Source: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/2013/10/30/obamacare_hearings_are_a_grudge_spectacle_318938.html
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Thursday, October 31, 2013
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What's on tap at the NSA? Google's and Yahoo's private fiber backbones
If you needed more proof that our nation's industrial surveillance complex has gone completely off the rails, look no further than today's Washington Post. There you will find another blockbuster story on NSA spying that should make your blood boil, assuming it isn't already hot enough to cook an egg.
Bottom line: The spooks are tapping into private fiber backbones operated overseas by Google and Yahoo, decrypting all the traffic before it gets into their private clouds, storing copies, and re-encrypting it before sending it on its way. And yes, this is another gift from Edward Snowden.
Per the Post's Barton Gellman and independent security wonk Ashkan Soltani:
According to a top secret accounting dated Jan. 9, 2013, NSA's acquisitions directorate sends millions of records every day from Yahoo and Google internal networks to data warehouses at the agency's Fort Meade headquarters. In the preceding 30 days, the report said, field collectors had processed and sent back 181,280,466 new records -- ranging from "metadata," which would indicate who sent or received e-mails and when, to content such as text, audio and video.
The story is accompanied by a hand-drawn illustration showing how and where the wires get tapped, along with a smiley face indicating (one assumes) a happy NSA agent now swimming in unencrypted data.
Credit: Washington Post
Yahoo & Google: Not happy campers
Unlike PRISM, in which major tech firms respond to legal requests for data from the spooks, this program, known in NSA parlance by the code name "Muscular," appears to be a complete surprise to both Google and Yahoo, who sound none too happy about it. The difference between each tech company's fierce denial of the original claims about PRISM -- that they had allowed the NSA "direct access" to their networks -- and their response to this revelation is pretty telling. Per the Post article:
In a statement, Google said it was "troubled by allegations of the government intercepting traffic between our data centers, and we are not aware of this activity...."
At Yahoo, a spokeswoman said: "We have strict controls in place to protect the security of our data centers, and we have not given access to our data centers to the NSA or to any other government agency...."
Two engineers with close ties to Google exploded in profanity when they saw the drawing. "I hope you publish this," one of them said.
Category: seahawks act jim parsons usc football Tom Harmon
Dell: No, our laptops don't smell like cat urine
Dell has, er, come clean about a problem forum users have commented about for months: Its Latitude E6430u laptop does indeed have a pungent aroma, but it was caused by "a manufacturing process that has now been changed," and "is not in any way related to biological contamination." Dell's response ...
Source: http://feeds.engadget.com/~r/weblogsinc/engadget/~3/guF3u1YyeD0/Similar Articles: John Spano Kerry Washington constitution day Never Forget 9/11 made in america
Iraqi PM: US aid needed to battle al-Qaida
WASHINGTON (AP) — A bloody resurgence of al-Qaida in Iraq is prompting Baghdad to ask the U.S. for more weapons, training and manpower, two years after pushing American troops out of the country.
The request will be discussed during a White House meeting Friday between Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and President Barack Obama in what Baghdad hopes will be a fresh start in a complicated relationship that has been marked both by victories and frustrations for each side.
Al-Maliki will discuss Iraq's plight in a public speech Thursday at the U.S. Institute for Peace in Washington.
"We know we have major challenges of our own capabilities being up to the standard. They currently are not," Lukman Faily, the Iraqi ambassador to the U.S., told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "We need to gear up, to deal with that threat more seriously. We need support and we need help."
He added, "We have said to the Americans we'd be more than happy to discuss all the options short of boots on the ground."
"Boots on the ground" means military forces. The U.S. withdrew all but a few hundred of its troops from Iraq in December 2011 after Baghdad refused to renew a security agreement to extend legal immunity for Americans forces, which would have let more stay.
At the time, the withdrawal was hailed as a victory for the Obama administration, which campaigned on ending the Iraq war and had little appetite for pushing Baghdad into a new security agreement. But within months, violence began creeping up in the capital and across the country as Sunni Muslim insurgents, angered by a widespread belief that Sunnis have been sidelined by the Shiite-led government, lashed out, with no U.S. troops to keep them in check.
More than 5,000 Iraqis have been killed in attacks since April, and suicide bombers launched 38 strikes in the last month alone.
Al-Maliki is expected to ask Obama for new assistance to bolster its military and fight al-Qaida. Faily said that could include everything from speeding up the delivery of U.S. aircraft, missiles, interceptors and other weapons, to improving national intelligence systems. And when asked, he did not rule out the possibility of asking the U.S. to send military special forces or additional CIA advisers to Iraq to help train and assist counterterror troops.
If the U.S. does not commit to providing the weapons or other aid quickly, "we will go elsewhere," Faily said. That means Iraq will step up diplomacy with nations like China or Russia that would be more than happy to increase their influence in Baghdad at U.S. expense.
