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Afghan man pleads guilty to New York subway bomb plot

February 22, 2010 By 1 Comment
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Najibullah Zazi, pictured on 17 September 2009 Najibullah Zazi faces life in prison without parole An Afghan-born Colorado airport bus driver has pleaded guilty to plotting to blow up New York's subway system. Najibullah Zazi told a federal court in the city that he had been planning what he called a "martyrdom operation". Zazi pleaded guilty to conspiracy to use weapons of mass destruction, conspiracy to commit murder and providing material support to al-Qaeda. The 25-year-old changed his plea from one of not guilty. He faces a sentence of life in prison without parole. Prosecutors say Zazi bought beauty supplies and tried to use them to make homemade bombs in a Colorado hotel room. Zazi said he had been trained by al-Qaeda on the Afghan-Pakistani border. He had agreed to carry out the attack as a protest against American military operations in his homeland, Afghanistan, he said. At the time of his arrest last September, investigators said that the imminent threat of an attack had been disrupted but that they would continue to examine a "wide range of leads". Another two suspects - Adis Medunjanin and Zasrein Ahmedzay - said to be associates of Mr Zazzi - were arrested over the plot last month. … [Read more...]

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Microsoft Offers EU Browser Choice

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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LOS ANGELES — In a move certain to further diversify the number of platforms that adult designers must accommodate, Microsoft will begin offering alternatives to its market-leading Internet Explorer (IE) web browser. The move comes in response to an agreement with EU authorities that targeted the software giant's bundling of IE along with its market-leading Windows operating system; a practice which the regulators consider to be abusive, anti-competitive marketing. As a result, on March 1, EU-based Windows users running the XP, Vista, or Windows 7 operating system will be presented with an option screen as part of the next automatic Windows Update. The screen will reportedly provide a list of alternative browsers, along with download and installation links. Surfers in the U.K., France and Belgium have already been given the alternative browser option through Windows Update; which reportedly unpins IE from the user's task bar, regardless of the browser choice being made. Microsoft will also now allow European PC makers and consumers to turn IE off and to offer builders the ability to ship PCs containing the browser of their choice without restriction. The settlement with the European Commission comes in the wake of a formal complaint by Opera Software, a Norwegian web browser development company, which claims that IE's bundling with Windows and default use creates an anti-competitive business environment. … [Read more...]

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Federal Judge Won't Dismiss Stagliano Obscenity Case

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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WASHINGTON — A federal judge again has refused to dismiss obscenity charges against John Stagliano and his two production companies, Evil Angel Productions Inc. and John Stagliano Inc. U.S. District Judge Richard Leon, in a memorandum opinion Friday, rejected their claim that federal obscenity laws are unconstitutional, saying that obscene material is not protected by the 1st Amendment. "Having considered the defendants' overbreath of arguments, I am not convinced that such strong medicine is warranted in this case," Leon said. "Nor am I convinced that the federal obscenity statutes are unconstitutionally vague as applied to Internet speech. "Finally, I reject the defendants' most sweeping claim — that the entire indictment is void because recent developments in Supreme Court case law guarantees the right to produce and distribute obscenity." Stagliano and his companies were indicted on seven counts for illegal possession, distribution and sale of the obscene materials, but they claim that federal laws criminalizing the interstate trafficking of obscenity are unconstitutional. FBI agents used the defendants' website to order two films, "Milk Nymphos" and "Storm Squirters 2 'Target Practice.'" An FBI agent in Washington also downloaded a free trailer called "Fetish Fanatic Chapter 5." But, in an important notation, Leon said said he is certain that the online material will be judged "as a whole" and not individually according to obscenity laws, eliminating Stagliano's concerns that the trailer would be taken out of context. With the ruling, federal prosecutors will have to show that the trailer is obscene in the context of the web page, Leon said. But Leon rejected Stagliano's claim of a right to sexual privacy, saying such a right does not cover the distribution of obscene materials. He said the producers' case "pales in comparison" and "does not even remotely approach" the sexual privacy cases concerning homosexual rights and rights to obtain birth control. … [Read more...]

