March 25, 2013

Rather Than Fix The CFAA, House Judiciary Committee Planning To Make It Worse... Way Worse

By Mike Masnick
techdirt
March 25th, 2013

So, you know all that talk about things like Aaron's Law and how Congress needs to fix the CFAA? Apparently, the House Judiciary Committee has decided to raise a giant middle finger to folks who are concerned about abuses of the CFAA. Over the weekend, they began circulating a "draft" of a "cyber-security" bill that is so bad that it almost feels like the Judiciary Committee is doing it on purpose as a dig at online activists who have fought back against things like SOPA, CISPA and the CFAA. Rather than fix the CFAA, it expands it. Rather than rein in the worst parts of the bill, it makes them worse. And, from what we've heard, the goal is to try to push this through quickly, with a big effort underway for a "cyberweek" in the middle of April that will force through a bunch of related bills. You can see the draft of the bill here.

Adds computer crimes as a form of racketeering

The bill adds to the current definition of "racketeering activity" so that it would now link back to the CFAA, such that if you are found to violate the CFAA as part of an activity that involves a variety of other crimes, you can now also be charged with racketeering. More specifically, if you look at that long list of related statutes in the definition to 18 USC 1961 (1), it will also include: "‘section 1030 (relating to fraud and related activity in connection with computers)." Basically, this just gives the DOJ yet another tool to use against "computer criminals" when they want to bring the hammer down on someone they don't like. Not only could you be charged with computer fraud, but now racketeering as well. Because, you know, all you hackers are just like the Mob.

Expanding the ways in which you could be guilty of the CFAA -- including making you just as guilty if you plan to "violate" the CFAA than if you actually did so

Section 103 of the proposed bill makes a bunch of "changes" to the CFAA, almost all of which expand the CFAA, rather than limit it. For example, they make a small change to subsection (b) in 18 USC 1030 (the CFAA) such that it will now read:

Whoever conspires to commit or attempts to commit an offense under subsection (a) of this section shall be punished as provided for the completed offense in subsection (c) of this section.

All they did was add the "for the completed offense," to that sentence. That may seem like a minor change at first, but it would now mean that they can claim that anyone who talked about doing something ("conspires to commit&quot that violates the CFAA shall now be punished the same as if they had "completed" the offense. And, considering just how broad the CFAA is, think about how ridiculous that might become. Now if you talk with others about the possibility of violating a terms of service -- say, talking to your 12 year old child about helping them sign up for Facebook even though the site requires you to be 13 -- you may have already committed a felony that can get you years in jail. That seems fair, right?

More: http://www.techdirt.com/articles/20130324/14342822435/rather-than-fix-cfaa-house-judiciary-committee-planning-to-make-it-worse-way-worse.shtml

March 25, 2013

Egypt prosecutor orders arrest of five political activists

Source: Global Post

Egypt's top prosecutor ordered the arrest of five leading political activists following clashes near the Muslim Brotherhood's headquarters last week.

The five activists, who are also banned from traveling abroad,are Alaa Abdel-Fattah, Ahmed Douma, Karim El-Shaer, Hazem Abdel-Azim and Ahmed Ghoneimi.

The prosecutor also issued a summons for questioning of a sixth activist, Nawara Negm, the daughter of Egypt's best-known satirical poet.

The activists' arrests come a day after President Mohamed Morsi warned he would take steps to "protect the nation" and said "necessary measures" would be taken against politicians who were involved in violence.

Abdel-Fattah told the Associated Press minutes after news of the warrants broke that he was consulting with his lawyers on what to do next. He is described as a leading blogger who played a role in the protests eventually overthrew President Hosni Mubarak in 2011.

Read more: http://www.globalpost.com/dispatch/news/regions/middle-east/egypt/130325/egypt-prosecutor-orders-arrest-five-political-activists

March 25, 2013

Alabama church holding marriage equality prayer service

BIRMINGHAM,Alabama - A Woodlawn church is holding a prayer service tonight as the U.S. Supreme Court prepares to hear two same-sex marriage cases this week.

The marriage equality prayer service will begin at 4:30 p.m. at Woodlawn United Methodist Church, described in a news release as "a Reconciling Church open for all people."

The Rev. Emily Freeman hopes her church can bring people together on marriage equality by praying for all parties involved.

"It will be a simple, 30-minute service open to all people," she said in the release. "I have felt convicted that we are to host this as the only Reconciling Ministries church in the conference. Our inclusion, care and love for the LGBT community extend to equal rights."

More: http://blog.al.com/spotnews/2013/03/woodlawn_church_holding_marria.html

March 25, 2013

Senator Warren, encouraged by vote, says time to end subsidies for 'too big to fail' banks

Buoyed by a nonbinding U.S. Senate vote to eliminate billions in subsidies for "too big to fail" banks, Massachusetts Democratic Sen. Elizabeth Warren called the measure a step toward "leveling the playing field" between megabanks and their smaller competitors and customers.

The Senate, in a unanimous 99-0 vote Friday, passed the measure to eliminate the subsidies that big banks receive through lower borrowing costs because of the "implicit guarantee they will be bailed out by the government in a time of crisis," Warren said Sunday.

The Senate pulled an all-nighter Friday, passing its first budget in four years and voting on more than 50 amendments –including paycheck fairness for women and assistance for the beleaguered New England fishing industry. "It was an action-packed night," Warren said.

