Hackers 'close' to major damage (Politico)

The head of the Department of Homeland Security admitted Thursday that there have been some instances in which hackers have ?come close? to shutting down parts of the nation?s critical infrastructure.

DHS Secretary Janet Napolitano said these types of network intrusions on financial systems, transportation networks and other assets key to America?s day-to-day functioning are one of her top concerns in an age when cyberattacks are growing exponentially.

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?It could theoretically cause a loss of life, but also a huge economic loss,? Napolitano said at a Washington Post Live conference Thursday morning. ?We?ve seen attempts on Wall Street, transportation systems, things of those sorts.?

Dealing with cyberattacks is an uncharted territory for the government and poses a whole new set of defense questions that still lack answers. Napolitano called for the creation of a national and international framework to address cyberattacks.

?One of the problems we have is that the current international regime, international law, international rules of conflict ? really have not been developed with cyber,? Napolitano said.

The Senate has been working more than a year on a comprehensive piece of cybersecurity legislation that would in part clarify DHS?s authorities to protect critical infrastructure. But with the number of legislative days left this year ticking down, many are convinced the Senate won?t have enough time to bring the bill to the floor.

Still, ?if there?s any area of international concern that the Congress is going to move on this session, it?s going to be cyber,? Napolitano said, because Congress has expressed ?an urgency? to address the issue.

Even if the Senate bill does not come to fruition, the department will continue on as usual, Napolitano said. It has been using informal agreements to move forward on cybersecurity efforts and has been following the structure outlined in President Barack Obama?s Cybersecurity Policy Review released in 2009.

Napolitano said that jihadists, such as Al Qaeda, are more focused on attacking the U.S. through aviation and explosive devices rather than cyberattacks. But she added that there are others in the world that may not be jihadists but ?have other motivations? and technical capabilities that are looking to attack the U.S.

The secretary declined to rank which threats in cyberspace she thought were the most dangerous.

?I don?t rank them. This isn?t like basketball or something,? Napolitano said, prompting laughs from the crowd. ?Threats are threats.?

This article first appeared on POLITICO Pro at 11:09 a.m. on October 27, 2011.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/politics/*http%3A//us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/external/politico_rss/rss_politico_mostpop/http___www_politico_com_news_stories1011_66988_html/43408144/SIG=11mg0r1tf/*http%3A//www.politico.com/news/stories/1011/66988.html

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12 agents get life for Argentina dirty war crimes

Alfredo Astiz, a 59-year-old former navy spy nicknamed "the Angel of Death," looks on as he waits for the verdict during his trial in a courtroom in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. Astiz is accused of participating in the disappearance, torture and murder of two French nuns, a journalist and three founders of a human rights group that he infiltrated while spying for the dictatorship. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Alfredo Astiz, a 59-year-old former navy spy nicknamed "the Angel of Death," looks on as he waits for the verdict during his trial in a courtroom in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. Astiz is accused of participating in the disappearance, torture and murder of two French nuns, a journalist and three founders of a human rights group that he infiltrated while spying for the dictatorship. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Alfredo Astiz, left, a 59-year-old former navy spy nicknamed "the Angel of Death," looks on as he waits for the verdict during his trial in a courtroom in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. Astiz is accused of participating in the disappearance, torture and murder of two French nuns, a journalist and three founders of a human rights group that he infiltrated while spying for the dictatorship. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Human right activists, among them Mothers of Plaza de Mayo member Tati Almeida, center, celebrate after a trial against former military and police officials in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. A court in Argentina has sentenced 12 former military and police officials to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the country's 1976-1983 dictatorship. The men were convicted of kidnapping, torturing and killing leftist dissidents at a torture center called the Navy Mechanics School. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Human right activists, among them Mothers of Plaza de Mayo member Tati Almeida, third from left, celebrate after a trial against former military and police officials in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. A court in Argentina has sentenced 12 former military and police officials to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the country's 1976-1983 dictatorship. The men were convicted of kidnapping, torturing and killing leftist dissidents at a torture center called the Navy Mechanics School. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

