[Audio] - Bad Meets Evil f/ Bruno Mars - Lighters

Sell a kidney, get an IPad -would you do it?

Some has done it, according to Shanghai Daily:

A 17-year-old student in Anhui Province sold one of his kidneys for 20,000 yuan only to buy an iPad 2. Now, with his health getting worse, the boy is feeling regret but it is too late, the Global Times reported today.

"I wanted to buy an iPad 2 but could not afford it," said the boy surnamed Zheng in Huaishan City. "A broker contacted me on the Internet and said he could help me sell one kidney for 20,000 yuan."

On April 28 Zheng went to Chenzhou City in neighboring Hunan Province for the kidney removal surgery arranged by the broker. His parents knew nothing about it, Zheng said. He was paid 22,000 yuan after his right kidney was taken out at the Chenzhou No. 198 Hospital.

When he returned home, his mother found out and reported to the police immediately. But they could not locate the broker whose cell phone was always powered off, the report said.

It turned out that the Chenzhou No. 198 Hospital was not qualified to perform organ transplant. The hospital claimed they had no idea about Zheng's surgery because the department that did the surgery had been contracted to a Fujian businessman.

The case is still under investigation, the report said.

DJ Mister Cee pleads guilty to bust; ordered to attend counseling

According to NY Post:

Popular Hot 97 radio deejay "Mister Cee" 'fessed up Wednesday to a penal code violation: receiving oral sex from another man in a parked car.

Cee, 44, whose real name is Calvin LeBrun, pleaded guilty to a charge of loitering for the purpose of engaging in a prostitution offense. He and his much younger companion, Lawrence Campbell, 20, were busted March 30 at 4 a.m. at Watts and West streets.

He was ordered to complete three months, or 12 sessions, of counseling with a doctor, officials said.

This was Cee's second conviction on the same charge. The music man was busted in lower Manhattan last Oct. 8 and pleaded guilty a month later, officials said.

Cee made a name for himself in the hip-hop world as Big Daddy Kane's deejay. He later produced "Ready to Die," Notorious B.I.G.'s first album.

On Hot 97, he hosts "Throwback at Noon," a classic hits hour. At the time of his arrest a station manager told the Daily News the allegations were untrue.

Station officials did not return calls after his guilty plea.

His lawyer also could not be reached for comment.

Campbell, 20, who had no previous criminal record, was given an adjournment in contemplation of dismissal - meaning that if he stays out of trouble for six months, the case will be cleared from his record, officials said.

Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ny_crime/2011/06/01/2011-06-01_dj_mister_cee_pleads_guilty_to_loitering_after_gay_oral_sex_bust_ordered_to_atte.html#ixzz1O7zAJk11

Dutch drugs 'ban': Why closing Amsterdam 'coffee shops' to tourists is a bad thing for the Netherlands

According to Daily Mail UK:

Earlier this week, the Netherlands announced plans for new regulations that effectively ban tourists from visiting the 'coffee shops' where drugs are openly smoked. Here, Priscilla Pollara assesses the pros and cons of such restrictions, and wonders whether - whatever your opinions on narcotics - this is the wisest of moves by the Dutch.

Posted by Priscilla Pollara, Travel Writer, TravelMail

To say they offer a 'unique' tourist experience would be to understate the facts.

Indeed, if someone had ever had the ingenious idea of planting a camera at the entrance to every Dutch 'coffeehouse', the aghast faces of all its unwitting visitors would undoubtedly have, by now, made for some entertaining viewing.

For most of us, coffee shops sell nothing more than over-sized caffeine drinks and the odd calorific pastry. Perhaps even a sandwich or two.

In the Netherlands, however, the term 'coffeehouse' is little more than a euphemism. For it is here where people (either first-time visitors or neighbourhood regulars) come to peruse, buy and/or enjoy a large selection of drugs. They are distinguishable from ordinary cafes by the subtle drug-innuendo artwork which adorns their exteriors.

The country's relaxed drug policy, which allows the sale of cannabis products in 'licensed venues', is the reason transactions of this type can take place. Born in 1970, coffeehouses quickly became a grand source of income – partly because the Dutch are said to enjoy only 'high-quality' narcotics, partly through sheer intrigue.

This week, however, the Dutch introduced a new set of anti-drugs laws which will see foreigners effectively banned from entering 'coffeehouses'. In the future, customers will be forced to sign up for a yearly membership – a 'dope pass' – if they want to gain entry. Each shop (there are 800 in total) will be allocated only 1500 of these passes in any 12-month period. These restrictions – a word so ironically used in conjunction with the famously liberal Holland – are due to come into play by the close of the year.

But is this a wise decision by the usually sage Dutch? Do they not now stand to endanger their all-important multi-million-pound tourist revenue?

The Netherlands has some enduring emblems. Edam cheese, orange football shirts and lemon-yellow wooden clogs for starters. And characteristic canals, veal 'krokets', windmills, kaleidoscopic tulip fields – and of course, heady brands of beer.

