M&Mâs World Headlines: Jan 21, 2009
Country with the Fastest Internet access? Latvia! Light Reading
Lattelecom , the national operator in the Baltic republic of Latvia, says it’s rolling out the fastest broadband service in Europe, and will offer access speeds of up to 500 Mbit/s by the end of 2009. That’s not the end of the operator’s ambitions — Lattelecom says its “Network of the Future” will ultimately deliver downlink speeds of up to 10 Gbit/s. Lattelecom says its high bandwidth services will be rolled out in other Latvian cities following further deployments in Riga, and that customers will be charged the same fee as they pay for DSL-based broadband services. Latvia has about 900,000 households and a total population of about 2.3 million.
»»»
Payment Processor Breach May Be Largest Ever Washington Post
A data breach last year at Princeton, N.J., payment processor Heartland Payment Systems may have led to the theft of more than 100 million credit and debit card accounts, the company said today. If accurate, such figures may make the Heartland incident one of the largest data breaches ever reported. Avivah Litan, a fraud analyst with Gartner Inc., questioned the timing of Heartland’s disclosure — a day in which many Americans and news outlets are glued to coverage of Barack Obama’s inauguration as the nation’s 44th president. “This looks like the biggest breach ever disclosed, and they’re doing it on inauguration day?” Litan said. “I can’t believe they waited until today to disclose. That seems very deceptive.” Heartland put up a webpage with more info: http://2008breach.com/ [comment: It was a good day to disclose the world's largest ever credit card data breach, eh?]
»»»
NASA Radar Provides First Look Inside Moon`s Shadowed Craters Science Daily
Using a NASA radar flying aboard India’s Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft, scientists are getting their first look inside the moon’s coldest, darkest craters.
The Mini-SAR instrument, a lightweight, synthetic aperture radar, has passed its initial in-flight tests and sent back its first data. The images show the floors of permanently-shadowed polar craters on the moon that aren’t visible from Earth. Scientists are using the instrument to map and search the insides of the craters for water ice.
»»»
Meteorite Seen Over Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland 01/17/09 Now Public
A little or non reported meteorite hit the Earth over parts of Europe from Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Poland on the 17th of January. This remarkable footage of the meteorite is short but clearly displays the descention of the meteorite as it impacts Earth. People all across Europe reported seeing this metoerite and even claim they heard an explosion or bang in Poland. You can see the tail of the meteorite striking the sky as it nears the Earth illuminating the night sky quite intensely.
Footage: http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=zYfnRTOde8Y
U.S. army deserter ordered deported from B.C. Montreal Gazette
An American army deserter who has been living in B.C. in an attempt to avoid serving in the U.S.-led war in Iraq has joined a growing list of refugee applicants to be refused asylum in Canada. Chris Teske, 27, who joined the army after the 9/11 attacks in New York, asked the Federal Court for a stay of removal but was denied late Monday night and told to leave Canada by Tuesday or be removed by force. Michelle Robidoux, a spokeswoman with the War Resisters’ Support Campaign said Teske was to be driven Tuesday to the Canada-United States border near Vancouver with his wife Stephanie. B.C. Southern Interior MP Alex Atamanenko urged the Conservative government to take immediate action to stop the deportation and others. Earlier this month, Kimberly Rivera, who served in Iraq in 2006 but deserted after being informed of her redeployment the following year, went before the Immigration and Refugee Board in Toronto with her husband and two young children to ask to stay in Canada on compassionate and humanitarian grounds. Instead, she was given until Jan. 27 to voluntarily leave or face deportation. There are at least four other American army deserters and their families facing deportation in January.
»»»
New player in wireless market asking Canadians for ideas Montreal Gazette
The man who is planning to dial up the competition in Canada’s wireless industry is using the Internet to get Canadians to help. At the heart of the collaboration: A website called Wireless Soapbox http://www.wirelesssoapbox.com/ where tens of thousands of Canadians have had their say — good and bad — about what they want to see in Canada’s wireless market. “There is some amazing stuff out there. Canadians are passionate about their wireless experience. I believe the best way to build a great wireless company is to talk to Canadians about it.” “It has been such a huge success for us we are going to launch phase two of Wireless Soapbox in the next 30 to 60 days,” he said. First stop for his new wireless services will be the cities of Vancouver and Toronto with Calgary, Edmonton and Ottawa slated for early 2010 and then rolling out to the rest of the country, with the exception of Quebec where Vidéotron Ltée snapped up all the available spectrum.
»»»
British film industry celebrates record 2008 and braces for slump in 2009 Guardian.UK
It was the best of times and it was the worst of times for British cinema in 2008. Figures released today by the UK Film Council spelt good news for the domestic box office, showing it soaring to a record high of £949.5m over the past 12 months a 5% increase on 2007.
»»»
Surfer is towed by Great White shark, video Mirror.co.uk
A daredevil surfer rides a Great White Shark – but are fins really what they seem?
Video of the thrill-seeking youth being dragged through Florida waves by the man-eating beast has become an internet hit.
But is it for real? Judge for yourself. http://ca.youtube.com/watch?v=VJnxYsZNzwM
»»»
Wireless networks crushed with traffic MSNBC
Exacerbating problem are inauguration-goers sending photos and videos Don`t Twitter via cell phone. Don`t send photos or videos using your mobile. And don`t hold your breath waiting to make or receive a call if you`re in the D.C. area. You`re going to be frustrated. And you may have to wait. The general consensus is that cell phones aren`t working. Text messages are working; it`s just the calls that aren`t working out so well, said Matthew Schlesinger, 22, a D.C. resident who was in the Mall crowd this morning.