Even though the banking measure, sponsored by Ohio Democratic Sen. Sherrod Brown and Louisiana Republican Sen. David Vitter, was not binding, it's an "important step forward," Warren said. "I'm glad that Republicans and Democrats can agree: 'Too big to fail' needs to end, and these big-bank subsidies make no sense."

More: http://www.masslive.com/politics/index.ssf/2013/03/senator_elizabeth_warren_says_1.html#incart_river

March 25, 2013

Syrian activists say rebel leader wounded

Source: AP

DAMASCUS, Syria — A top Syrian rebel military leader was wounded and perhaps killed by a bomb stuck to his car, activists said on Monday.

The Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said the blast targeted Col. Riad al-Asaad during a visit to the town of Mayadeen in eastern Syria.

The Observatory cited conflicting reports on al-Asaad's fate, with some saying he had been killed and others saying he lost a leg. There was no immediate claim of responsibility for the attack.

Al-Asaad is a prominent defector from the Syrian military who became head of the Free Syrian Army, an umbrella group that tried to gather rebel fighters under a unified command.

Read more: http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2013/03/25/syrian-rebel-leader-wounded/2016887/

March 25, 2013

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March 25, 2013

Bank Of Cyprus Bomb Explosion Reported In Limassol

Source: Huffington Post

An explosion has occurred outside of a Bank of Cyprus branch in Limassol, according to sources enikos.gr and SigmaLive.

The blast was caused by an "improvised explosive device," according to an English translation of the SigmaLive report. A YouTube video available from NewsitCy Cyprus, available above, appears to show the aftermath of the explosion.

Per an initial Google translation of the enikos.gr article, "the blast destroyed the window of a branch of the Bank and created small fire which katasvistike from the Fire. The area has been blocked by the Cypriot police." The enikos.gr story also reports an additional explosion.

According to The Guardian, there have been "no reports of any injuries." Cyprus yesterday agreed to a levy on some deposits at the Bank of Cyprus, Reuters reports.

Read more: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/24/bank-of-cyprus-bomb-explosion_n_2945637.html

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March 24, 2013

India's IT outsourcers are promoting "mini CEOs"

Analysis: The end of Indian IT staffing as we know it

By Harichandan Arakali and Tony Munroe

BANGALORE/MUMBAI (Reuters) - India's IT outsourcers are promoting "mini CEOs" capable of running businesses on their own, while trimming down on the hordes of entry-level computer coders they normally hire as they try to squeeze more profits out of their staff.

The shift by Infosys Ltd and others is symptomatic of a maturing industry that wants more revenue from its own intellectual property instead of providing only labor-intensive, lower-margin information technology and back-office services.

For young graduates who see the $108 billion IT industry as a sure pathway to modern India's growing middle class, the transformation is unsettling.

Dozens of industry aspirants who were recruited on campus by No. 4 player HCL Technologies recently protested outside its offices in several cities. They were offered jobs in 2011 before graduating last year but have not yet been given joining dates - or paychecks.

More: http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-rt-us-india-tech-staffingbre92n0k8-20130324,0,4470139.story

March 23, 2013

DUer's sleuthing leads to article in Mother Jones

wtmusic posted this OP in the Environment & Energy Group. I suggested he send his evidence to Mother Jones. They used his detective work as the basis for this article:

EXCLUSIVE: State Dept. Hid Contractor's Ties to Keystone XL Pipeline Company

A top expert who helped write the government's latest Keystone report previously consulted on three different TransCanada projects—a fact the State Department tried to hide.


A woman protests the Keystone XL pipeline at a rally in Washington, DC, on October 7, 2011.

By Andy Kroll
Mother Jones
March 21, 2013

Late on a Friday afternoon in early March, the State Department released a 2,000-page draft report downplaying the environmental risks of the northern portion of the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would ferry oil from Canada's tar sands to refineries in Texas, passing through Montana, South Dakota, Nebraska, Kansas, and Oklahoma. But when it released the report, State hid an important fact from the public: Experts who helped draft the report had previously worked for TransCanada, the company looking to build the Keystone pipeline, and other energy companies poised to benefit from Keystone's construction. State released documents in conjunction with the Keystone report in which these experts' work histories were redacted so that anyone reading the documents wouldn't know who'd previously hired them. Yet unredacted versions of these documents obtained by Mother Jones confirm that three experts working for an outside contractor had done consulting work for TransCanada and other oil companies with a stake in the Keystone's approval.

When the Keystone report—officially known as a "draft supplemental environmental impact statement"—was released, environmental activists ripped it as shoddy and misleading. Russ Girling, TransCanada's CEO, cheered the report as "an important step" toward receiving President Barack Obama's final stamp of approval for the pipeline.

Outside contractors (managed by the State Department) wrote the Keystone report, which neither endorsed nor rejected the Keystone pipeline. The contractor that produced the bulk of the report was Environmental Resources Management (ERM), an international consulting firm. On the day the State Department published the Keystone impact report, the agency also released a cache of documents that ERM submitted in 2012 to win the contract to produce the Keystone environmental report. That cache included a 55-page filing in which ERM stated it had no conflicts of interests writing the Keystone report.

But there was something strange about ERM's conflict-of-interest filing: The bios for the ERM's experts were redacted.

More: http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2013/03/keystone-xl-contractor-ties-transcanada-state-department

March 23, 2013

The cost of the Iraq war in one jpg