Video: Public now rejection public health care option - KXAN.com
U.S. President Barack Obama is thought to be backing away from the "public option" of his health care initiative, due to public backlash regarding government insurance.
Albert Gonzalez
A hacker that was on the U.S. government's payroll,
TJX Hacker Charged With Heartland, Hannaford Breaches
August 17, 2009 - The constellation of hacks connected to the TJX hacker is growing.
Albert “Segvec” Gonzalez has been indicted by a federal grand jury in New Jersey — along with two unnamed Russian conspirators — on charges of hacking into Heartland Payment Systems, the New Jersey-based card processing company, as well as Hannaford Brothers, 7-Eleven and two unnamed national retailers, according to the indictment unsealed Monday. Gonzalez, a former Secret Service informant, is already awaiting trial over his involvement in the TJX hack.
According to the court document, the hackers allegedly stole more than 130 million credit and debit card numbers (.pdf) from Heartland and Hannaford combined. Prosecutors say they believe these breaches constitute the largest data-breach and identity-theft case ever prosecuted in the United States. They’re investigating other breaches and have not ruled out Gonzalez’s involvement in even more intrusions...
They each face a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a possible maximum fine of $250,000 on the computer-fraud count and an additional 30 years and $1 million fine on the wire-fraud count, or twice the amount they gained from the offense, whichever is greater...
Gonzalez called his credit card theft ring “Operation Get Rich or Die Tryin.” As Wired.com previously reported, he spent $75,000 on a birthday party for himself and once complained to associates that he had to manually count $340,000 in stolen $20 bills after his counting machine broke...
Tom DeLay
Former House Majority Leader, Tom DeLay, who was indicted on campaign fraud and money laundering charges, has been
Tom DeLay: "Conservatives Can Have Fun Too"
Former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay has found a new message as he embarks on a new campaign: "Conservatives can have fun too."
Yesterday, ABC announced that the former Republican leader known as "The Hammer" will be a contestant on "Dancing with the Stars" this Fall.
Today, DeLay was on ABC's "Good Morning America" to explain why he decided to join the show...
Judge
A sadistic,
There were computer glitches barring the the appeal and when they rushed to the court to file, she instructed the courthouse be closed.
Sharon Keller is now facing a civil trial that aims to revoke her judgeship. Plainly put, Keller should be facing fraud and negligent homicide charges, for depriving Michael Richard of his constitutional rights, in deeds that cost him his life.
Furthermore, there have been a significant number of cases, where DNA evidence later acquitted the wrongfully accused. She had no business depriving him of the opportunity to do so, which is a legal right. Her conduct was thoroughly egregious.
Hasty judges quick to close out cases are always the worst and by far the most incompetent. Judges who quickly toss cases commit criminal fraud. A smart, astute, fair-minded judge, is willing to pore over a case and ascertain the true facts.
US judge 'ignored death row plea'
Richards was executed hours after Judge Keller allegedly closed the court. A judge in Texas has gone on trial accused of refusing to let lawyers for a convicted murderer on death row to lodge a last-minute appeal.
Sharon Keller is charged with professional misconduct. The prisoner, Michael Wayne Richard, was put to death hours after she allegedly shut the court, despite being told an appeal was imminent.
Half of all executions in the US last year were in Texas and Judge Keller has earned the nickname Sharon Killer.
She is known for her tough stance on the death penalty...Their efforts were delayed by computer glitches and when they phoned the court to request extra time, they say they were told court closes at 5pm.
Richard was put to death some three hours later. Now his lawyers claim Judge Keller deliberately ordered the courthouse to close at 5pm, knowing a last-minute appeal was imminent...
State prosecutors have charged Judge Keller with five counts of professional misconduct. They say her actions cast "public discredit" on the judiciary...
Michael Jackson
There are similarities between Elvis Presley and Michael Jackson, two pop singers that died of prescription medication drug overdoses during summer months.
Elvis died August 16, 1977 and Michael died June 25, 2009. Both men died at home with several prescription meds in their system - including Demerol.
Elvis Presley
Elvis, like Michael, aging and depressed, was also worried about a career comeback. Elvis like Michael, also suffered from terrible insomnia.
Restless minds find it hard to sleep with career pressures mounting. It is a common thread among celebrities.
Elvis Presley's Death: Anniversary Spotlights Similarities With Michael Jackson
Aug. 16, 2009 - ...Elvis Presley died Aug. 16, 1977. As fans commemorate the anniversary of his death, many see similarities with the recent drug overdose of Michael Jackson.
Opening the door, she found the man who seven months earlier had proposed marriage dead from an overdose -- Elvis Presley.
It was just after 1:30 p.m. on Aug. 16, 1977. The book that Elvis had taken into the bathroom four hours earlier, "The Scientific Search for the Face of Jesus," lay opened at his feet. He was 42.
