Topic: POLITIK - on March 14, 2012 at 10:34:00 AM CET
US, EU, Japan Complain To WTO Over China's Rare Earth Ban
China's rare earth monopoly has resulted in a shortage as China blocks their export and the rest of the world resumes their operations. Now, in a first-ever joint filing from three members of the World Trade Organization, Japan, the EU and the U.S. are not sitting idly by as China repeatedly ignores the WTO's orders to export rare earth metals and raw materials at a fair price to other countries. China claims the embargoes are in place to protect its environment, while Obama denounces China as being unfair and not playing by the rules of the WTO. In 2009, the WTO released a report (PDF) that explained how actions like China's hurt trade partners.
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Topic: GOOGLE - on March 14, 2012 at 10:32:00 AM CET
German Law To Make Google Pay For News Snippets
Google and other search engines may be forced to pay publishers for even short snippets of news articles displayed on their websites under a planned German copyright law that was given the green light last week.
The plan introduced last week by Germany’s governing coalition, led by the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), authorises the German ministry of justice to begin developing a bill for the new copyright law, the CDU said.
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Topic: POLITIK - on March 14, 2012 at 10:31:00 AM CET
Sarkozy denies receiving 50 million pounds as illegal campaign funding from Gaddafi
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has denied claims that he had received 50 milion euros (42 million pounds) in an illegal campaign funding from former Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2007.
"If he (Gaddafi) had financed it, then I haven't been very grateful. Gaddafi, who is known for talking nonsense, even said that there were cheques. Well then the son should just go ahead and produce them then,"The Telegraph quoted Sarkozy,as saying.
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Topic: COPYRIGHT - on March 14, 2012 at 10:27:00 AM CET
European Commission Blames Social Networks For ACTA Failure; Worried About Its Imminent Directive On Copyright Enforcement
Now that the EU's ratification of ACTA has departed from the original script of everyone just waving it through, the European Commission is clearly trying to come up with Plan B. Some insights into its thinking can be gained from the minutes (pdf) of a recent Commission meeting, pointed out to us by André Rebentisch.
Here's what the President of the European Commission, José Manuel Barroso, said about ACTA:
" The President introduced the topic, commenting on the intensity and scale of the public debate and the organised campaign against the Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA). There were those in particular who felt that the agreement would lead specifically to an unwarranted restriction on freedom of expression and democracy on the Internet, and would distort the reasonable balance between intellectual property rights and other fundamental rights.
He therefore felt that the Court of Justice of the European Union should be asked to confirm the Commission’s position in this matter, namely that ACTA was consistent and compatible with the Treaties and with the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. He suggested that that day’s discussion should consider that point, but also the question of when would be an appropriate time to refer the matter to the Court, and the possibility of consulting Parliament and the Council with a view to adopting a common approach in this matter."</p>
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Topic: History - on March 14, 2012 at 10:24:00 AM CET
After 244 Years, Encyclopaedia Britannica Stops the Presses
After 244 years, the Encyclopaedia Britannica is going out of print.
Those coolly authoritative, gold-lettered reference books that were once sold door-to-door by a fleet of traveling salesmen and displayed as proud fixtures in American homes will be discontinued, company executives said.
In an acknowledgment of the realities of the digital age — and of competition from the Web site Wikipedia — Encyclopaedia Britannica will focus primarily on its online encyclopedias and educational curriculum for schools. The last print version is the 32-volume 2010 edition, which weighs 129 pounds and includes new entries on global warming and the Human Genome Project.