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Adam & Eve Announces Best Sales Week Ever

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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HILLSBOROUGH, N.C. — Adam & Eve has announced record sales for the first two weeks of February, despite the struggling economy. The weekly sales during that time were in the top five of the company’s history. In fact, Valentine’s Day ended the best sales week ever in Adam & Eve’s 39 years with more than $2 million in sales. “The week ending with Valentine’s Day has set a new weekly sales record for Adam & Eve,” said Chad Davis, marketing manager for Adam & Eve. “Although Valentine’s Day week is traditionally a very busy time of year for us, we have set a new level in sales this year.” Top selling items include vibrators, massagers, DVDs and adult games. “This time of year our product mix is typically of a more romantic nature,” Davis said. “Valentine’s Day is the perfect time for couples to explore their sensual sides, and Adam & Eve is a great place to shop discreetly for them, from the privacy of your own home.” In nearly 40 years of business, this top selling week saw customers purchase nearly 47,000 orders. … [Read more...]

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Musotica Launches Crochet Beachwear Line

February 22, 2010 By 1 Comment
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Pieces have been worn by Shauna Sand in paparazzi pics LOS ANGELES—Musotica Inc., the designer fashion company headed by celebrity stylist Sarah Wallner, has introduced its first beachwear line for women, featuring sexy, fashionable, crocheted bathing suits, bikinis and beachwear in unique patterns. The looks range from ultra-revealing and curve-defining to fishnet-style swimsuits and from body-covering dresses to extremely intricate crocheted details. All swimwear is available lined or unlined, and is made from 100 percent stretch cotton. Musotica pieces, which are created in the U.S., are available wholesale. “I want to give women the opportunity to purchase high-quality crochet swimwear for less,” said Wallner. “I couldn’t find any that were to my satisfaction, so I created my own.” Already the line has been spotted on several celebrities. Recently Paris Hilton was photographed in a black crochet made by Musotica during her Hawaiian vacation, and internet sensation and MTV host Tila Tequila wore pieces in the 2009 season of her show A Shot of Love with Tila Tequila. Shauna Sand has also been recently photographed wearing items from the line. Each of the pieces are available in black, white, off-white, mustard yellow, yellow, coral, gold, brown, baby blue, navy blue, green, baby pink, red, turquoise, and purple. Each of the swimsuits has adjustable uplifting neck and side ties with a low-rise back and Brazilian bottom. For more information, visit Musotica.com. … [Read more...]

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New Intimates Show To Hit Vancouver

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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VANCOUVER, Canada—A new intimate and swimwear tradeshow is popping up north of the border next fall. Prestigious Events and Shows, a company based in Burnaby, British Columbia, is organizing the first West Coast Lingerie Show, set to take place Sept. 3-5 at the Vancouver Convention Center and to return semi-annually. Being the only event of its kind in Canada, the West Coast Lingerie Show will connect thousands of Canadian intimate and swimwear retailers with leading national and international manufacturers and distributors of lingerie, swimwear, clubwear, dancewear, shoes and accessories. With a projected attendance of around 5,000 retailers, the show with feature a multi-brand catwalk shows and nine short seminars “to create a perfect blend of networking, entertainment and education that will benefit exhibitors and attendees.” Possible seminar topics include “Influence Shopping Behavior,” “Transforming Your Store: Increasing Space Productivity,” and “Building Displays that Emotionally Connect to Customers.” Many European lingerie manufacturers have expressed interest in the show, with several Polish companies making their North American debut at the WCLS. For further information, email Info@WestCoastLingerieShow.com, or visit WestCoastLingerieShow.com. … [Read more...]

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Survey: Most Americans believe government broken

February 22, 2010 By 1 Comment

STORY HIGHLIGHTS * 86 percent of people questioned in new poll say U.S. government is broken * That's up 8 percentage points since 2006 * Of those people, 81 percent say the problems can be fixed Washington (CNN) -- Americans overwhelmingly believe that the government is broken, according to a national poll released Sunday. But the CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey also indicates that the public overwhelmingly holds out hope that what's broken can be fixed. Eighty-six percent of people questioned say that the system of government is broken, with 14 percent saying no. Of the 86 percent, 81 percent say that the government can be fixed, but 5 percent say it's beyond repair. Video: Bayh: 'Culture has changed' Video: Poll: Government broken RELATED TOPICS * Polls and Approval Ratings * U.S. Government * Tea Party Movement The percentage of Americans who believe the government is broken has increased by eight points since 2006. "That increase is highest among higher-income Americans and people who live in rural areas," said Keating Holland, CNN polling director. "Maybe it's just a coincidence, but those are the groups that make up the bulk of the Tea Party activists today." Poll shows demographics of Tea Party activists The CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll was conducted February 12-15, with 1,023 adult Americans questioned by telephone. The survey's sampling error is plus or minus 3 percentage points. … [Read more...]

