legitgov.org/#breaking_news Cyber attack war game to test London banks prior to big US power grid drill --Londons financial firms to be put through war game scenario 12 Nov 2013 Thousands of staff across dozens of Londons financial firms will be put through a war game scenario on Tuesday to test how well they can handle a major cyber attack. In one of the largest exercises of its kind in the world, the test dubbed Waking Shark II [LOL!] will bombard firms with a series of announcements and scenarios, such as a major attack on computer systems hitting stock exchanges and unfolding on social media. It will be co-ordinated from a single room housing regulators, government officials and staff from banks and other financial firms, people familiar with the matter said. [See: Huge Electric Grid Failure Drill Scheduled for 13 -14 November 2013.] DHS, FEMA to participate in power grid drill on Nov. 13-14 07 Nov 2013 National Grid will be among the participants in North American Electric Reliability Corp.s second Grid Security Exercise, which is being referred to as Grid Ex II by those participating. Many of the specifics of the drill have not been made known to utilities and agencies involved, according to a National Grid spokesman... In addition to National Grid and other utilities, the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Emergency Management Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology will be involved. Apocalypse: Threat of massive grid shutdown increasing in face of terrorism, natural disasters [and false flags] 10 Nov 2013 This week, Canada, the United States and Mexico will take part in the largest-ever emergency drill simulating terrorist and cyber attacks on power grids called GridEx II. The massive exercise includes more than 150 companies, organizations and key business executives, antiterrorism experts, government officials and thousands of utilities employees. Most recently, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti on Oct. 30 signed an executive directive creating a Cyber Intrusion Command Center to help protect that citys computerized infrastructure against attacks from hackers and cyberterrorists. UK spy agency uses NSA attack to hack Slashdot, LinkedIn users --GCHQ created fake LinkedIn and Slashdot pages to spy on European network engineers, using technique exploited by NSA 11 Nov 2013 According to reports published by German magazine Der Spiegel, Britains Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ), the U.K. equivalent to the NSA, spoofed LinkedIn and Slashdot pages to break into the computers of network engineers who worked for global roaming exchange providers in Europe. The fake sites planted malware on the victims systems, which in turn would gain access to the voice and data routers at the telecoms where the victims worked. The technique used to spoof the websites, dubbed Quantum Insert by the NSA, was also employed in the past by that agency to attack users of the Tor anonymous-browsing network. Guardian editor Alan Rusbridger to be questioned by MPs over NSA leaks 09 Nov 2013 The editor of the Guardian is to be questioned by MPs about his newspapers publication of intelligence files leaked by the American whistleblower Edward Snowden. Alan Rusbridger is to appear before the House of Commons home affairs select committee next month following warnings from British security chiefs that the revelations were damaging national security. The heads of MI6, MI5 and GCHQ claim terrorist groups are changing their operations as a result of the leaks. Stuxnet badly infected Russian nuclear plant 08 Nov 2013 Stuxnet had badly infected the internal network of a Russian nuclear plant after the sophisticated malware caused chaos in Irans nuclear facilities in Natanz. The malware, widely considered to have been developed by the US Government as a means to disrupt Irans nuclear enrichment plans, had crossed a physically separated air-gapped network in the Russian plant after it was carried across on a USB device. Eugene Kaspersky, the boss of the Russian antivirus company bearing his name, said a staffer at the unnamed nuclear plant informed him of the infection. Nuclear plant security to be designated as state secret --Legislation designates such information as state secret under category of terrorism prevention 09 Nov 2013 Information on the way Japans nuclear power plants are guarded by police and security officers will be designated as a state secret by a government-sponsored confidentiality bill, said Masako Mori, minister in charge of the legislation. The controversial bill calls for tougher penalties on government officials and others who leak official state secrets but leaves their designation to top officials of government agencies. The government wants the state secret protection bill to be enacted during the ongoing session of the Diet that ends Dec. 6, insisting it is inextricably linked to a bill to establish a national security council. Experts commissioned by nuclear watchdog fail to report ¥40 million in funding 09 Nov 2013 At least 10 university experts commissioned by the Nuclear Regulation Authority to discuss safety rules failed to report over ¥40 million they received in d*nations and research funding from the atomic energy industry, sources said Saturday. They received the undeclared m*ney from power companies, nuclear plant makers and other related entities and had not declared this total as of late October, according to documents reviewed by Jiji Press based on the information disclosure law. [This is why the dirt-bags want nuclear security classified as state secrets -- so they can hide the m*ney they launder for false flags and cover-ups. That way, they can blame terrorists for their nuclear disasters instead of, say, *TEPCO.