type of news, then this is probably not a big shocker, but did you know there have been around 50 cyberattacks on nuclear plants?
One unnamed expert quoted in the Chatham report (pdf) claimed, “What people keep saying is ‘wait until something big happens, then we’ll take it seriously’. But the problem is that we have already had a lot of very big things happen. There have probably been about 50 actual control systems cyber incidents in the nuclear industry so far, but only two or three have been made public.” The report claimed that there is limited incident disclosure and a “need to know” mindset that further limits collaboration and information-sharing.
“In a worst-case scenario, cyberattacks could lead to a release of ionizing radiation with potentially disastrous impacts on local populations.” In fact, “something as simple as employees installing a personal device onto a nuclear facility’s internal network could open it up to attacks,” Caroline Baylon, a cybersecurity researcher at Chatham House, told Newsweek. She explained, “Let’s say the people in the plant want to install a router so they can check their emails. That might all of a sudden open up a vulnerability.”
It is also a “pervading myth” that nuclear power plants are air-gapped – not connected to the Internet – and can’t be hacked. Yet executives controlling the purse strings at some plants are in denial; a source said they consider a cyberattack just “a movie scenario, maybe in the future. They think it is just states against states, not everybody wants to hack us, and also it won’t happen here.”
U.S. Says BP to Pay $20 Billion in Fines for 2010 Oil Spill
October 6th, 2015Via: Reuters:
BP Plc will pay more than $20 billion in fines to resolve nearly all claims from its deadly Gulf of Mexico oil spill five years ago, marking the largest corporate settlement of its kind in U.S. history, Attorney General Loretta Lynch said on Monday.
The agreement, first outlined in July, adds to the $43.8 billion BP had previously set aside for criminal and civil penalties and cleanup costs. The company has said its total pre-tax charge for the spill is now around $53.8 billion.
The total penalties Lynch announced on Monday sounded higher than the $18.7 billion deal reached to this summer, in part because she included $1 billion in restoration work BP had agreed to long beforehand.
BP’s shares rose nearly 3 percent in New York to $33.45 each. Investors have praised the agreement as essentially capping liabilities that could have been much larger.
New British Killer Drone Called “Protector”
October 6th, 2015Maybe “Reaper Overkill Edition” didn’t do so well in focus groups.
Via: Janes:
The UK is to receive 20 new ‘Protector’ unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) as part of a wider ramp-up of unmanned, surveillance, and special forces capabilities to combat militant Islam in the Middle East, Prime Minister David Cameron announced on 3 October.
Speaking to the Telegraph newspaper, Cameron said that the 10 General Atomics MQ-9 Reaper (Predator B) medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAVs currently fielded by the Royal Air Force (RAF) will be replaced by double the number of the Protector UAVs “to keep us safe and to give us the intelligence and information and potentially give us the capacity to hit people who are potentially planning to hit us”.
There is no UAV known to be in development or service known as Protector, and Cameron provided little detail except to say that it will be able to fly longer distances, is quieter and can carry more sophisticated weapons and equipment than the incumbent Reaper.
The Era Of Automatic Facial Recognition And Surveillance Is Here
October 5th, 2015Via: Forbes:
ID checks were a common response to the terrorist attacks of 9/11, but they’ll soon be obsolete. You won’t have to show your ID, because you’ll be identified automatically. A security camera will capture your face, and it’ll be matched with your name and a whole lot of other information besides. Welcome to the world of automatic facial recognition. Those who have access to databases of identified photos will have the power to identify us. Yes, it’ll enable some amazing personalized services; but it’ll also enable whole new levels of surveillance. The underlying technologies are being developed today, and there are currently no rules limiting their use.
Walk into a store, and the salesclerks will know your name. The store’s cameras and computers will have figured out your identity, and looked you up in both their store database and a commercial marketing database they’ve subscribed to. They’ll know your name, salary, interests, what sort of sales pitches you’re most vulnerable to, and how profitable a customer you are. Maybe they’ll have read a profile based on your tweets and know what sort of mood you’re in. Maybe they’ll know your political affiliation or sexual identity, both predictable by your social media activity. And they’re going to engage with you accordingly, perhaps by making sure you’re well taken care of or possibly by trying to make you so uncomfortable that you’ll leave.