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Topic: POLICE REPORT - on March 14, 2012 at 10:23:00 AM CET
Niedersächsischer TKÜ-Trojaner von Syborg
In Niedersachsen wurde ein TKÜ-Trojaner der Firma Syborg eingesetzt, um verschlüsselte Gespräche via Skype abhören zu können. Zwei Einsätze dieser Software kosteten 36.975 Euro. Dies geht aus der Antwort der Landesregierung auf eine Anfrage der Linkspartei hervor.
gulli.com Microsoft and Skype set to allow backdoor eavesdropping
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Topic: POLITIK - on March 14, 2012 at 10:20:00 AM CET
Rechnungen bringen Amon in Bedrängnis - 10.000 Euro als "Druckkostenbeitrag IP-Telephonie"
Der Korruptions-U-Ausschuss hat am Dienstag mit einem Knalleffekt begonnen. Es wurde bekannt, dass die Staatsanwaltschaft wegen des Verdachts der Geldwäsche beim ÖVP-Arbeiter- und -Angestelltenbund (ÖAAB) ermittelt und dabei den Abgeordneten Werner Amon als Beschuldigten führen will. Amon ist Fraktionsführer der ÖVP im U-Ausschuss, früherer ÖAAB-Generalsekretär und ehemaliger Obmann des Wiener Pressvereins.
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Topic: POLICE REPORT - on March 14, 2012 at 10:18:00 AM CET
Polizeiautos im Einsatz zusammengekracht
Ein schwerer und ungewöhnlicher Verkehrsunfall hat am Dienstagnachmittag in Wien-Rudolfsheim-Fünfhaus mehrere Verletzte gefordert. Laut Polizei sollen zwei Einsatzfahrzeuge mit Blaulicht auf dem Weg zu einem Trafik-Raub im Bezirk Penzing an der Kreuzung Schweglerstraße-Märzstraße zusammengestoßen sein.
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Topic: health - on March 14, 2012 at 10:16:00 AM CET
Indien legt sich mit Pharmaindustrie an
Das indische Patentgericht hat ein möglicherweise richtungsweisendes Urteil im Streit um Medikamentenpatente gefällt: Die Richter erteilten dem indischen Pharmakonzern Nacto die Erlaubnis, ein Generikum eines Krebsmedikaments der deutschen Pharmafirma Bayer herzustellen, obwohl dieses noch unter Patentschutz steht. Die Kosten für Patienten sollen dadurch von 4200 Euro im Monat auf etwa 130 Euro sinken.
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Topic: POLICE REPORT - on March 13, 2012 at 2:33:00 PM CET
Inside the Stratfor Attack
Last December, a group of hackers quietly orchestrated an attack on Stratfor Global Intelligence Service, a company based in Austin, Tex., that analyzes geopolitical risk and publishes a newsletter for various clients, among them the Departments of Homeland Security and Defense. The hackers breached the company’s network and, once inside, confided in their fellow hacker, Hector Xavier Monsegur, and, as it turns out, the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
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Topic: WEB - on March 13, 2012 at 2:18:00 PM CET
Transfer of Wikipedia sites from GoDaddy complete
After months of deliberation and a complicated transfer, the Wikimedia Foundation domain portfolio has been successfully transferred from GoDaddy to MarkMonitor. The portfolio transfer was formally completed on Friday, March 9th, 2012. The transfers were done seamlessly and our sites did not experience any interruption of service or other issues during the procedure.
As the provider of the 5th most visited web properties in the world, the Foundation cares deeply about who handles our domain names. We had been deliberating a move from GoDaddy for some time — our legal department felt the company was not the best fit for our domain needs — and we began actively seeking other domain management providers in December 2011. GoDaddy’s initial support of the Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA), the controversial anti-piracy legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives, reaffirmed our decision to end the relationship.
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Topic: GOOGLE - on March 13, 2012 at 2:17:00 PM CET
Darpa Director Bolts Pentagon for Google
Darpa director Regina Dugan will soon be stepping down from her position atop the Pentagon’s premiere research shop to take a job with Google. Dugan, whose controversial tenure at the agency lasted just under three years, was “offered and accepted at senior executive position” with the internet giant, according to Darpa spokesman Eric Mazzacone. She felt she couldn’t say no to such an “innovative company,” he adds.
Dugan’s emphasis on cybersecurity and next-generation manufacturing earned her strong support from the White House, winning her praise from the President and maintaining the agency’s budget even during a period of relative austerity at the Pentagon. Her push into crowdsourcing and outreach to the hacker community were eye-openers in the often-closed world of military R&D. Dugan also won over some military commanders by diverting some of her research cash from long-term, blue-sky projects to immediate battlefield concerns.
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