Australian charged with hacking government site

SYDNEY (AP) ? Australian police have arrested a man they say is affiliated with international hacking collective Lulz Security on a charge of attacking and defacing a government website, officials said Wednesday.

The 24-year-old senior IT worker, whose name was not released, was arrested on Tuesday night at his Sydney office, the Australian Federal Police said. The man, who police say has claimed to be a high-level member of the hacking group, was charged with two counts of unauthorized modification of data to cause impairment, and one count of unauthorized access to, or modification of, restricted data. If convicted, he could face up to 12 years in jail.

Lulz Security, or LulzSec, is an offshoot of the hacking group Anonymous. LulzSec was formed in 2011 and quickly grabbed headlines after claiming responsibility for a series of high-profile cyberattacks against the CIA, Sony Pictures, the U.S. Public Broadcasting Service and Britain's Serious Organized Crime Agency.

Several members of the group have been arrested in recent years, including its reputed leader, known as Sabu. Sabu turned out to be FBI informant Hector Xavier Monsegur, who federal officials said helped them build a case against several other hackers. Two weeks ago, British LulzSec hacker Ryan Ackroyd pleaded guilty to several cyberattacks.

Australian Federal Police Superintendent Brad Marden said the man arrested on Tuesday hacked into an Australian government website and defaced it earlier this month. Marden would not say which website was attacked, but said it did not belong to a federal agency. Police don't believe any sensitive data stored on the site was accessed in the attack, and don't believe anyone else was involved in the hack.

The man, from Gosford ? about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Sydney ? claimed to be the Australian leader of LulzSec, Australian Federal Police Commander Glen McEwen said. But Anonymous Australia appeared to laugh off those claims on Twitter. In response to a follower asking if anyone knew who the man was, the group tweeted: "Nope not part of the usual suspects on any of our chans of communication."

Police began investigating the man two weeks ago after they discovered the government website had been hacked.

"This individual was operating from a position of trust who had access to sensitive information from clients including government agencies," McEwen said. "The AFP believes this man's skill sets and access to this type of information presented a considerable risk for Australian society."

The man was released on bail and ordered to appear in court next month.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australian-charged-hacking-government-051700657.html

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STOP LOSS: Democrats Bent on Forcing Small Businesses into ...

As the Peak has pointed out time and time again, the Democrat-controlled Colorado state legislature have paid ample lip service to small business and economic issues, but their actions during the session tell a different story altogether.? Far left social issues such as civil unions, gun control, and sex ed have taken most the air out of the room, and when the democrats actually expended the effort to address business issues, they are have been throwing up more regulations, impediments, and interference in the marketplace.? Denver Rep. Beth McCann has offered the latest example.

Legislators on the left have targeted health plans popular with small businesses to force small businesses into the more expensive small-group market.? Eliminating the popular stop-loss insurance option is important to the left because the small business health exchange that the state plans to launch needs the small businesses with young, healthy employees in order to spread out costs and to prevent the state?s program from becoming almost impossibly expensive.

Stop-loss insurance is a simple type of policy that many small businesses use as an alternative to expensive group policies.? In a stop-loss insurance arrangement, the company self-insures to a certain extent, and then purchases stop-loss insurance to protect against catastrophic claims.? In Colorado, it?s common for the stop-loss coverage to kick in at $15,000 per person, and a higher aggregate amount for the entire company.? This is a great option for small companies with young, healthy employees.? In fact, testimony at the legislature this year included a vignette about a local company with five employees who took advantage of stop-loss insurance, and had a scant $300 in claims above what they spent on the annual premium last year.

Unfortunately for growing businesses that view this type of insurance as a way to provide benefits for employees and control costs, these types of plans pose a threat to the future small-group state insurance exchange by attracting companies with low-risk employees.? But Beth McCann had a plan:? if she could pass a law that would radically increase the minimum stop-loss coverage amount, a quick vote in the legislature and a stroke of Governor Hickenlooper?s pen could essentially wipe out this insurance option by rendering it economically useless.

At first she introduced a bill, HB13-1290, that stated that stop-loss insurance providers could not pay a penny in claims until an individual?s claims hit $30,000.? After an amendment lowering that amount to $20,000, she was able to convince enough of her fellow Democrats to get this one through the Health, Insurance and Environment Committee.? By the state changing the economics of these policies, it will invariably push companies into the more expensive small-group market, and grease the skids for the expensive, government-run exchange.