Walk by a policeman, and she will know your name, address, criminal record, and with whom you routinely are seen. The potential for discrimination is enormous, especially in low-income communities where people are routinely harassed for things like unpaid parking tickets and other minor violations. And in a country where people are arrested for their political views, the use of this technology quickly turns into a nightmare scenario.
A Robot at Best Buy Sells CDs, DVDs, Games
October 5th, 2015Service with a smile.
Via: Fox 5:
Best Buy is experimenting with full automation — in the form of a robot — to sell a decidedly old-fashioned medium: CDs and DVDs. I’m in my 40s, so yes I remember vinyl records, tapes and even 8-tracks. So I still do like buying at least some of my music on that soon-to-no-longer-exist format called the compact disc.
When I walked into Best Buy in Chelsea recently to get Chris Cornell’s latest album (“Higher Truth” — it’s pretty good), I was surprised to see a row of ATM-like kiosks in front of a glassed-in compartment housing a yellow robot. That robot’s name is Chloe. And its job is to sell you music, movies, games, and accessories.
Homes as ATMs: It’s Starting Again
October 5th, 2015Via: CNBC:
As home values rise, homeowners are gaining more equity on paper — and they’re taking it out in paper. Cash-out refinances jumped 68 percent in the second quarter from a year ago, according to Black Knight Financial Services. This is the highest volume of this type of refinance in five years.
Trans-Pacific Partnership
October 5th, 2015Via: Reuters:
Pacific trade ministers have reached a deal on the most sweeping trade liberalization pact in a generation that will cut trade barriers and set common standards for 12 countries, an official familiar with the talks said on Monday.
Leaders from a dozen Pacific Rim nations are poised to announce the pact later on Monday. The deal could reshape industries and influence everything from the price of cheese to the cost of cancer treatments.
The Trans-Pacific Partnership would affect 40 percent of the world economy and would stand as a legacy-defining achievement for U.S. President Barack Obama, if it is ratified by Congress.
Lawmakers in other TPP countries must also approve the deal.
The final round of negotiations in Atlanta, which began on Wednesday, had snared on the question of how long a monopoly period should be allowed on next-generation biotech drugs, until the United States and Australia negotiated a compromise.
Over Half of E.U. Countries Are Opting Out of GMOs
October 4th, 2015Via: Time:
Sixteen countries have alerted the European Union that they want to opt out of E.U.-approved GM crops.
Members of the economic bloc have until Oct. 3 to let the E.U. know if they were requesting to opt out of growing GMO produce from major companies like Monsanto, Dow, Syngenta and Pioneer, and according to the Food Navigator, a food trade publication, countries including Germany, Italy, Denmark, Bulgaria and Cyprus recently filed their requests and applications, increasing the number to 16. Exactly how many countries will ultimately opt out could be confirmed as soon as Monday.
In August, Scotland publicly said it would prohibit GMO crops out of concern that they could damage the country’s “clean and green” brand.
“Scotland is known around the world for our beautiful natural environment – and banning growing genetically modified crops will protect and further enhance our clean, green status,” Rural affairs secretary Richard Lochhead said in a statement at the time.
“A growing number of governments are rejecting the commission’s drive for GM crop approvals,” Greenpeace’s E.U. food policy director Franziska Achterberg told the Guardian. “They don’t trust the E.U. safety assessments and are rightly taking action to protect their agriculture and food. The only way to restore trust in the E.U. system now is for the commission to hit the pause button on GM crop approvals and to urgently reform safety testing and the approval system.”
The Guardian reports that environmentalists have praised the news, while industry and biotech supporters have responded to opt-outs with “weary resignation.”
Afghanistan: U.S. Bombs Hospital, At Least 19 Dead
October 3rd, 2015Via: Washington Post:
An airstrike apparently carried out by U.S. forces heavily damaged a charitable hospital in northern Afghanistan on Saturday, killing at least 19 people — three of them reportedly children — in an incident that a senior U.N. official equated to a war crime.
The airstrike occurred before dawn when a Doctors Without Borders trauma center in war-torn Kunduz was struck while doctors were treating dozens of patients. Hospital officials said they were assaulted from the air for 30 to 45 minutes, resulting in a large fire that burned some patients to death in their beds. Among those killed were 12 of the charity group’s staff members, the group said.
“This attack is abhorrent and a grave violation of international humanitarian law,” said Meinie Nicolai, the group’s president.