By 4:30 that afternoon, Elvis' father, Vernon Presley, stood on the steps of the singer's Memphis mansion, Graceland, and told the world: "My son is dead." ...
The anniversary of Elvis' death comes as the world continues to mourn his pop music successor, Michael Jackson.
For decades, comparisons have been made between Elvis -- the so-called King of Rock -- and Jackson -- the self-anointed King of Pop. And now their deaths share eerie similarities.
Both Jackson and Elvis' lives unfurled with similar progression. Born into working-class families, they were musical innovators whose success bridged cultures and generations, and whose fame made them prisoners in their own homes.
But their deaths have an even eerier congruence. With their best days behind them, each planned a concert tour to redefine their legacies. Before getting the chance, however, they each died quietly in their gilded cages from an overdose of powerful prescription drugs.
Elvis, similarly took a dangerous combination of drugs he called "packets." Following Elvis' death, coroners found in his body traces of the painkillers morphine and Demerol; the tranquilizers Placidyl and valium; quaaludes; codeine and an unknown barbiturate.
..."There is a culture of drug use in the celebrity world. It is essentially a permissive and validating culture," Fischoff said...
"Jackson's face had deteriorated and Elvis had gained a tremendous amount of weight. It all showed on their faces and their bodies. They had deal with aging, loss of beauty and waning talent. They found solace in drugs, but they could not live that way," he said.
The two men, of course, shared something else in common. Elvis' daughter, Lisa Marie Presley, was married to Michael Jackson from 1994 to 1996.
Mariah Carey
After the dismal showing of her lead off single, the Eminem mocking track "Obsessed" Mariah Carey has returned to the recording studio, with her tail between her legs. Carey was clearly knocked for six, after suffering a musical thrashing from her one time lover, Detroit rapper, Eminem.
She has pushed back her album's release date, which is a tell-tale sign of trouble. Labels usually push up album release dates when the lead single does well.
Eminem
When the single is tanking, they push it back, delaying the inevitable defeat on the charts, by trying to rework the project and add new material.
Side Bar: I'm still wondering why crazy Mariah thought she could handle an musical onslaught by a viper-tongued rapper.
Mariah Carey returns to studio, delays album again
Thu Aug 13, 2009 5:11pm EDT - NEW YORK (Billboard) - Originally scheduled for an August 25th release date and then September 15th, Mariah Carey's upcoming 12th studio album, has been delayed yet again.
"Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel" will now arrive two weeks later on September 29th. A source at her Def Jam label said the singer needs to return to the studio to record additional songs.
Carey has also pulled out of a string of appearances surrounding the album's release, including "VH1 Storytellers," the "Today" Show concert series, the MTV Video Music Awards and her Hollywood Walk of Fame star ceremony.
The album's first single, "Obsessed," reached No. 11 on Billboard's Hot 100 chart...
Eminem and Mariah Carey feud for real says 50 cent
...Now it is being claimed that the whole feud between Carey and Eminem is a contrived set-up to promote their new albums but associates of Eminem deny this to be the case.
'Eminem doesn't mess with fans like that. This is real as can be, he has a statement to make and he is going to make it in ways some might not like' rapper and associate of Eminem, 50 Cent was reported as saying.
Why Is Mariah Carey Canceling Events?
Originally posted Saturday August 15, 2009 11:55 AM EDT - Reports that Mariah Carey has rescheduled several upcoming appearances has left many fans wondering if something might be wrong with the singer.
Carey, 40, had been tentatively set to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame Aug. 25, perform on Today Aug. 28, and also tape an episode of VH1's Storytellers.
But the singer's publicist Cindi Berger tells PEOPLE there is no reason for concern: "These dates have been postponed and not cancelled," she said Friday.
A source says the singer is completing her new album, Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel, the release of which has been pushed to Sept. 29...
Howard Stringer
Sony and Sony Ericsson continue to suffer massive sales losses, in a terrible financial decline that refuses to abate. Sony's image in the world is so ugly now, people are not inspired to buy from them, due to their dirty corporate practices, such as copyright, patent and trademark infringement.
They've suffered a fresh string of embarrassing losses and defeats recently, posting huge sales declines and having to withdraw some of their product lines, due to the fact people are not buying them.
What is Sony CEO and resident animal's solution to this quagmire, fire more people and force out company junior CEOs, when the problem lays with him, as he is bar none one of the most corrupt, thieving, devious, despicable human beings on the planet. You and Sony are criminals.