Source: http://coloradopeakpolitics.com/2013/04/23/stop-loss-democrats-bent-on-forcing-small-businesses-into-state-run-insurance/

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GSK to partner with venture capital firm for drug discovery

(Reuters) - GlaxoSmithKline said on Monday it will partner with venture capitalists Avalon Ventures in a deal worth up to $495 million to fund as many as 10 drug-discovery startup companies over the next three years.

GSK will provide financing and technical support to startups established by Avalon Ventures and will have first rights on buying each new company, GSK spokeswoman Melinda Stubbee said.

Avalon will contribute up to $30 million to the collaboration, and Glaxo will provide as much as $465 million in initial funding and development milestone payments, Stubbee said.

Big drugmakers see early-stage venture investing as a proxy for expensive in-house drug development, and some have set up their own venture funds.

Stubbee said each startup would have just a few employees, focusing on a single compound to develop treatments for conditions ranging from cancer to infectious diseases.

(Reporting by Susan Kelly in Chicago; Editing by Phil Berlowitz)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/gsk-partner-venture-capital-firm-drug-discovery-234636750--finance.html

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NYC rolls out six Nissan Leafs in EV taxi pilot, good luck catching one

New York City's full-on EV taxi blitz may not come until late this year, but the metropolis is taking its first tentative steps into that electric world as of today: it's deploying the six Nissan Leaf cabs promised as part of a pilot program. The half-dozen sedans will spend a year on the road, with officials able to gague the effectiveness of EVs as taxis when they have access to both regular chargers at their home bases as well as fast chargers in Manhattan's Far West Side, Lower East Side and Union Square. Don't expect to hail an eco-friendly cab very often, though -- along with the daunting numerical odds, the Leaf drivers have more liberty than usual to turn down passengers and protect their remaining power supply. If you do happen to find yourself in the back seat, however, you'll likely get a glimpse at New York's cleaner and quieter future.

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Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/zAnJlmr-ww8/

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Kuwait opposition politician gets bail in insult case

KUWAIT (Reuters) - A prominent Kuwaiti opposition politician convicted of insulting the ruling emir was granted bail on Monday, his lawyer said, prompting celebrations by supporters who packed the court building and defusing tensions over his case.

Musallam al-Barrak, an outspoken former member of parliament, was sentenced to five years in jail last week for remarks made at a rally last year.

The sentencing had triggered a series of street protests that highlighted ongoing political tensions between opposition figures and the government, headed by a prime minister picked by the emir.

After the appeal court ruling on Monday, hundreds of Barrak's backers escorted him through the appeal court complex cheering, whistling and chanting: "The people want Musallam al-Barrak," and "God is great".

"It will ease tension", former opposition lawmaker Khaled al-Tahous said.

The five-year sentence was not overturned on Monday, defense lawyer Dokki al-Hasban told Reuters.

But the court ruled that Barrak should be granted bail, on a payment of 5,000 dinars ($17,600), and that his defense team would have a chance to argue his case next month.

Barrak was not taken into custody after his sentencing. Security forces had searched his guest house and a neighboring home last week but failed to find him, supporters said. It was not clear why police had not taken him into custody during subsequent speeches at the guest house.

Barrak was found guilty of insulting Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Sabah in a speech in October last year in which he appealed to the emir to avoid "autocratic rule".

Kuwait has avoided mass Arab Spring-style unrest but citizens held large street protests last year after the emir changed the electoral law, a move the opposition said was aimed at preventing them from winning a parliamentary majority.

The government has said the move brought Kuwait in line with voting systems elsewhere.

While Kuwait allows more freedom of speech than some other Gulf Arab states, the emir has the last say in state affairs and is deemed "immune and inviolable" in the constitution.

There has been a series of trials in Kuwait in recent months involving opposition activists accused of insulting the emir, mainly on social media.

(Reporting by Sylvia Westall and Mahmoud Harby; Editing by Yara Bayoumy and Andrew Torchia)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/kuwait-opposition-politician-gets-bail-insult-case-110842128.html

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Velodyne vTrue

Velodyne is more known for its subwoofers than it is for making headphones, but the Velodyne vTrue takes the company's expertise in deep bass in a new direction. Velodyne refers to the $399.00 (direct) vTrue as a pair of "studio headphones," although we found them to be far too leaky to be considered for serious recording applications. In every other regard, they are solid, though, so we'll review them here as simply high-end, powerful headphones. In that regard, they perform quite well?if you love gobs and gobs of boosted bass and crisp, sculpted highs. Audio purists can probably stop reading now, but if you're looking for a powerful, bass-heavy headphone pair, the vTrue is a strong option.