The two leaders also will discuss how Iraq can improve its fractious government, which so often is divided among sectarian or ethnic lines, to give it more confidence with a bitter and traumatized public.
The ambassador said no new security agreement would be needed to give immunity to additional U.S. advisers or trainers in Iraq — the main sticking point that led to U.S. withdrawal. And he said Iraq would pay for the additional weapons or other assistance.
A senior Obama administration official said Wednesday that U.S. officials were not planning to send U.S. trainers to Iraq and that Baghdad had not asked for them. The administration official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief reporters by name.
U.S. officials were prepared to help Iraq with an across-the-board approach that did not focus just on military or security gaps, the administration official said. The aid under consideration might include more weapons for Iraqi troops who do not have necessary equipment to battle al-Qaida insurgents, he said.
Administration officials consider the insurgency, which has rebranded itself as the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant, a major and increasing threat both to Iraq and the U.S., the official said.
U.S. and Iraqi officials see a possible solution in trying to persuade insurgents to join forces with Iraqi troops and move away from al-Qaida, following a pattern set by so-called Awakening Councils in western Iraq that marked a turning point in the war. Faily said much of the additional aid — including weapons and training — would go toward this effort.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., who opposed the U.S. troop withdrawal in 2011, said Iraq likely would not get the aid until al-Maliki, a Shiite, makes strides in making the government more inclusive to Sunnis.
"If he expects the kind of assistance that he's asking for, we need a strategy and we need to know exactly how that's going to be employed, and we need to see some changes in Iraq," McCain said Wednesday after a tense meeting on Capitol Hill with al-Maliki. "The situation is deteriorating and it's unraveling, and he's got to turn it around."
Al-Maliki's plea for aid is somewhat ironic, given that he refused to budge in 2011 on letting U.S. troops stay in Iraq with legal immunity Washington said they must have to defend themselves in the volatile country. But it was a fiercely unpopular political position in Iraq, which was unable to prosecute Blackwater Worldwide security contractors who opened fire in a Baghdad square in 2007, killing at least 13 passersby.
James F. Jeffrey, who was the U.S. ambassador in Baghdad when the U.S. troops left, called it a "turnabout" by al-Maliki. He said Iraq desperately needs teams of U.S. advisers, trainers, intelligence and counterterror experts to beat back al-Qaida.
"We have those people," said Jeffrey, who retired from the State Department after leaving Baghdad last year. "We had plans to get them in after 2011. They can be under embassy privileges and immunities. They will cost the American people almost nothing. They will, by and large, not be in any more danger than our State Department civilians. And they could mean all the difference between losing an Iraq that 4,500 Americans gave their lives for."
Nearly 4,500 U.S. troops were killed in Iraq between the 2003 invasion and the 2011 withdrawal. More than 100,000 Iraqi were killed in that time.
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Follow Lara Jakes on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/larajakesAP
Associated PressSource: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-10-31-United%20States-Iraq/id-72a0988860da45deb91e769c204f8308Similar Articles: breast cancer awareness GTA 5 review monday night football Ariel Castro indicted
Lenovo bringing a pair of multimode Yoga tablets
8- and 10-inch Yoga tablets debut Oct 30 for $249 and $299
Lenovo and Ashton Kutcher held a small event this evening to present their two new tablets to the world. The New Yoga tablets will come in both an 8 and 10-inch flavor, and feature what Lenovo calls a "Better Way" — by including a hinged stand to present the screen at different angles for different things.
The key is a rounded edge, much like Lenovo's other products in the Yoga line, which allows the tablet to stay where you put it while using the stand. There are three "modes" which include hold mode designed for holding it in your hands, tilt mode for those times when you want it to lay back at quite the angle, and a stand mode for when you want or need the Yoga to stand vertically.
The hinge also has a second function — extra room for a battery. Lenovo (and new "employee" Ashton) promise 18-hours of use with one charge. There's even enough reserve to charge your phone from the Yoga.
The Yoga will run on a quad-core 1.2GHz MTK processor, feature 1GB of RAM with 16GB of storage and a microSD card slot under a 1280 x 800 display. The software is a slightly tweaked version of Android 4.2.2 Jelly Bean, and you'll find a 5MP camera around back and a 1.6MP camera up front for video calling.
The 8 model will be available at lenovo.com and Best Buy stores starting October 30, priced at $249. The 10-inch model, priced at $299, will also be at lenovo.com and Best by stores, and will also be available at other major retailers like Fry's and Newegg.com. Hit the break for the full press release and some press images.
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New security issues surface for health website
WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama claimed "full responsibility" Wednesday for fixing his administration's much-maligned health insurance website as a new concern surfaced: a government memo pointing to security worries, laid out just days before the launch.
