Hack Check: RT’s Special Coverage From The Cyber Frontline – 1 January 2015

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Cyber terrorists, digital crusaders – hackers are as diverse as the causes they trumpet and the hats they don. In RT’s Hack Check, we’ll venture to a world where spooks, script kiddies and elite crackers battle to effect change one line of code at a time.

Hacktivism, cyberterrorism and cyberwar, all of them are reimagined tools to effect social change in a time where battlefields are often made of out binary code. With each passing day, the world we live in offline is increasingly being shaped on digital fault lines.

To start off 2015, RT will take you on a four-day journey covering several of the key issues at the heart of worldwide online security for both states and individuals.

Wanna know more about hackers seeking cyber shelter in Germany? Digital discontents resisting NSA efforts to bring the Internet under its control in the post Snowden-era? Or the myths and legends surrounding Russia’s legendary and often infamous hacker community? Tune in to RT from January 2-5 for these stories – and more!

www.rt.com / link to original article

John Ward – The Belles Of St Trillions – 1 January 2015

As 2014 closes, let us celebrate those of the other gender fashioned from Adam’s rib who finds themselves at the centre of the global storm: the Belles of St Trillions.

Cristina Elisabet Fernández de Kirchner, commonly known as Cristinnza Kirchner referred to in Argentine media as CFK.  Reelected President of Argentina. Prime supporter of Argentian onwnership of islands where less than 0.2% of inhabitiants want to be Argentinian. Total national debt of Argentina: £1.3 trillion.

Greek ‘Political Blackmail’ Of EU Won’t Work Anymore, Says Top Merkel Party Member – 1 January 2015

With the possibility of a leftist anti-austerity party dominating Greek elections later this month, a high-ranking member of German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s party has said Greece could no longer “blackmail” the EU.

Michael Fuchs, an MP for Merkel’s Christian Democrats, issued a warning to Greek voters – increasingly attracted by the radical leftist party Syriza that has pledged to restructure economic reform and end austerity measures – when he said the “troika” [the International Monetary Fund, EU and European Central Bank] may be forced to forego future rescue loans.

“If Alexis Tsipras of the Greek left party Syriza thinks he can cut back the reform efforts and austerity measures, then the troika will have to cut back the credits for Greece,” Fuchs said in an interview with Rheinische Post newspaper published Wednesday.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

Florida Police Engaged In Sex Sting Entrapment Scam – Report – 1 January 2015

An investigation into police sex stings conducted by Florida police found over 1,200 cases in which officers routinely entrapped innocent victims, stole their property, and came close to ruining people’s lives.

As part of a year-long investigation, the Tampa, Florida-based news station 10 Investigates found through court records that part of the Central Florida Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) task force spent hours on predator sting operations. Officials also violated arrest rules to inflate arrest totals, and stole property from alleged perpetrators.

The station found that many of the men arrested and publicly shamed during TV press conferences were not actually looking for children online like police suspected. Instead, they were looking for other adults when detectives started to groom and convince them to break the law.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

ZeroHedge – US Ally, Saudi Arabia Beheads 87 In 2014, Up Over 10% From 2013 – 1 January 2015

It was a good year for those long ‘beheadings’. After a solid 79 head-removals in 2013, 2014 surged 10% higher with a recent record 87 beheadings overall (following a surge since August for crimes such as “drug smuggling, witchcraft, or sorcery”). The ‘State’ responsible for all these executions… not ISIS, but US ally, Saudi Arabia…

Read the full story at: www.zerohedge.com / link to original article

Green Comet Lovejoy Lights New Year’s Skies – 1 January 2015

The New Year’s first celestial object to light up the skies in the Northern hemisphere is Lovejoy comet, already visible to the naked eye and expected to get even brighter over the next week.

The comet C/2014 Q2, named after an amateur Australian astronomer Terry Lovejoy, is flying our way from the edge of the solar system. The comet discovered back in August has brightened to 5 magnitude late December and will be visible high in the dark winter sky through January.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

FBI Investigating US Companies For Engaging In Cyber War – 1 January 2015

The US government is reluctant to intervene when companies are hacked, but the FBI is investigating whether American companies are engaging in revenge hacking using private firms in violation of the law.

The five biggest hack attacks in 2014 hit Sony, Home Depot, JP Morgan Chase, EBay and Target. Hackers at Sony broke into its network and exposed employment and salary records, as well as private emails between Hollywood executives. That last hack has left companies with a sense of unease, and even though US law restricts the number of options that companies have to respond with, some may be resorting to cyber attacks of their own.

READ MORE: Americans fear ‘getting hacked’ more than murder, terrorism – Gallup

Now, the FBI is investigating whether hackers are working on behalf of companies and how they might be circumventing those laws.

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article

ZeroHedge – Guest Post: 2014 – A Russian Viewpoint – 1 January 2015

Via The Vineyard Of The Saker blog,

Introduction:
By any measure 2014 has been a truly historic year which saw huge, I would say, even tectonic developments. This year ends in very high instability, and the future looks hard to guess. I don’t think that anybody can confidently predict what might happen next year. So what I propose to do today is something far more modest. I want to look into some of the key events of 2014 and think of them as vectors with a specific direction and magnitude. I want to look in which direction a number of key actors (countries) “moved” this year and with what degree of intensity. Then I want to see whether it is likely that they will change course or determination. Then adding up all the “vectors” of these key actors (countries) I want to make a calculation and see what resulting vector we will obtain for the next year. Considering the large number of “unknown unknowns” (to quote Rumsfeld) this exercise will not result in any kind of real prediction, but my hope is that it will prove a useful analytical reference.

Read the full story at: www.zerohedge.com / link to original article

Magnificent New Year’s Fireworks Welcome 2015 Across The Globe – 1 January 2015

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From Sydney to Rio De Janeiro, millions of people have kicked off their New Year 2015 celebrations under the night skies brightly lit with firework displays. Full of joy and hopes people wished each other the best of luck in 2015.

From Daredevils To Good Samaritans: 9 People Who Made 2014 Count – 1 January 2015

By accident of birth or design, some people were born to break the mold and march to the beat of their own drum. Below are the stories of nine people who made waves, both big and small, in their own special way in 2014.

Into the fire

When it comes to literally falling into a burning ring of fire, George Kourounis has probably come as close as anyone. In August, he and his fellow explorer Sam Cossman became the first two people to ever step foot inside Marum crater – a boiling lake of lava in the archipelago of Vanuatu. Along the way, they managed to capture one hell of a selfie!

Read the full story at: www.rt.com / link to original article