Drugs, however, also play a key part in Netherlands' image – as do the various red-light districts up and down this small country. Of course, it isn’t so much the substances or the lascivious acts themselves which are celebrated, more the infamy. And with it, the magnetic tourist pull that they have both have come to acquire.

The majority of us do not hail from places where corner shops freely sell cannabis – instead of the ordinary croissant – behind attractive glass-display cabinets. Few of us see scantily-clad women, enticing passers-by from shop windows, on a daily basis.

Yet while these may be a tiny detail in the make-up of the Netherlands, for some Dutch citizens they are as nationally symbolic as their abundant cheeses and bicycles.

What is undeniable is that – whether one dabbles in coffee shops and the ‘exotic’ nightlife – or find yourself repulsed by the whole spectacle – both aspects have served the Netherlands' economy well. They are part of the DNA of the likes of Amsterdam and Rotterdam, contributing to a schizophrenic appeal that makes these cities perfect both for couples seeking romantic walks or men on an alcoholic stag-do.

The Dutch claim the new regulations 'will put an end to the nuisance and criminality associated with coffee shops and drugs trafficking'.

But won't the banning of foreigners from coffee shops simply encourage the growth of a thriving black market? And after years of standing out from the crowd, do the Dutch really want to become known for backhand business dealings?

'It's a bold move,' a concerned Dutchman tells me. 'It will definitely cost Holland, or more to the point, Amsterdam, much of the revenue it generates from tourism.

'Most travellers are young backpackers who come on the promise of seeing something they don't normally see, and there is no way that those coming from far and wide will be organised enough to subscribe to memberships before their arrival. We will lose their business.'

Some people say the Dutch are committing 'tourism suicide'. At a time when flying has never been easier, is it wise for a country to rid itself of one of its most recognisable attributes?

China rejects Gmail spying claims

According to BBC News:

China has rejected allegations of involvement in a cyber-spying campaign targeting the Google e-mail accounts of top US officials, military personnel and journalists.

A foreign ministry spokesman said it was "unacceptable" to blame China.

Google has not blamed the Chinese government directly, but says the hacking campaign originated in Jinan.

The US company said its security was not breached but indicated individuals' passwords were obtained through fraud.

Chinese political activists and officials in other Asian countries were also targeted, Google said.
Washington investigation

It is extremely difficult for analysts to determine whether governments or individuals are responsible for such attacks, says the BBC's Adam Brookes in Washington.

But the fact that the victims were people with access to sensitive - even secret - information raises the possibility that this was cyber-espionage rather than cyber-crime, adds our correspondent.

However, Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei told a news briefing: "Blaming these misdeeds on China is unacceptable.

"Hacking is an international problem and China is also a victim. The claims of so-called support for hacking are completely unfounded and have ulterior motives."

On Wednesday, Google said it had "detected and has disrupted" a campaign to take users' passwords and monitor their emails.

"We have notified victims and secured their accounts," said the company. "In addition, we have notified relevant government authorities."

The e-mail scam uses a practice known as "spear phishing" in which specific e-mail users are tricked into divulging their login credentials to a web page that resembles Google's Gmail web service (or which appears related to the target's work) but is in fact run by hackers.

Having obtained the user's e-mail login and password, the hackers then tell Gmail's service to forward incoming e-mail to another account set up by the hacker.

The White House said it was investigating the reports but did not believe official US government e-mail accounts had been breached.

US Pentagon to treat cyber-attacks as 'acts of war'

According to BBC News:

The US is set to publish plans that will categorise cyber-attacks as acts of war, the Pentagon says.

In future, a US president could consider economic sanctions, cyber-retaliation or a military strike if key US computer systems were attacked, officials have said recently.

The planning was given added urgency by a cyber-attack last month on the defence contractor, Lockheed Martin.

A new report from the Pentagon is due out in a matter of weeks.

"A response to a cyber-incident or attack on the US would not necessarily be a cyber-response. All appropriate options would be on the table," Pentagon spokesman Col Dave Lapan told reporters on Tuesday.

Col Lapan confirmed the Pentagon was drawing up a cyber defence strategy, which would be ready in two to three weeks.

Cyber-attacks from foreign nations that threaten widespread US civilian casualties, like cutting off power supplies or shutting down emergency-responder networks, could be treated as an act of aggression under the new policy.

But the plan does not mention how the US may respond to cyber-attackers, such as terrorists, who are not acting for a nation state.
'All necessary means'

The Pentagon's planning follows an international strategy statement on cyber-security, issued by the White House on 16 May.

The US would "respond to hostile acts in cyberspace as we would to any other threat to our country", stated the White House in plain terms.

"We reserve the right to use all necessary means - diplomatic, informational, military, and economic - as appropriate and consistent with applicable international law, in order to defend our nation, our allies, our partners and our interests."

The Wall Street Journal quoted a military official as saying: "If you shut down our power grid, maybe we will put a missile down one of your smokestacks."

White House officials said consideration of a military response to a cyber-attack would constitute a "last resort", after other efforts to deter an attack had failed, the New York Times newspaper reported.
Sophistication of hackers

One of the difficulties strategists are grappling with is how to track down reliably the cyber-attackers who deliberately obscure the origin of their incursions.

