MIT website hacked in tribute to Aaron Swartz

Hal Hodson, technology reporterA tribute to internet activist Aaron Swartz replaced the homepage for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today, in an apparent act of protest over the university's role in the legal case that led up to Swartz's suicide on 11 Jan.For a short time, visitors to the MIT.edu home page found a message that read: "R.I.P. Aaron Swartz. Hacked by grand wizard of Lulzsec,...

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Veteran BBC presenter Stuart Hall charged with rape

LONDON: British police on Tuesday charged veteran BBC broadcaster Stuart Hall with one offence of rape and 14 of indecent assault committed between 1967 and 1986.The assaults involve 10 girls aged between nine and 16-years-old and the rape charge concerns a woman aged 22 when the alleged offence took place in 1976.Lancashire Police arrested Hall earlier Tuesday after he attended a police...

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U.S. government invites hackers to 'Civic Hacking Day'

A coalition of organizations, companies, and government agencies are hosting the National Day of Civic Hacking on June 1 and 2.(Credit:hackforchange.org)The U.S. government is hoping that hackers can help make the nation a better place. The White House announced today that it will kick off a "National Day of Civic Hacking" on June 1 and 2 and is inviting those with tech know-how to use their coding...

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Teen Planned to Attack Walmart After Killing Family

The New Mexico teenager who used an assault rifle to kill his mother, father and younger siblings told police he hoped to shoot up a Walmart after the family rampage and cause "mass destruction."Police said they are also considering charging the shooter's 12-year-old girlfriend.According to new information released by police today, Nehemiah Griego, the 15-year-old son of an...

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Today at New Scientist: 21 January 2013

Twitter reveals how Higgs gossip reached fever pitch Anyone who fondly remembers the heady days of excitement preceding the Higgs boson announcement last year can now relive the experienceVibrating navigator shows cyclists the way A buzzing GPS-fuelled belt that tells cyclists when to turn might help them keep their eyes on the road and save livesCall off the pregnancy police - women want the...

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DPM Teo urges Punggol East voters to do comparisons

SINGAPORE: Deputy Prime Minister Teo Chee Hean has urged voters of Punggol East to compare what the People's Action Party's (PAP's) candidate has to offer against what the other candidates in the by-election have for the ward.Mr Teo said PAP's Dr Koh Poh Koon will work hard for residents and deliver the plans he has in mind to make Punggol East a better place.Mr Teo, who was speaking to...

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Google, Facebook, Amazon may be subject to French taxes

With the Internet being a relatively new concept, governments are still working out how to manage, secure, and legalize the Web. The French government, in particular, has been studying how U.S. companies -- such as Facebook, Google, and Amazon -- are making lots of money from its residents but are paying very little in local taxes. As a response, French President Francois Hollande has commissioned...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Obama's 2nd Term: Whose Time Is 'Our Time'?

Jan 21, 2013 12:50pm Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty ImagesANALYSIS By RICK KLEINPresident Obama used a brief pause in the partisan warfare that’s scarred his time in office to return to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, with his own declaration of urgency and a call to action that reflects shared sacrifice and responsibility.This was no centrist conciliator. It...

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Quadruple DNA helix discovered in human cells

Sixty years after James Watson and Francis Crick established that DNA forms a double helix, a quadruple-stranded DNA helix has turned up. Quadruple helices that intertwine four, rather than two, DNA strands had been made in the laboratory,...

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