WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange addressed a major gathering of computer experts Monday at the Chaos Communication Congress in Hamburg, Germany, calling on them to join forces in resisting government intrusions on Internet freedom and privacy.
Author: mediahitman
A video made by a man from North Dakota shows him cautiously holding a lighter up against the stream of water coming out of his tap, prompting large flames to rise up into the faucet. North Dakota has been home to a fracking boom over the past few years. “First time I did it, it was a huge fireball [that] took up the entire sink – so that’s why I’m a little jumpy doing it.
Documents leaked by Edward Snowden have uncovered a secret NSA hacking unit which delivered the US some of its most significant intelligence information in recent years. The unit has been tapping into computers and networks since the dawn of the internet. Der Spiegel described the Office of Tailored Access Operations (TAO) as “something like a squad of plumbers that can be called in when normal access to a target is blocked.”
“Can you make it go left now,” the hacker says from the driver’s seat, while the car barrels along a back road. Behind him sit two other computer hackers, a laptop and devious intent — to demonstrate that the electronic control units of modern cars are crackable. Imagine someone setting off an airbag in a car by tricking the sensors into believing it had come to a sudden stop. Or driving a car into oncoming traffic. Or just stealing location data.
A trolley bus blast in the Russian city of Volgograd has killed at least 10 people, emergencies services reported. The explosion comes a day after a terrorist attack in the city killed 17 people and injured scores of others. At least 10 people have been injured by the blast on Monday morning, the report said. Police are currently at the scene investigating the cause of the incident.
Gun-toting fans of singer Toby Keith’s fans in Virginia are taking aim at the country star over a no-weapons policy at a restaurant he owns in the state. The “Beer For My Horses” hitmaker’s Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar and Grill has a ‘No guns permitted’ sign posted on the front door, even though state law permits firearms owners to carry weapons in dining establishments
By Ria Misra In 1920, rocket scientist Robert Goddard wrote up an article postulating how we could use rocket fuel to launch a ship into space — perhaps even all the way to the moon. His ideas did not meet with a warm reception in the media, where he was roundly mocked. 49 years later, Apollo 11 took-off to the moon, triggering The New York Times’ to print the greatest newspaper correction ever to run.
By Claudine Zap Talk about cold storage: A cache of negatives that are almost 100 years old that were discovered in a hut in Antarctica have revealed unique views into some of the courageous explorers of that era. The remarkable find is part of a major conservation project for historic expedition sites in Antarctica by the New Zealand-based Antarctic Heritage Trust, which made the discovery.
By Zachary Stieber An explosion in the Bronx borough of New York City rocked houses on Monday night, prompting residents to wonder what caused the vibrations across Scarsdale, Pelham Bay, Country Club and other areas, as well as Westchester. A Fire Department of New York spokesperson told the New York Post that the explosion was from a box of fireworks detonating in Pelham Bay Park at about 11:15 p.m.
From Aaron Swartz to Assange, Monsanto to Manning, fracking fears, Iraq carnage and more, here are RT’s “Top 13 of 2013.” These vastly underreported stories are some of the biggest ones to fly under the mainstream media’s radar this year.
India’s largest bitcoin exchange service has suspended its operations, just when the most valuable currency in the world had begun to gain widespread recognition in the country. The central bank cautioned against the risks of using virtual currency. The Reserve Bank of India has warned users, holders and traders of virtual currencies, including bitcoins, about “potential financial, legal, customer protection and security related risks” they are exposing themselves to.
The Los Angeles Police Department has announced plans to ramp up use of a portable tool that checks for drug use, beginning with a New Year’s Eve crackdown on intoxicated drivers. Officials cited increased medical marijuana use as a main justification. A state grant supplied the LAPD with a swab testing tool that will be employed at DUI (driving under the influence) checkpoints and jails, Los Angeles officials said at a Friday press conference.
By Kamal Nayan A new study has revealed that global warming is increasing at an alarming rate which might result into intense droughts. If not much was done to minimize the rapid increase in global warning, the earth might become unlivable by 2050 or 2100.
A United States federal judge said Friday that the National Security Agency’s controversial bulk phone data collection program doesn’t violate the law. That ruling came courtesy of US District Judge William Pauley, who decided in favor of the NSA early Friday in a case filed this past June by the American Civil Liberties Union against Director of National Intelligence James Clapper.
2014 will mark the beginning of a massive change for liberal talk radio across the country. In New York, WWRL 1600 AM will flip to Spanish-language music and talk, throwing Ed Schultz, Thom Hartmann, Randi Rhodes, and Alan Colmes off the air.
During a simple discussion of the National Security Agency’s surveillance practices, a US radio program experienced a unique “technological meltdown” on Thursday, prompting many to question whether the NSA was censoring the show. During an interview with Larry Klayman, the lawyer who recently won a preliminary injunction against the NSA’s bulk collection of phone records, Aaron Klein’s WABC radio program began experiencing what was termed a “tech meltdown” on the air.
While American drones patrol the skies in war-torn countries like Afghanistan, the United States is also looking to establish a similar presence in the world’s oceans – by using underwater drones. The new ocean-faring drones, called “Slocum Gliders,” won’t need fuel to function like their aerial counterparts do.
A new UK museum on surveillance and cyber security has refused to include Snowden’s revelations in its installation, sponsored by famous anti-virus magnate, McAfee. The decision was blasted by MPs who said Snowden should be considered part of history. The Bletchley Park museum, which is chaired by former head of MI6 John Scarlet and is famous for its role as a center for code breaking during the second world war