The sophistication of hackers and frequency of the attacks came back into focus after an attack on arms-maker Lockheed Martin on 21 May.

Lockheed said the "tenacious" cyber-attack on its network was part of a pattern of attacks on it from around the world.

The worst cyber-attack against the US military occurred in 2008, when malicious software on a flash drive commandeered computers at US Central Command.

The US defence department estimates that more than 100 foreign intelligence organizations have attempted to break into American networks.

The US is also accused of using cyber warfare against other nations. In 2010 Iran accused the US of helping to develop Stuxnet, a software worm aimed at controlling systems in Iranian nuclear plants.

Google Gmail accounts hacked from China; US officals targeted

According to Mercury News:

Google (GOOG) disclosed Wednesday that hundreds of Gmail accounts, including those of senior U.S. officials and Chinese political activists, were targeted in a concerted hacking campaign originating from Jinan, China.

Unlike a series of cyberattacks from China last year, Google said the goal this time was not its own central systems, but the individual accounts of users of its email service. The attacks, which Google said also targeted government officials in South Korea and other Asian nations, military personnel and journalists, were likely the result of "phishing" attempts, in which the attacker dupes users into sharing passwords.

There were no indications Wednesday that the latest round of attacks would prompt any change in Google's operations in China. Nor was there evidence of Chinese government involvement, although some analysts speculated Chinese officials could be indirectly involved.

"We have more than 500 employees and hundreds of partners in China and we plan to continue to work there," Google said in a written statement provided to this newspaper.

Google said the latest attacks, which gained access to an undisclosed number of accounts before they were detected, intended to spy on the private email conversations of U.S. and foreign government officials, political dissidents,
journalists and others. The phishing campaign is being investigated by the FBI and other federal agencies.

"We are working with Google and other U.S. government agencies to review this matter further to identify the origin of this campaign and to see what information may have been compromised," the FBI said in a written statement released Wednesday. Neither Google nor an FBI spokeswoman would comment on which senior U.S. officials were targeted.

Some of the same targets of last year's Gmail attacks may have been targeted again. Tenzin Seldon, a Stanford student and Tibetan activist, said she noticed that someone improperly commandeered her email account in March and managed to send messages under her name to other Tibetan leaders.

This particular attack used a method called "spear phishing," in which the attacker uses small bits of real information to trick someone into sharing access to their email account. In this case, government officials received a message in their personal Gmail account that appeared to come from the address of a close associate or collaborating government agency, according to an analysis cited by Google as one way it discovered the latest Chinese attacks.

The messages were crafted to appear as though they had an attachment with links such as "View Download" and a name of the supposed attachment. However, the bogus link led to a fake Gmail login page, which the cybercriminals used to obtain passwords.

Google "did their own extensive investigation," said Mila Parkour, who wrote the malicious software analysis cited by Google. "The attack started probably a year before if not longer."

Google said in a posting to its official blog Wednesday afternoon that it had detected and disrupted "this campaign to take users' passwords and monitor their emails," and had already "notified victims and secured their accounts," as well as alerting authorities.

"The goal of this effort seems to have been to monitor the contents of these users' emails, with the perpetrators apparently using stolen passwords" to gain access to Gmail accounts, the company said in its post. Google said it was not accusing the Chinese government: "We can't say for sure who is responsible," a Google spokesman said.

Last year's cyberattacks broke into Google's computer security infrastructure and resulted in the theft of the company's intellectual property, allowing the attackers to gain access to the Gmail accounts of Chinese activists in the U.S. and other countries.

According to an investigation by The New York Times, the attacks originated in several schools in Jinan province. That intrusion helped precipitate Google's decision that it would no longer comply with the Chinese government's rules that it censor politically sensitive results from its Internet search results. It moved its search service to Hong Kong.

Chinese government officials have vehemently denied involvement in earlier attacks.

Security experts who specialize in protection against cyberattacks that originate in other countries said that even though the latest attacks targeted political activists, it may be impossible to ever prove whether the Chinese government played any role in the latest attacks.

In some cases, said Larry Ponemon of the Ponemon Institute, a Michigan-based computer security consulting company, the governments of China and other nations may shelter cybercriminals in exchange for the information they steal from U.S. networks or individual accounts. While many phishing campaigns target large groups in hopes of finding a few victims, these attacks targeted specific high-value targets.

"It could be a dark alliance where the syndicate is allowed to operate, reminiscent of the (historical) privateers that became pirates," Ponemon said. "China is pretty bold. They are actually educating people to be really good hackers, to be really good cybercriminals."

Typically, Ponemon said, people may be slightly less guarded about their personal email accounts.

"They are going after people of consequence whose information might be valuable. That's the scary part. "

Parkour also believes it is likely the Chinese government was involved.

The same people "are after sensitive corporate, military and government data," she said in an email message. "They might be foreign government sponsored directly, on payroll, or indirectly, selling what they find to willing buyers."

Google on Wednesday urged its users to take safety precautions such as using its two-step verification feature for Gmail, and to use a password that they would not use for any other account but Gmail.