Current Events

Sony Pictures Databases Hacked, User Account Credentials Exposed Globally

Current Events, Tech & Web

[Jump to update on 6/4/2011, sensitive accounts compromised] Today, Lulz Security (LulzSec) successfully hacked Sony Pictures’ databases using a simple SQL injection by exploiting a basic security gap. Last month LulzSec hacked Sony Music Japan using a SQL injection, soon after another group used the same method to attack Sony BMG Greece! The big deal with today’s hacking of Sony Pictures’ database is that at least 1 million of the 4.5 million records that were discovered in the database hacks contain sensitive user information – we’re talking passwords, e-mail addresses, street addresses and usernames. All this information is currently available to the world right now, and as long as the site stays up it’s on the LulzSec website. Too bad for you if your credentials are in those 4.5 million records – but don’t sit on your hands and wait around for something worse to happen (change your passwords because no one else will help you!).

Continue reading …

Controversy Over the Mural in NE, Washington DC – ANC Ridiculousness

Current Events

I recently read this on Wooster Collective.

A few weeks ago we posted a call for artists to assist in a massive mural in Washington DC, sponsored by the fantastic nonprofit group Albus Cavus. The final wall is absolutely stunning.

But to show how ignorant some people can be, we heard today that the local Advisory Neighborhood Commissioner Marshall Phillips is now protesting the mural because, according to him, for it to be acceptable it needs to include references to MLK, the Redskins football team, and the Nationals baseball team.

Here’s the video and my commentary:
Continue reading …

Police Use Taser on Hispanic Homeowner and Female Relative, Four Electroshocks, Excessive Force, Caught on Video

Current Events, Public Policy

A joyful baptism celebration at a Hispanic household in Woodbridge, VA was abruptly interrupted by police who reportedly barged in requesting immigration documentation from the homeowner – the night ended with the tasing (shock with taser gun) of two adults and their subsequent arrest. Relatives of the man and woman that were arrested claim to have caught this all on video. The incident occurred on July 25, 2009.

This story is still very much in development, I heard it on the way to work this morning while listening to the local Spanish-language radio station, El Zol. Relatives of the man and woman who were arrested came on the morning radio show to tell their story. Continue reading …

Banning the Burqa: France’s President Sarkozy Sets the Stage

Current Events, Public Policy

Nicolas Sarkozy, the president of France, publicly stated (June 19) his disapproval of the burqa/niqab,  stating that it is not welcome in France and renders women “prisoners behind a screen.”  His statements have set the stage for a possible nationwide ban – this ban would obviously apply to everyone in France…but reasonably speaking, it only targets the Muslim population, which makes up between 5-10% of the total population (64 million). Continue reading …

Chrysler’s Employees Threaten Strike Again – But can they afford it?

Current Events

What’s the strike about?
The United Auto Workers (UAW) union that represents about 45,000 employees at Chrysler has once again threatened to strike, this time they mean business. The strike is set to occur at 11:00am EST today if the UAW and Chrysler do not come to an agreement on health care issues. The central issue: the proposed union-run retiree health care trust. The UAW’s confidence is high after sealing a contract with GM last month that addressed the same issues.

Employees will hurt before Chrysler’s financial burden begins.
The employees at GM “are angry and they’re scared,” in the words of Paul Thayer, a welder repairman at Chrysler’s stamping plant. Anyone would be weary of striking if they lived in Michigan – it ranks 51st with the worst unemployment rate in the nation at 7.4%. Perhaps they can afford to strike for a week…but what about two weeks…or worse, what about a month? Chrysler can use some down time anyway, they’ve already shut down half of their plants because they have too much inventory – they have three months worth of inventory and their number one selling ‘Jeep Wrangler’ is assembled at a non-UAW plant in Ohio.

Michigan: The Worst state for a strike
The UAW will pay striking employees $200 per week. I can’t speak for every employee…but a lot of people I know have ZERO saved up for a rainy day. If the UAW forces its workers to strike for a long time – we can expect to see some of those workers go back to work…being a ‘scab‘ is better than being broke and homeless. Michigan’s economy is in horrible shape. It was the only state whose GDP actually fell, its poverty level is higher than the national average, its the worst state for foreclosures, and the list goes on.

Desperate Times – Desperate Measures? Loudoun County Passes Initiatives to Curb Illegal Immigration

Current Events, Public Policy

As expected, Loudoun County’s board of supervisors has passed measures aimed at clamping down on illegal immigration. Following suit with neighbor Prince William County, each jurisdiction’s new laws bear much similarity, and it’s only a matter of time before additional neighboring counties follow suit. Read today’s Washington Post article on the topic.

The county’s decision to pursue appear impulsive and have created a sort of sugar-coated state of emergency in the entire Northern Virginia area that surrounds the D.C. Metro area. Whether the desperate measures are as superfluous as they seem is subjective, at least at this early stage. Continue reading …

Prince William County Passes Tough Immigration Law

Current Events, Public Policy

As an eight year resident of Prince William county in Virginia I have witnessed the huge influx of Hispanic residents, estimated to have increased from 9.7% of the population in 2000 to 18% in 2005 – it has to be higher this year (WTOP News, July 2007).

This influx of Latino people, mainly from Central American countries, has created a sort of hysteria amongst Prince William’s largely conservative voting base. The ‘migrant workers’ gathered at 7-11 convenience stores (waiting for work), the boom of Hispanic shopping centers (food & ‘back-home’ goods), and not to mention the neighbors next door – since Hispanic homeownership has risen 2.2% from 2000 to 2005 in the United States.

The polemic here is that a large amount of Hispanic immigrants to Prince William are illegal – this is putting a large socio-economic strain on the county’s infrastructure. The new county law, passed yesterday, is aimed towards getting those illegal immigrants deported. The method: demand proof of lawful presence from any individual that can be detained on probable cause of violation of federal immigration laws. (Washington Times, July 2007) Continue reading …