* --LRP] Anti-nuclear, civic groups targeted in large-scale cyber-attacks 10 Nov 2013 At least 33 civic groups nationwide -- many of them anti-nuclear organizations -- have been hit by a series of cyber-attacks that bombarded them with a total of 2.53 million emails since mid-September, group members and a lawyer representing them said Sunday. The civic groups are considering filing a criminal complaint against the senders of the emails for obstruction of business, according to lawyer Yuichi Kaido, who represents the organizations, which includes Fukushima Genpatsu Kokusodan, a group formed by residents of the prefecture affected by the nuclear disaster at the No. 1 plant. Judge to Listen to Newtown 911 Tapes Before Decision 08 Nov 2013 New Britain Superior Court Judge Eliot Prescott said Friday he will listen to recordings of 911 calls made from Sandy Hook Elementary School -- as little as I may want to do that -- before deciding whether the calls should remain secret pending an appeal of an order to make the tapes public. The Freedom of Information Commission in September ordered Newtown police to release tapes of 911 calls made from inside the school during the Dec. 14, attack, ruling unanimously that the calls were not exempt from mandatory disclosure. That decision was made over the objections of Danbury States Attorney Stephen J. Sedensky III, who has appealed the ruling in court and sought a stay of the order to release the tapes. Connecticut prosecutor tells judge to block release of Sandy Hook 911 calls 08 Nov 2013 A Connecticut prosecutor urged a judge Friday to block the release of the desperate 911 calls from the Sandy Hook Elementary School massacre [DHS drill]. A stay will protect crime victims and witnesses as well as allow information relative to child abuse to remain protected, States Attorney Stephen Sedensky argued in court papers. At a certain point, people ask what is there to hide, said FOI attorney Victor Perpetua, who insisted the public has a right to know how police responded to the mayhem. The longer it is delayed the more questions are raised. Newtown police officer first on Sandy Hook scene faces firing 07 Nov 2013 Newtown officials have notified a police officer who hasnt returned to work since responding to the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting that he could be fired. Thomas Bean, a 12-year veteran, submitted a two-sentence letter from his doctor indicating that he suffered from post-traumatic stress disorder because of the horrific scene he encountered inside the school. Bean, who was off duty on Dec. 14, responded to the school and entered at least one of the classrooms where children were killed. In a June letter to Bean, Chief Michael Kehoe wrote that he received notice that Bean is 100 percent permanently disabled from performing the essential functions of your job as a police officer. [See also: Letter from Newtowns Police Chief to Officer Bean.] Syria Rebels Recruit at Refugee Camp 11 Nov 2013 In a makeshift mosque in a trailer in this sprawling camp for Syrian refugees, a preacher appeals to worshippers to join their countrymen in the fight to topple President Bashar Assad. In another corner of the Zaatari camp, two men draped in the Syrian rebel flag call on refugees through loudspeakers to sign up for military training. Rebels US-funded terrorists in the camp freely acknowledge recruiting fighters in the camp in a drive that has increased since the summer, trying to bolster rebel ranks in the face of stepped up offensives by Assads forces just across the border in southern Syria. International community keeps silent on Gaza blockade 10 Nov 2013 Nearly 80 months after the Israeli government imposed an all-out land, aerial, and naval blockade on Gaza, the international community continues to remain silent on the illegal siege of the Palestinian enclave. Gaza has been blockaded since June 2007, a situation that has caused a decline in the standards of living, unprecedented levels of unemployment, and unrelenting poverty. Tel Aviv denies about 1.7 million people in Gaza their basic rights, such as freedom of movement, jobs that pay proper wages, and adequate health care and education. We were wrong: CBSs Lara Logan apologizes for Benghazi report --The CBS story lie was cited by congressional Republicans who have demanded to know why a military rescue was not attempted. 