Author Archives: admin

$250K Microsoft bounty to catch worm creator

Software giant Microsoft is offering a $250,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of hackers behind a powerful computer virus that could lead to millions of PCs being hijacked. Experts have so far been baffled by the true purpose of the Conficker or Downadup virus, but have described its spread as one of the most serious infections ever seen. The worm exploits a bug in Microsoft Windows to infect mainly corporate networks, then — although it has yet to cause any harm — it opens a link back to its point of origin, meaning it can receive further orders to wreak havoc

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Plane crashes into suburban Buffalo home; 49 killed

A Continental Airlines plane crashed into a home near Buffalo, New York, late Thursday, killing 44 passengers and four crew members on board, according to New York State police. Authorities said one person in the Clarence Center, New York, home was also killed. Four people were injured at the crash site, including a mother and daughter inside the house that was hit.

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How Much Is Too Much Space Junk?

If you’ve ever walked through a swarm of gnats at a picnic, you have some idea of what it’s like to navigate the mass of debris that circles our planet in low-Earth orbit. Space planners have long warned that the growing belt of cosmic junk would eventually lead to collisions, and on Tuesday it happened, when an American satellite and a defunct Russian satellite totaled one another 500 miles above Siberia.

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Turboprop crash plane one of the safest

The turboprop plane that crashed in New York state, killing all 48 people on board and one on the ground, was one of the safest and most sophisticated aircraft of its type, according to an aviation industry expert. The Bombardier Dash 8 Q400 was less than one year old and had flown for only about 1,500 hours, said Kieran Daly, of the online aviation news service Air Transport Intelligence. The Continental Connection Flight 3407 was operated by Colgan Air between Newark Liberty International Airport and Buffalo.

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Turkish military denies link to illegal groups

The once-untouchable Turkish military again took to defending itself on its Web site, announcing Thursday that "the Turkish military has no connections with illegal organizations or criminals." The statement was released after a former police chief accused Turkey’s top army general of ordering him to create a secret counter-terrorism force charged with “cleaning out the interior of Turkey.” Ibrahim Sahin, a former officer in charge of police special operations, testified in an Istanbul court this week as one of scores of suspects accused of membership in a shadowy organization that plotted to overthrow the Turkish government.

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The Biology of Belief

Most folks probably couldn’t locate their parietal lobe with a map and a compass. For the record, it’s at the top of your head — aft of the frontal lobe, fore of the occipital lobe, north of the temporal lobe. What makes the parietal lobe special is not where it lives but what it does — particularly concerning matters of faith

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Virgin Atlantic passenger’s "culinary journey of hell"

A six-page rant to Virgin Atlantic’s Sir Richard Branson about a woeful in-flight meal attracted so much attention on the Internet that it was rumored to be a clever marketing stunt. The author was reported to be Oliver Beale, a 29 year old art director who works at a London advertising agency. Both he and Virgin have insisted the letter, described as possibly “the world’s best passenger complaint,” is authentic

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Man charged with arson in Australia wildfires

Police have arrested a man in connection with one of the myriad wildfires that have laid waste to parts of southeastern Australia and killed at least 181 people. Police say the man is suspected of lighting a fire on February 7.

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Plane crashes into suburban Buffalo-area home; 49 killed

A Continental Airlines plane crashed into a home near Buffalo, New York, late Thursday, killing 44 passengers and four crew members on board, according to New York State police. Authorities also said one person on the ground was killed. It is not yet known whether that person was in the home at the time of the crash.

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