In an attempt to beat back gains by Al-Qaeda-linked insurgents, the United States is moving “dozens” of Hellfire missiles and surveillance drones into Iraq. According to a report by The New York Times, the decision comes after Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Kamal al-Maliki requested help from US President Barack Obama during a meeting in Washington last month.
Author: mediahitman
A real prison term for selling gold and guns in the online game World of Warcraft? Easy answer: ten men have been sentenced to up to two years behind bars in China for taking over 11,500 World of Warcraft accounts. Thus, they breached the country’s regulations banning invasive access of “ordinary computer information systems”.
Following repeated backlash over the advice handed out on its McResource website, McDonald’s has officially taken the page down altogether. The McResource website was intended to help employees manage stress, health, and financial issues, but had come under fire multiple times over the past few months. Most recently, the website told employees to avoid eating fast food, causing a chain reaction of scorn and ridicule across the internet.
Edward Snowden has sparked a global debate on mass spying, but he is actually a “private person” who does not seek much attention, journalist Barton Gellman told RT. Snowden told Gellman that the notion of having a “suicide switch” of leaks is illogical.
The FBI was expected Thursday to seize the original hard drives from the surveillance system at Lowndes High School, where 17-year-old Kendrick Johnson was found dead in a rolled-up gym mat earlier this year, according to a source with knowledge of the investigation surrounding the hard drives.
The crackdown against the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt has intensified, with the government formally listing the group as a terrorist organization and accusing it of being behind a recent suicide attack that killed 16 people. The new categorization gives the government new powers to detain any member of ousted President Mohamed Morsi’s regime by charging them with belonging to a terrorist group.
Bloomberg TV provided viewers with an important lesson in digital currency when one of its anchors had a gift card stolen while showing it during a live broadcast. On Friday, December 20, Matt Miller surprised his two fellow anchors – Adam Johnson and Trish Regan – with bitcoin gift certificates during his “12 Days of Bitcoin” segment. Johnson then flashed his certificate on the screen for roughly 10 seconds – more than enough time for a Reddit user to scan the digital QR code with his phone and take the gift for himself.
Food manufacturers who use genetically modified (GMO) ingredients want permission from the federal government to stamp their products with the word “natural.” The Grocery Manufacturers Association has asked the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to approve their plan, which would mean any food containing GMO corn, sugar and other such ingredients could be sold as “natural.”
Osama bin Laden’s son-in-law is facing two new conspiracy charges in his impending trial, as US prosecutors have reportedly linked him to the 2001 Al-Qaeda shoe bomber plot. Sulaiman Abu Ghaith, 48, who formerly served as a spokesman for Al-Qaeda and was arrested in February, was originally charged with one count of conspiracy to kill Americans.
Security firm RSA denies accusations that it entered into a secret contract with the National Security Agency to promote the use of weak security algorithms. The denial comes after a media report detailed information of the alleged hush-hush deal. Last week, Reuters reported that RSA accepted $10 million from the National Security Agency in exchange for making a specific algorithm
A Christmas themed conspiracy video, even if you think it’s completely ridiculous..
Edward Snowden will deliver an ‘Alternative Christmas Message’ on British TV on Wednesday. In his pre-recorded address, the whistleblower calls for an end to mass spying by governments, stating that a child born today will have “no conception of privacy.” Snowden, who is behind the biggest leak in the US National Security Agency (NSA)’s history, will speak to Brits on December 25 in Channel 4’s annual message.
Colorado made history on Monday, becoming the first state in the US to issue hundreds of licenses for recreational marijuana businesses. Colorado’s Marijuana Enforcement Division approved 348 licenses: 136 to pot shops, 31 to marijuana-infused products companies, 178 to growing facilities, and three to marijuana-testing laboratories.
The UN Security Council has unanimously voted to nearly double the number of peacekeepers in South Sudan to protect civilians, as thousands are feared dead in the deteriorating conflict in the world’s youngest state. The top UN body voted Tuesday to authorize a request by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon to boost the strength of the UN’s mission in South Sudan to 12,500 troops and 1,323 police
Police in Salinas, California are under fire after the department acquired a heavily armored military vehicle for SWAT team operations. The $650,000 vehicle was gifted to the Salinas Police Department from the government through the 1033 program, which redistributes used equipment to other agencies. According to KSBW, the truck was used in Iraq and Afghanistan.
A review group hand-picked by United States President Barack Obama said last week that the National Security Agency needs to reform dozens of the ways it does business. One member of that panel, however, says the NSA doesn’t do enough. Michael Morell, the former acting director of the Central Intelligence Agency and a member of the five-person NSA review group compiled by Pres. Obama