Design
The vTrue headphones are strikingly designed, with an aluminum contour on the earcups and a brown padded leather headband and earpads. Everything from the precision-friendly headband slide adjuster to the deep blue padding over the 50mm drivers inside the earcups feels thoughtfully designed. The vTrue strikes out only on a comfort level?these headphones are bulky, and after a while, you're likely to feel some pressure on your scalp.

The audio cables are detachable, and split to connect to each earcup. One included cable has an inline remote and microphone designed for use with Apple iOS devices and all iPods 3rd-generation and up. Both cables are clothbound in deep blue and measure four feet in length.

Call clarity through the inline mic is strong enough that your call partner will understand you, and you'll understand them just fine, but it's not excellent?the mic sounds a bit muffled at times, and we're also dealing with cellular fidelity.

Also included with the vTrue: a ?-inch adapter for larger headphone jacks and a black drawstring carrying pouch.

Performance
On tracks with deep, sub-bass content, like the Knife's "Silent Shout," the vTrue is able to show off a bit. Audiophiles seeking flat, accurate response should look elsewhere, as the vTrue is a bass-boosted powerhouse. At maximum volume, the vTrue sounds as if it is just about to distort, but never really reaches the breaking point?and these headphones get quite loud. At safer, more reasonable listening levels, the bass response is intense and clean.

Luckily, Velodyne has the good sense to add some serious mid-high and high frequency tweaking so the sound signature isn't a muddy, undefined mess. On Bill Callahan's "Drover," the vTrue graces his vocals with a nice treble edge which helps it stand front and center in the mix. This is important, because the boosted bass response arms the constant drumbeat with some serious low-end thunder, making it also stand out quite a bit. Without the sculpted treble, his vocals would get lost and the mix would be too focused on the low-mids and lows.

Jay-Z and Kanye West's "No Church in the Wild" benefits from the high frequency sculpting, as well?the kick drum loop has a nice punchy attack, while the sub-bass synth hits that sit beneath the loop in the mix are delivered with some serious throttle. The vocals in this dense mix stand out in the same way Callahan's do on his track?the crisp edge they get from the vTrue helps separate them from the powerful lows and mids.

Classical tracks, like John Adams' "The Chairman Dances," can sound a tad too tweaked and sculpted. The highs are boosted, which occasionally makes the higher register strings and brass sound a bit too bright, but the lower register strings absorb the added bass response nicely. The large drum hits at the end of track sound a bit too bass-boosted, however?almost as if they are amplified instead occurring naturally in a concert hall.

In other words, these headphones don't offer a flat response in any sense?there's tons of bass, and lots of liberties are taken with the high-mids and highs, as well. The result is something bass lovers will enjoy and purists will probably want to avoid. If you're looking for headphones in the price range with a bit less boosting in the lows, the?Sennheiser Momentum?is a solid option and less bulky, while the TDK ST750 is a powerful pair that focuses more on the high-mids and highs.?If you like big bass, but the vTrue's price tag is too high, the?Denon Urban Raver AH-D320?offers a similar sound signature for a significantly lower price. And if it's a true studio headphone pair you seek, you can spend quite a bit less and still have top quality?Sennheiser's HD 280 Pro?is an excellent flat response option. The Velodyne True offers clean, bold performance with booming low-end, and it comes with two top-notch, detachable cables?if it were less expensive, it would get a higher rating.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/ziffdavis/pcmag/~3/kJz9ceGXD9g/0,2817,2417924,00.asp

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Immigration senators: Boston no excuse to nix bill

WASHINGTON (AP) ? Two senators who helped write bipartisan immigration legislation say the Boston Marathon bombings should expedite an overhaul of the current system.

Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina said Sunday that the bombings that left three dead "should urge us to act quicker, not slower when it comes to getting the 11 million identified," referring to the estimated number of immigrants living in the country illegally. Democratic Sen. Chuck Schumer of New York added "keeping the status quo is not a very good argument, given what happened" in Boston.

Schumer says critics are using the bombings to oppose a proposal they disliked from the start. He says that if they have suggestions to make the proposal better, they should speak up.

They spoke on CNN's "State of the Union."

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/89ae8247abe8493fae24405546e9a1aa/Article_2013-04-21-Boston%20Marathon-Immigration/id-d0e01ceefee74bbb8824647ac6d09959

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