On Capitol Hill, Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius apologized to frustrated people trying to sign up, declaring that she is accountable for the failures but also defending the historic health care overhaul. The website sign-up problems will be fixed by Nov. 30, she said, and the gaining of health insurance will make a positive difference in the lives of millions of Americans.
Obama underscored the administration's unhappiness with the problems so far: "There's no excuse for it," he said during a Boston speech to promote his signature domestic policy achievement. "And I take full responsibility for making sure it gets fixed ASAP."
The website HealthCare.gov was still experiencing outages as Sebelius faced a new range of questions at the House Energy and Commerce Committee about a security memo from her department. It revealed that the troubled website was granted a temporary security certificate on Sept. 27, just four days before it went live on Oct. 1.
The memo, obtained by The Associated Press, said incomplete testing created uncertainties that posed a potentially high security risk for the website. It called for a six-month "mitigation" program, including ongoing monitoring and testing.
Security issues raise major new concerns on top of the long list of technical problems the administration is grappling with.
"You accepted a risk on behalf of every user ... that put their personal financial information at risk," Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., told Sebelius, citing the memo. "Amazon would never do this. ProFlowers would never do this. Kayak would never do this. This is completely an unacceptable level of security."
Sebelius countered that the system is secure, even though the site's certificate, known in government parlance as an "authority to operate," is of a temporary nature. A permanent certificate will be issued only when all security issues are addressed, she stressed.
Spokeswoman Joanne Peters added separately: "When consumers fill out their online ... applications, they can trust that the information they're providing is protected by stringent security standards and that the technology underlying the application process has been tested and is secure. Security testing happens on an ongoing basis using industry best practices."
The security certificate is required under longstanding federal policy before any government computer system can process, store or transmit agency data. The temporary certificate was approved by Medicare chief Marilyn Tavenner, the senior HHS official closest to the rollout. No major security breaches have been reported.
The memo said, "From a security perspective, the aspects of the system that were not tested due to the ongoing development, exposed a level of uncertainty that can be deemed as a high risk for the (federal marketplace website)."
It recommended setting up a security team to address risks and conduct daily tests, and said a full security test should be conducted within two to three months of the website going live.
A separate page stated that "the mitigation plan does not reduce the risk to the (website) itself going into operation on October 1, 2013. However, the added protections do reduce the risk to the overall Marketplace operations and will ensure that the ... system is completely tested within the next 6 months."
That page was signed by three senior technical officials below Tavenner at the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. All the officials deal with information security issues.
Republicans opposed to Obama's health care law are calling for Sebelius to resign. She apologized to people having trouble signing up but told the committee that the technical issues that led to frozen screens and error messages are being cleared up on a daily basis.
Sebelius' forthright statement about her ultimate accountability for problems with the sign-up rollout came as Rep. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., peppered her with questions about the "debacle."
"Hold me accountable for the debacle," Sebelius responded. "I'm responsible."
Rep. Henry Waxman of California, the ranking Democrat on the committee, scoffed at Republican "oversight" of a law they have repeatedly tried to repeal.
"I would urge my colleagues to stop hyperventilating," said Waxman. "The problems with HealthCare.gov are unfortunate and we should investigate them, but they will be fixed. And then every American will have, finally have, access to affordable health insurance."
The website HealthCare.gov was intended to be the online gateway to coverage for millions of uninsured Americans, as well those who already purchase their policies individually. Many people in the latter group will have to get new insurance next year, because their policies do not meet the standards of the new law.
Throughout the 3 ½-hour hearing, Sebelius was respectful, often addressing lawmakers as "sir" or "congresswoman." She kept her cool as some lawmakers repeatedly cut off her answers. But she did not shy a few times from tersely interjecting her views while a member was speaking.
The standing-room-only hearing room was silent when she swore an oath to tell the truth and began her opening statement.
Addressing consumers who've tangled with the confusing system, Sebelius added, "So let me say directly to these Americans, you deserve better. I apologize."
She parried questions about problems with the website as well as a wave of cancellation notices hitting individuals and small businesses who buy their own insurance. Those notices are coming because many existing individual policies are too skimpy to meet the law's requirements. The administration says consumers affected will be able to find better coverage.
Lawmakers also wanted to know how many people have enrolled in plans through the health insurance marketplaces. Sebelius stuck with the administration response, promising to release the data in mid-November.
Starting Jan. 1, most Americans will be required to carry health insurance or face fines. At the same time, insurance companies will no longer be able to turn away people in poor health. The law provides subsidized private insurance for middle-class people who don't get health care on the job. Low-income people can access an expanded version of Medicaid in states that agree to expand that safety net program.
Congressional Republicans have introduced competing versions of legislation to let insurance companies continue selling coverage that has been available, freeing them from a requirement to cancel policies that do not meet the standards established in the law.
