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Showing posts from September, 2014

Emma Watson 'photo leak': How the hackers have shown their real motive

Hackers are threatening to release nude photos of actress Emma Watson in direct retaliation for the UN speech in which she stood up against sexism. Claire Cohen reports on the disempowerment of strong women in the public eye We knew they were sleazy. We knew they were unscrupulous, unethical and downright money-grabbing (not to mention criminals). But now we know, for sure, that the hackers reportedly behind the biggest celebrity nude photo leak in history are utterly, deeply, misogynistic. How? They’ve threatened to post images of actress Emma Watson online, in direct reaction to her speech at the UN earlier this week. In  now-deleted messages  posted on 4chan, hackers (believed to be from the same group who   released images of Jennifer Lawrence  and Rihanna) wrote: “She makes stupid feminist speeches at UN, and now her nudes will be online." And lo, a pattern emerges. In making a speech to the  UN, in her new role as Goodwill Ambassador for Women , Watson

China Clamps Down on Web, Pinching Companies Like Google

HONG KONG — Google’s problems in China just got worse. As part of a broad campaign to tighten internal security, the Chinese government has draped a darker shroud over Internet communications in recent weeks, a situation that has made it more difficult for Google and its customers to do business. Chinese exporters have struggled to place Google ads that appeal to overseas buyers. Biotechnology researchers in Beijing had trouble recalibrating a costly microscope this summer because they could not locate the online instructions to do so. And international companies have had difficulty exchanging Gmail messages among far-flung offices and setting up meetings on applications like Google Calendar. “It’s a frustrating and annoying drain on productivity,” said Jeffrey Phillips, an American energy executive who has lived in China for 14 years. “You’ve got people spending their time figuring out how to send a file instead of getting their work done.” The pain is widespread. Two popular mess

Yet another beheading. What's the world going to do about ISIS?

Kille r  identified? Cameron has vowed to "hunt down those responsible" for Haines' killing and "bring them to justice, no matter how long it takes." The situation is made all the more difficult by the fact that the man who appears in the video beheading Haines -- believed to be  the same man previously shown killing American journalists James Foley and Steven Sotloff  -- has a London accent. Cameron knows the identity of the killer, CNN national security analyst Peter Bergen has reported, citing unidentified British officials. But authorities aren't making it public for "operational reasons," Bergen writes in  a commentary for CNN . Cameron knows that the man in the video holds at least two other American citizens as well as other hostages from additional Western countries, and that he is part of a larger group of British hostage-takers working for ISIS, Bergen reports. "It is a real crisis for Cameron, and it underlines a sobering

Jeff Lynne’s ELO review – school-disco joy for 1970s maximalism

The night’s biggest barnstormers … Jeff Lynne’s ELO at Radio 2 Live in Hyde Park 2014, in London. Photograph: Peter Still/Redferns via Getty Images The last time Electric Light Orchestra announced live dates, in 2001, they were  cancelled due to low ticket sales , something that assuredly wouldn’t happen were they to tour now. The cultural affiliations that got them classified as prog-pop foolishness no longer prevent serious reappraisal, and mainstay Jeff Lynne currently finds himself critically recast as a songwriting and arranging genius . This gig’s 50,000 tickets sold out in 90 minutes. Their set is the culmination of Radio 2’s annual one-day music festival, an event that strives to show that the nation’s biggest station has a handle on both past and present.  Paloma Faith  and  Kacey Musgraves  represent the new cavalcade of sparky chameleons who flit seamlessly between Radios 1 and 2, but are overshadowed by  Blondie  and  Billy Ocean  and their dozens of hits. Inevitab

Isis: leaders gather in Paris as UK edges towards military action

John Kerry joins Iraqi, Arab and western ministers to discuss ways to support Baghdad in battle against Islamic State jihadis Leaders and diplomats from more than 20 countries have gathered for a crisis meeting in Paris as the prospect of Britain joining military action against the  Islamic State (Isis)  jihadi group moves closer. Opening the conference at the French foreign ministry, President François Hollande urged western and Arab countries to engage "clearly, loyally and strongly at the side of the Iraqi authorities". There was "no time to lose" in dealing with the threat from Isis. " Iraq 's combat against terrorism is also ours," he said. Monday's gathering came just a day after Isis released a video showing a hooded jihadi killing the British aid worker David Haines, 44, the third western hostage to be decapitated by the group in a month. Russia's foreign minister, Sergei Lavrov, and his US and UK counterparts, John Kerry an