»»»
Oprah Winfrey to replace departing U.S. ambassador to Canada David Wilkins Ottawa Sun
At a recent farewell lunch with a dozen journalists, departing U.S. ambassador David Wilkins claimed to have it on good authority that his replacement would be Oprah Winfrey. Alas, Wilkins was merely treating the scribbling class to one last flash of hallmark humour. Truth is, as the affable southern gent leaves his diplomatic post today, no one seems to have any idea who will be president-elect Barack Obama’s new rep in Canuckistan.
»»»
The Kiss-o-Meter Tells You If You Have Kissable Breath (or Not) Geek Sugar
Who will you be smooching this Valentine’s Day? Make your decision based on a very scientific measurement with the Kiss-o-Meter ($30). Per BoingBoing, http://gadgets.boingboing.net/2009/01/20/kissometer-gauges-ha.html , “you can get a portable Kiss-O-Meter to accurately gauge the stench emanating from the sunken butt of your throat”.
»»»
Hackers run up $120,000 phone bill News AU
Detective Sergeant Jamie McDonald said older PBX systems were the hackers’ main targets but modern Voice Over Internet Protocols (VoIP) networks were increasingly being accessed illegally. One small Perth business was left to pay for 11,000 international calls made over two days after hackers got into its VoIP PBX phone system. This owner discovered the breach when a bill for more than $120,000 arrived from the phone company.
»»»
SCOC to hear Wal-Mart union case Montreal Gazette
The right of the world’s largest retailer to close shop after employees unionized goes on trial Wednesday when the Supreme Court of Canada hears an appeal from laid-off workers at a former Wal-Mart store in Jonquiere, Que. The closure, which followed one of the first unionizations of Wal-Mart employees in North America, drew continent wide attention and the high-stakes appeal is being closely watched by labour and business. The court will consider whether Wal-Mart violated Quebec labour laws and the workers’ constitutional rights by shutting its store during negotiations for an inaugural collective agreement almost four years ago. Andrew Pelletier, spokesman for Wal-Mart Canada, said Wednesday that three Canadian Wal-Mart outlets are unionized two in Quebec and one in Weyburn, Sask., but none has a collective agreement. In the United States, no Wal-Mart stores are unionized.
»»»
[Attention Ontario Readers:] Can’t Smoke In Cars With Kids. Law In Effect Wednesday City News
In a move we first told you about in June, smoking inside a vehicle where children are also riding is now illegal.
The legislation comes into effect Wednesday and protects those under the age of 16 from second-hand smoke.
A similar ban is already in place in Nova Scotia and B.C., and New Brunswick and P.E.I. are considering similar laws.
A 2007 report from the Ontario Medical Association stated smoke in a car can be up to 27 times more concentrated than in a smoker’s home. In Ontario, drivers could face fines of up to $250.
»»»
Microsoft unloads Comcast stake Cnet
Microsoft has sold all of its shares in Comcast, according to an SEC filing made on Friday. As of its latest public disclosure in March, the software maker held 150.9 million shares in the cable company. Although Microsoft is certainly not hard up for cash, the move comes as the company is weighing a range of cuts, including layoffs as it deals with the weak economy. Microsoft took the huge stake in the cable industry as part of its effort to become a player in interactive television. Although it scored minor deals with Comcast over the years, its biggest customers these days are the telecommunications companies that are trying to rival Comcast and other cable companies by offering Internet Protocol television (IPTV).
January , 2009
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. It`s really easy!
Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/p2p.rss | | Mobile – http://p2pnet.net/index-wml.php
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
January 21st, 2009 at 4:45 pm
Can’t access the link for the “hackers run up $120,000 bill” story – URL is incomplete.
Thanks.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:16 pm
Old news now with the Chandrayaan-1, is that it has surveyed all the early US landings on the moon.
Yeah, those remains of space craft we sent men to the moon in are still there. All the conspiracy theorists will have to come up with a new one about we didn’t send a man to the moon and it was all staged.
Chandrayaan-1 has confirmed those events took place because the remains are still there.
I think the past info I read was the always dark shadowed areas of the craters in a past survey did not find evidence of there actually being ice. I would have been surprised had they, with it being exposed on the surface to be found. Somehow in my mind, regolith and dust over long times would eventually cover the exposure.
January 21st, 2009 at 5:30 pm
@ Dorothy.
Fixed, Dorothy.
Cheers!
January 21st, 2009 at 11:02 pm
“Canuckistan”? Glad it wasn’t I who came up with that.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:38 am
Oprah Winfrey has been raising a whole class of “oprahmoms” who are way too ignorant and believe everything said by Oprah as a fact. She is also likely to have ties with the most cancerous scourge of the world – Hollywood and the entertainment cartels.
I don’t like Oprah Winfrey as an ambassador for “Canuckistan” and many file sharers will agree.
January 22nd, 2009 at 9:41 am
“Good choice: The iconic talk show host devoted to helping children in godforsaken places would surely find Ottawa in the dead of winter is right up her alley.”
Just do it in the name of children and everyone will accept it. Have been there already…
“The state must declare the child to be the most precious treasure of the people. As long as the government is perceived as working for the benefit of the children, the people will happily endure almost any curtailment of liberty and almost any deprivation.”
Mein Kampf; the Ralph Manheim translation published by Houghton-Mifflin, 1943. pg 403.