One bill in the House, authored by Rep. Fred Upton of Michigan, would cover the sale of policies providing individual coverage through 2014.
Republican officials said the House was likely to vote on the issue next month.
Sens. Ron Johnson of Wisconsin and Marco Rubio of Florida back Senate legislation that would apply to existing individual or group policies, and would permit their sale indefinitely. It was not clear if or when a vote might be held in the Democratic-controlled Senate.
Identical legislation has been introduced in the House by Rep. Ron DeSantis, R-Fla..
___
Associated Press writers Jack Gillum and David Espo contributed to this report.
- Politics & Government
- Health
- Kathleen Sebelius
- health insurance
- Barack Obama
- health care
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Launch of the Lymphoma Hub, an online lymphoma community
![[ Back to EurekAlert! ]](https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/blogger_img_proxy/AEn0k_scJ9oExrA-rEhPRA0at8sguksoHcolA-Pl7LDoh901vQ-f8dNmUau419hqQ_7MILr6krg26XHA_UlT4wpv2InqcLnDaOGCvAhztbzD8ng=s0-d){kind=small}
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 30-Oct-2013
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ShareContact: Gary Nolan
gn@phase-ii.com
PHASE II INTERNATIONAL
Led by La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL), a non-profit Italian professional lymphoma research organization, and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Celgene Corporation, the Lymphoma Hub has been launched as a new online community for hematologists and oncologists treating lymphoma.
Guided by a Steering Committee of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, the Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. The portal is optimized for multiple devices and platforms, with a fully responsive design making it easy to view on the go. The use of social media further supports users' easy access to the most current information in their field.
"I am very pleased to announce the birth of the Lymphoma Hub and to hold the role of coordinator of such a group of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, who are devoted to improving knowledge and understanding of lymphoma in healthcare professionals worldwide" said Professor Federico Massimo, President of FIL and Chair of the Lymphoma Hub Steering Committee.
Visit the Lymphoma Hub to find out more.
###
About the Lymphoma Hub
The Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. Visit the Lymphoma Hub at http://www.lymphomahub.com.
About La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi
La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL) is a non-profit organization, which coordinates the activities carried out in Italy in the field of lymphoma by more than 120 centers located throughout the country. Founded in Alessandria on September 30, 2010, FIL encourages prospective and retrospective studies in order to answer important questions surrounding lymphoma. The aim of FIL is to raise awareness of lymphoma and help patients and relatives by coordinating research groups in the fight against lymphoma. For more information, please visit the organization's website at http://www.filinf.it.
About Celgene
Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through gene and protein regulation. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.celgene.com.
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Share]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 30-Oct-2013
[
]
ShareContact: Gary Nolan
gn@phase-ii.com
PHASE II INTERNATIONAL
Led by La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL), a non-profit Italian professional lymphoma research organization, and supported by an unrestricted educational grant from Celgene Corporation, the Lymphoma Hub has been launched as a new online community for hematologists and oncologists treating lymphoma.
Guided by a Steering Committee of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, the Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. The portal is optimized for multiple devices and platforms, with a fully responsive design making it easy to view on the go. The use of social media further supports users' easy access to the most current information in their field.
"I am very pleased to announce the birth of the Lymphoma Hub and to hold the role of coordinator of such a group of internationally recognized lymphoma experts, who are devoted to improving knowledge and understanding of lymphoma in healthcare professionals worldwide" said Professor Federico Massimo, President of FIL and Chair of the Lymphoma Hub Steering Committee.
Visit the Lymphoma Hub to find out more.
###
About the Lymphoma Hub
The Lymphoma Hub is a global network dedicated to providing a trusted online resource to improve knowledge and understanding of lymphoma. Its goal is to expedite learning through the sharing of expertise and to disseminate the latest news and information to healthcare professionals worldwide. Visit the Lymphoma Hub at http://www.lymphomahub.com.
About La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi
La Fondazione Italiana Linfomi (FIL) is a non-profit organization, which coordinates the activities carried out in Italy in the field of lymphoma by more than 120 centers located throughout the country. Founded in Alessandria on September 30, 2010, FIL encourages prospective and retrospective studies in order to answer important questions surrounding lymphoma. The aim of FIL is to raise awareness of lymphoma and help patients and relatives by coordinating research groups in the fight against lymphoma. For more information, please visit the organization's website at http://www.filinf.it.
About Celgene
Celgene Corporation, headquartered in Summit, New Jersey, is an integrated global biopharmaceutical company engaged primarily in the discovery, development and commercialization of novel therapies for the treatment of cancer and inflammatory diseases through gene and protein regulation. For more information, please visit the company's website at http://www.celgene.com.
[
Share]
AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert! system.
Source: http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2013-10/pii-lot103013.php
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