In their persistent quest to breach the Internet’s defenses, the bad guys are honing their weapons and increasing their firepower. With growing sophistication, they are taking advantage of programs that secretly install themselves on thousands or even millions of personal computers, band these computers together into an unwitting army of zombies, and use the collective power of the dragooned network to commit Internet crimes. These systems, called botnets, are being blamed for the huge spike in spam that bedeviled the Internet in recent months, as well as fraud and data theft. Security researchers have been concerned about botnets for some time because they automate and amplify the effects of viruses and other malicious programs. What is new is the vastly escalating scale of the problem - and the precision with which some of the programs can scan computers for specific information, like corporate and personal data, to drain money from online bank accounts and stock brokerages. ‘It’s the perfect crime, both low-risk and high-profit,’ said Gadi Evron, a computer security researcher for an Israeli-based firm, Beyond Security, who coordinates an international volunteer effort to fight botnets. ‘The war to make the Internet safe was lost […]
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger unveiled a sweeping $12 billion health care plan today that would require all Californians to have health insurance. In remarks that he delivered by video conference from Los Angeles, Schwarzenegger insisted covering all Californians was the key to lowering the exploding costs of health care. ‘We pay higher deductibles, higher cost for treatment, higher premiums and higher co-pays,” he said. ‘Prices for health care and insurance are rising twice as fast as inflation, twice as fast as wages. That is a terrible drain on everyone and it is a drain on our economy. My solution is that everyone in California must have insurance. If you can’t afford it, the state will help you buy it, but you must be insured.” Among the highlights: The governor would require employers to provide insurance or pay into a state fund that would help people buy their own insurance; he would require insurers to cover everyone, regardless of medical condition; he would require 85 percent of insurance premiums be spent on patient care; he would substantially increase the MediCal reimbursement for doctors. He acknowledged how controversial his proposal to cover illegal immigrants is, but said […]
109th CONGRESS 2d Session H. RES. 1106 Articles of Impeachment against George Walker Bush, President of the United States of America, and other officials, for high crimes and misdemeanors. IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 8, 2006 Ms. MCKINNEY submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary RESOLUTION Articles of Impeachment against George Walker Bush, President of the United States of America, and other officials, for high crimes and misdemeanors. Resolved, That George Walker Bush, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and misdemeanors, and that the following Articles of Impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate: Articles of Impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of all the people of the United States of America, against George Walker Bush, President of the United States of America, and other officials, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and misdemeanors. Be it resolved by the House […]
DETROIT — After an impressive first day at the auto industry’s biggest trade show, General Motors Chief Executive Rick Wagoner can afford a little bravado. Speaking with reporters here in Detroit Sunday, Wagoner said that this year he expects the world’s largest automaker to sell more vehicles this year domestically than the 3 million it sold in 2006. The prediction seems like a tall order, given that U.S. vehicle sales are projected to be flat this year and domestic automakers have been losing share to Asian rivals led by Toyota and Honda. But the struggling U.S. automaker has earned some bragging rights. On the first day of the 2007 North American International Auto Show, GM swept the car and truck of the year honors and wowed critics with its Chevrolet Volt sedan concept, which boasts a battery-powered electric motor that will be able to run for up to 40 city miles on a single charge. The Volt, which is years away from market and will require significant advances in battery technology, is designed to run on little or no gasoline, unlike hybrids currently on the market. That will be music to the ears of environmentalists and […]
The U.S. Constitution prevents Austria-born Arnold Schwarzenegger from running for president. But California’s GOP governor, sworn in last week for a second term, still plans on influencing the 2008 election. Schwarzenegger says he’d like to move the California primary from June-when both parties have all but picked their nominees-to a much earlier date, in February. ‘We shouldn’t be treated as a leftover,’ Schwarzenegger told NEWSWEEK while at home in Los Angeles, where he was recovering from a broken leg after a skiing accident. ‘We will go and make a lot of noise about the issues.’ The governor hopes the change will encourage candidates to spend more time talking to voters in the nation’s most populous state, instead of ‘sucking us dry for money’ at fund-raisers. ‘We don’t want to sit back and let this whole thing go by and have California not be a player,’ he says. The proposal would need to be brought to the state legislature and approved by a two-thirds vote. Schwarzenegger says he’s meeting with leaders from both parties this week to discuss the plan. Moving up the primary certainly increases California’s visibility among candidates-and puts the Golden State’s environmental concerns on the agenda. […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
