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With 2012 just around the corner, RT continues its own countdown with ten special reports on events that have shaped 2011. We are looking back at major stories through the eyes of RT correspondents who witnessed them.
It has been a tough year for the UK, which saw its worst unrest in decades, as several cities descended into riots, looting and arson. Laura Smith witnessed the five summer days of chaos.
Hacktivists from Anonymous have allegedly gained access to thousands of passwords and credit card numbers from Specialforces.com, an online military and law enforcement equipment retailer.
Fourteen thousand passwords and 8,000 credit card numbers were stolen several months ago and posted online right after Christmas, a statement purportedly by Anonymous on pastebin.com explained.
A Twitter account associated with secretive Anonymous has also posted a screenshot of an email from Specialforces.com admitting to the data breach. The email, dated December 15, advises customers to block all the passwords as a security precaution.
The alleged hackers explained they were trying to punish SpecialForces.com for selling equipment used against civilians. “You get a kick out of pepper-spraying peaceful protesters in public parks? You have a fetish for putting people in plastic zip ties?” they wrote.
The attack on SpecialForces.com is a part of so called LulzXmas – a weeklong hacking campaign by Anonymous against sites related to global finance, militaries and governments, PC World explains.
Anonymous were thought to have hacked Stratfor Global Intelligence, a think tank known as the “shadow CIA”, on Christmas Eve. Almost 10,000 unexpired credit card numbers were published and money supposedly spent for charity. Later, cyber activists associated with Anonymous denied executing the operation.
“The Stratfor hack is not the work of Anonymous”, they wrote on pastebin.com.
Anonymous, famous for politically-motivated attacks over the internet, has already denied some of the hacks attributed to them. For example, a threat to knock down Facebook or a data theft from the Sony Playstation Network.
However, after the Specialforces.com hack they vowed to continue to have themselves “a merry LulzXmas at the expense of capitalist pigs, corrupt public officials and all those third parties who cater to the continued oligarchic elite worldwide.”
+11 (11 votes)
The end of the year is a time to look back at the moments — especially the good — that came during the previous 12 months.
As the world reflects on what came out of 2011, a new poll from Gallup reveals that the general consensus out of America is that a few people really stood out this year in particular, glorified by the public for their great contributions to the globe. Who are the most admirable men and women of 2011? A sample of adults polled by Gallup say President Obama, Hillary Clinton and George W. Bush.
Never mind the White House endorsing three wars this year (one in Libya which Congress wouldn’t even concede to), executing American citizens, allowing for the US military to indefinitely detain its citizens or a crushing economic climate that has all but bankrupt the country! A survey of 1,019 adults carried out in mid-December by Gallup reveals that the Most Admired Man and Most Admired Woman of 2011 are Barack Obama and Secretary of State Clinton, respectively, each garnering 17 percent of the vote.
On the list of men, George W Bush is a distant second with 3 percent of the vote, followed by Bill Clinton, Reverend Billy Graham, Warren Buffet, Newt Gingrich and Donald Trump. On the list of women, Oprah Winfrey came in second with 7 percent, followed by first lady Michelle Obama, Sarah Palin, Condoleezza Rice and Laura Bush.
One can’t help but ask, what is more bizarre? That Americans overlooked the fallacies of the current administration and have neglected to recognize that this is the same President Obama who has seen his job approval rating hit an all-time low during 2011; or that Americans also still recognize and admire the administration that a term earlier ravaged a reign of terror on the world and have since gone three years without—literally — offering anything to the US people?
Is the country running out of super heroes? Or has America been lost in some sort of time warp that has rendered politics impossible to fathom and advance beyond 2001? Maybe, just maybe, the US is hungrier for a third George W Bush term more now than ever. Whatever it is, the results can’t help but cause the rest of the country to consider how, less than a year from Election Day, the next vote might be all too pointless.
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An Iranian warplane has spotted a US aircraft carrier during Tehran’s ongoing navy drill in the Persian Gulf, reports IRNA news agency. The US fleet’s maneuvers come after Iran threatened to block the oil flow through the Strait of Hormuz
Tehran’s surveillance jet has shot a video and pictures of the American carrier, which was later identified as John C. Stennis. The US Fifth Fleet keeps a military base in Bahrain, while the ship was spotted in the Gulf of Oman after crossing the Strait of Hormuz.
“An Iranian vessel and surveillance plane have tracked, filmed and photographed a US aircraft carrier as it was entering the Gulf of Oman from the Persian Gulf,” said Adm. Habibollah Sayyari, Iran’s navy chief, as cited by the official IRNA.
“The foreign fleet will be warned by Iranian forces if it enters the area of the drill,” added Sayyari.
Story and photos by Pat Krause
Actress and author Julie Newmar held a book signing at Just Fabulous Book Store in Palm Springs on Saturday Dec. 17th. Julie is best known for her role as catwoman. She is also the mother of a handicapped child who is the light of her life.
Her book The Conscious Castwoman is about her thoughts on Life and how to Cope with it. Its a How To Book as she sees life and has witnessed over the years. Topics include beauty, health, laughter, riches, energy and style. Her passion is gardening and she has a section in the book on that too.
She is a tall thin woman yet today. Her legs were once insured for millions of dollars. Her name graced a movie, To Wong Foo, Thanks for everything
Julie Newmar. She has enjoyed a great career in movies and television.
Author David Wills and his book designer autographed their book on Marilyn Monroe. The book Marilyn Monroe Metamorphosis has many unpublished photos of Iconic Marilyn Monroe. This is a large Coffee table book with a glamous photo of Marilyn Monroe on a black backgroung gracing the cover.
All photos by Pat Krause
Guide Dogs of the Desert held its 5th annual Heroes Brunch at the Agua Caliente Resort Casino Spa in Rancho Mirage on Dec. 10th.
Every Year they honor someone that has been invaluable to Guide Dogs of the Desert. This year the honor went to Dr.Albert T. and Dorothy Milauskas and the Milauskas Eye Institute. They have been huge supporters of this charity.
Executive Direrector of Guide Dogs of the Desert, Roccie Hill gave the introduction of the Award to Dr. and Mrs. Milauskas and the Milauskas group. Event Chairs were Lori Serfling, Peggy Greenbaum and Patrick Mundt.
The Guest speaker at the luncheon was Nicole Meadowcroft. She spoke about how she lost her sight and what a blessing her dog Snickers has been to her. She got Snicker in 2010 from Guide Dogs of the Desert and it has changed her life completely.
All the money that was raised thru ticket sales and the silent auction went to the charity as all costs for the luncheon was underwritten by local sponsors.
Guide Dogs breed their own dogs and find volunteers to raise the dog for 18 months. They are then returned to Guide Dogs for further training for 6 more months. Blind or disabled persons then go thru training with the dog before they can take the dog home with them, free of charge.
All photos by Pat Krause
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