Sony Ericsson Reshuffles Leadership, Looks to Tighten Product Line
08/17/09 2:27 PM PT - Executives at both Sony and Ericsson will take new leadership positions at Sony Ericsson, the duo's joint venture in the mobile handheld space. Ericsson's Bert Nordberg will become Sony Ericsson's president upon the retirement of current prez Hideki Komiyama. Meanwhile, Sony Chairman and CEO Howard Stringer will also serve as Sony Ericsson's chairman.
Bert Nordberg, a 14-year veteran of telecom system provider Ericsson (Nasdaq: ERICY) More about Ericsson, has been named president of Sony Ericsson, the firm's joint cellphone venture with the Japanese consumer electronics giant. He'll be succeeding Hideki "Dick" Komiyama, a Sony (NYSE: SNE) More about Sony executive who has led Sony Ericsson More about Sony Ericsson since 2007 and is now headed for retirement.
Nordberg will be co-president of Sony Ericsson -- a new position for the firm -- beginning Sept. 1 and will assume full responsibility on Oct. 15.
In another executive reshuffle, Sony Ericsson has also tapped Sir Howard Stringer, Sony's chairman and chief executive, to take over the chairmanship of the Sony Ericsson board. The role is currently held by Carl-Hendric Svanberg, the Ericsson chief executive, who is in line to become chairman of BP in the United Kingdom.
Although prompted by outside circumstance -- Komiyama's retirement -- the moves may be necessary for the venture to right itself in the face of sharply declining revenues.
Dwindling Commitment?
Sony Ericsson, now in its eighth year, has lost at least US$1 billion in the past 12 months. There have also been questions about the companies' -- particularly Ericsson's -- commitment to the endeavor because of their own recent struggles with market forces and falling cash balances, Ronald Gruia, principal analyst and program leader of Frost & Sullivan's More about Frost & Sullivan emerging telecoms and ICT practice, told the E-Commerce Times...
Sony Pulls The Plugs On OLED Due To Losses & Production Problems
18/08/2009 - Bleeding cash and TV market share, Sony has now said that they will not deliver a new OLED TV this year because of costs and production problems. New research has also revealed that 4 out of 10 Sony OLED TV panels made are dumped because of production problems.
Hailed 18 months ago as the breakthrough TV technology that would catapult Sony into a dominant position in the TV display market, OLED TV is now turning into a lemon for the Japanese TV maker who in Australia has seen their TV display market share savaged by Samsung.
Also in Australia Sony is struggling with several other products with the Company recently admitting that they have had to replace faulty Sony Walkman and Vaio Notebooks that are prone to melting.
In an admission to the Wall Street Journal Sony has said that they are set to delay the launch of its next organic light emitting diode, or OLED, television because mass producing the new ultrathin displays would exacerbate losses at its TV division.
In Australia the Company is trying to sell a tiny 11" OLED TV for $6,999 which is $2,000 more than some vendors are selling a 55" Full HD TV for, complete with a free Nintendo Wii gaming console...
In previous ChannelNews stories we reported that Sony Chief Executive Howard Stringer had said in May 2008 that Sony would have a 27-inch OLED television available within 12 months.
Protests in India
India is outraged over U.S. Homeland Security detaining one of their most famous actors, Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan, in New Jersey, during a visit to America. He was in the United States to promote a film about the racial profiling of Muslims and became victim to it himself.
His name was placed on the terror watch list, in spite of the fact he is known to several hundred million people. Once again, the FBI and Homeland Security face severe embarrassment over a poorly compiled terrorist watch list that at one point even contained the name of U.S. Senator, Ted Kennedy.
It is an embarrassment to national security that these errors by federal law enforcement continue, as it is logical to reason, if the wrong names are getting on the list, senselessly clogging it up, intel is poor and the right names, the real terrorists, are not getting on the list in a timely manner.
Actor's US 'detention' prompts outrage in India
By NIRMALA GEORGE (AP) – 14 hours ago - NEW DELHI — Angry fans burned a U.S. flag in protest Sunday, a Cabinet minister suggested searching visiting Americans and an actress tweeted her outrage after Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan said he was detained for questioning at a U.S. airport.
Though U.S. immigration officials denied he was formally held, fellow Indian film stars and political leaders condemned what they called "humiliating" treatment given to Khan, a Muslim who is well-loved in a largely Hindu country. One Cabinet minister suggested a "tit-for-tat" policy toward Americans traveling to India.
Angry fans in the northern city of Allahabad shouted anti-U.S. slogans and burned an American flag.
Khan said he was detained Friday by U.S. immigration officials at Newark Liberty International Airport in New Jersey because his name came up on a computer alert list.
The actor is in the U.S. to promote a new film, "My Name is Khan," which is about racial profiling of Muslims after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.
The story was front-page news in India, where the ability to avoid being frisked at airports is seen as a status symbol. Politicians, sports celebrities and film stars often claim VIP status to avoid security checks...