08 Nov 2013 CBS correspondent Lara Logan apologized Friday and said the network was wrong for a 60 Minutes report that raised questions about the Obama administrations response to last years attack on the U.S. diplomatic compound in Benghazi, Libya. In this case, we were wrong. We made a mistake, Logan said on CBS This Morning. Thats disappointing for any journalist. Its very disappointing for me. [Disappointing for any journalist. LOL. How would Lara Logan know?] Crews investigate HazMat situation in Fayetteville 10 Nov 2013 A HazMat team responded to an emergency around the 800 block of 71st School Road near Wright Avenue Sunday night. Officials said HazMat crews looked into some kind of suspicious odor around 10:40 p.m. EMS was forced out of the area. Philippines delegate will hunger strike until meaningful action is taken on climate 11 Nov 2013 The head of the Philippines delegation at UN climate talks in Poland has said he will stop eating until participants make meaningful progress. In an emotional speech, Yeb Sano linked the staggering devastation caused by Typhoon Haiyan to a changing climate. Mr Sano said he was speaking on behalf of those who lost their lives in the storm and his fast would last until we stop this madness. His speech brought tears to the eyes of other delegates and a standing ovation. TPP: largest corporate power grab you never heard of 08 Nov 2013 For 130 million working Americans, the Trans-Pacific Partnership is, as Minnesota Rep. Keith Ellison (D) described so well, the largest corporate power grab you never heard of. After 19 rounds of negotiations between the United States, Australia, Brunei, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Peru, Singapore and Vietnam, TPP remains a mystery to everyone except government trade negotiators and the corporate lobbyists who get to read all the proposals. Rep. Alan Grayson (D-Fla.), has seen some of the proposals. TPP is a punch in the face to the middle class of America ... but Im not allowed to tell you why, he said. Home Depot Apologizes for Its Racist Tweet 09 Nov 2013 Home Depot is apologizing for a racist tweet and blaming the agency that sent it from the company account. Deflecting blame and now all is hunky dory? Hmm, one Facebook user wrote. So even though you hired the firm responsible for the shockingly racist tweet, you bear/accept no responsibility? [Oh-but-another reason to boycott Home Depot.] Mandatory flu shots worry UNM Hospital employees 08 Nov 2013 University of New Mexico Hospital employees...object to being told the flu vaccination is now mandatory, and they want clarification about who pays if an employee has an adverse reaction. That was the message delivered Thursday from the workers union, District 1199 NM of the National Union of Nurses and Hospital Employees. The union announced it has filed complaints with the UNM Labor Management Relations Board. Train carrying crude oil derails, cars ablaze in Alabama 08 Nov 2013 A 90-car train carrying North Dakota crude derailed and exploded in a rural area of western Alabama early on Friday, leaving 11 cars burning and potentially bolstering the push for tougher regulation of a boom in moving oil by rail. Twenty of the trains cars derailed and a number were still on fire on Friday afternoon, local officials said. Those cars, which threw flames 300 feet into the night sky, are being left to burn out, which could take up to 24 hours, according to the train owner, Genesee & Wyoming. Republicans Changed Rules AFTER Virginia Election to Change Outcome 09 Nov 2013 Already shaping up to be one of the closest races in state history, a last-minute rule change is stirring up the recount to decide who will become Virginias next attorney general. The Daily Press of Newport News, Va. reported Friday that Republican candidate Mark Obenshain had an unofficial lead of just under 1,300 votes over Democratic challenger Mark Herring. That tally did not include full provisional ballot totals, and as of Saturday, a fresh rule change was complicating matters. According to a report by WTOP radio, the Virginia State Board of Elections decided Friday to change rules relevant to Fairfax County, banning legal representatives from helping count votes, unless the associated voter was actually present. The board changing the rules is dominated by Republicans. U.S. seeks $864 million from Bank of America after fraud verdict 09 Nov 2013 The U.S. government urged that B*nk of America Corp pay *863.6 million in damages after a federal jury found it liable for fraud over defective m*rtg*ges sold by its Countrywide unit. In a filing late Friday in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan, the government also asked for penalties against Rebecca Mairone, a former midlevel executive at the b*nks Countrywide unit who the jury also found liable, commensurate with her ability to pay. [I have to insert asterisks to avoid certain filters - sorry.]
Posted on: Tue, 12 Nov 2013 05:41:38 +0000
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