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Black History Month – Condoleezza Rice

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Academic, Republican politician. Born November 14, 1954 in Birmingham, Alabama. The only child of a Presbyterian minister and a teacher, Rice grew up surrounded by racism in the segregated South. She earned her bachelor's degree in political science from the University of Denver in 1974; her master's from the University of Notre Dame in 1975; and her Ph.D. from the Graduate School of International Studies at the University of Denver in 1981. She joined Stanford University as a political science professor in 1981. In 1993, she was the first woman and first African American to become a Stanford provost, a post she held for six years. In the mid-1980s, Rice spent a period in Washington as an international affairs fellow attached to the Joint Chiefs of Staff. In 1989, she became director of Soviet and East European affairs with the National Security Council and special assistant to George Bush during the dissolution of the Soviet Union and German reunification. In 1997, she served on the Federal Advisory Committee on Gender-Integrated Training in the Military. She was appointed National Security Adviser by George W. Bush in 2001, and became Secretary of State in 2004 after Colin Powell's resignation. As Secretary of State, Rice has dedicated her department to “Transformational Diplomacy” with a mission of building and sustaining democratic, well-governed states around the world and the Middle East in particular. To that end, she has relocated American diplomats to such hardship locations as Iraq, Afghanistan and Angola and required them to become fluent in two foreign languages. She also created a high-level position to de-fragment U.S. foreign aid. Rice's books include Germany Unified and Europe Transformed (1995) with Philip Zelikow, The Gorbachev Era (1986) with Alexander Dallin, and Uncertain Allegiance: The Soviet Union and the Czechoslovak Army (1984). … [Read more...]

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Yahoo-Microsoft search deal gets final OK

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment

NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Microsoft and Yahoo said Thursday that their online search deal has received approval from U.S. and European Union regulators, paving the way for the two companies to combine much of their Internet search business. Under the 10-year deal, which was announced in July, Yahoo.com and Bing.com will maintain their own branding but search results on Yahoo.com will say "powered by Bing." Yahoo, in turn, will be responsible for getting premium advertisers. * Facebook * Digg * Twitter * Buzz Up! * Email * Print * Comment on this story Microsoft will pay Yahoo 88% of the revenue it gains from searches on Yahoo's sites. Microsoft will also have the rights to integrate Yahoo's search technology into its own existing Web search platforms. With the final hurdle out of the way, the companies said Thursday that they will start implementing their partnership in the coming days. Yahoo and Microsoft have set a goal to complete all aspects of the deal in the United States by the end of 2010 and globally by the end of 2012. The companies previously said that U.S. users will start to see the change three months after regulators approved the deal. "This breakthrough search alliance means Yahoo! can focus even more on our own innovative search experience," said Yahoo Chief Executive Carol Bartz in a statement. Microsoft Chief Executive Steve Ballmer called the regulatory approval "an exciting milestone," noting that the companies are "just at the beginning of this process." Google (GOOG, Fortune 500) remains the clear dominant search engine, controlling more than 65% of the market, according to online data tracker comScore. But Microsoft's (MSFT, Fortune 500) Bing and Yahoo (YHOO, Fortune 500) control nearly 30% of the market combined, which analysts say will help the companies attract better advertising partners. … [Read more...]

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US 'closes in on Google hackers'

February 22, 2010 By Leave a Comment
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Google HQ in China (AP) Microsoft is working to patch the vulnerability through a software update Investigators say they are closing in on the source of the cyber attacks that hit a number of US companies, including Google, according to reports. The Financial Times suggests that US officials have tracked the author of the code used to attack the company. The paper says the alleged hacker is a Chinese "freelance security consultant in his 30s" who had published extracts of the attack code on the web. The attacks led Google to announce that it may pull out of China entirely. The attacks allegedly hit more than 30 companies. Google said they had targeted the e-mail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. The hackers had used a security hole in Microsoft's Internet Explorer web browser to launch the attacks. The hole has since been patched. The FT says that the alleged hacker posted pieces of the program to a hacker's forum and that Chinese officials had "special access" to the code. "If he wants to do the research he's good at, he has to toe the line now and again," the paper quoted a single, unnamed government researcher as saying. The news comes after reports linked two Chinese schools to the attacks. Reports suggested that the source of the strikes had been traced to Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Lanxiang School, a large vocational training centre in Jinan. Both schools deny any involvement. … [Read more...]

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