Mothers of Plaza de Mayo member Tati Almeida, back to camera, and Cristina Muro, relative of a person missing during the country's 1976-1983 dictatorship, celebrate after a trial against former military and police officials in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Wednesday, Oct. 26, 2011. A court in Argentina has sentenced 12 former military and police officials to life in prison for crimes against humanity committed during the country's 1976-1983 dictatorship. The men were convicted of kidnapping, torturing and killing leftist dissidents at a torture center called the Navy Mechanics School. (AP Photo/Victor R. Caivano)

(AP) ? A court sentenced a former navy spy known as "the Angel of Death" and 11 other former Argentine military and police officers to life in prison Wednesday for crimes against humanity committed during the 1976-83 military dictatorship.

Alfredo Astiz, a 59-year-old ex-navy captain, became notorious for his infiltration and betrayal of activists and was viewed by many Argentines as the symbol of the junta's crimes. He was accused of participating in the kidnapping, torture and murder of two French nuns, a journalist and three founders of a human rights group.

The crimes alleged against all the defendants included 86 cases of kidnapping, torture and murder of leftist dissidents committed at the Navy Mechanics School, one of the military junta's principal torture centers used to crush the threat of armed revolution. About 5,000 detainees passed through the school. Fewer than half survived.

Closing out a trial that began in December 2009, four other defendants were sentenced to between 18 and 25 years in prison, while two others were absolved. Former Adm. Emilio Masserta, who commanded the torture center, was not included among the defendants because of poor health and died last November.

The verdicts were applauded by human rights activists and families of the victims who watched the verdict on a big screen television.

"Ole, ole, they will meet the fate of the Nazis. Wherever they go, we will find them," family members chanted.

The Navy Mechanics School, a leafy former military campus, is now home to a museum dedicated to preserving evidence of crimes against humanity.

The grounds also used to house a maternity ward where pregnant detainees were held until they gave birth and then were made to "disappear." A separate trial alleging that systematic baby thefts were part of the junta's anti-subversion strategy is under way in another courtroom.

Survivors and relatives of victims from the nation's "dirty war" against leftist guerrillas and political opponents called it a "historic day."

Astiz was charged in the disappearances of French nuns Alice Domon and Leonie Duquet as well Azucena Villaflor, a founder of the Mothers of Plaza de Mayo, a group that campaigned to find people "disappeared" by the junta. The three were among detainees who were tortured at the mechanics school and then thrown into the sea from navy aircraft.

The former spy also was convicted in the kidnapping and disappearing of writer Rodolfo Walsh, who along with Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Maquez founded the Prensa Latina news agency after the Cuban revolution. Walsh also created the Clandestine News Agency during Argentina's dictatorship to get around official censors.

Astiz has accused President Cristina Fernandez of promoting unjust and illegitimate prosecutions for her own political gain. Her late husband and predecessor as president, Nestor Kirchner, encouraged the trials after Argentina's Congress and Supreme Court removed amnesties that had protected junta veterans.

"This government doesn't hesitate in its revenge against we people who combatted terrorism," Astiz said. "It seeks revenge through martyrdom and death in prison."

In neighboring Uruguay, lawmakers planned to vote Wednesday to revoke an amnesty law that protected dozens of former officials who served in that country's 1973-1985 dictatorship from human rights prosecutions.

The two countries are among several Latin American nations still struggling to come to terms with Cold War dictatorships in which regimes routinely tortured, killed or "disappeared" suspected opponents. Most of those dictatorships ended nearly three decades ago.

Uruguay's Chamber of Deputies was debating the measure late Wednesday, a day after it was narrowly approved by the Senate in a 16-15 vote. Deputies were expected to pass the measure.

The Inter-American Human Rights court has demanded that Uruguay lift impediments to prosecuting dictatorship-era crimes, but the proposal has divided the politically moderate country, where memories of the military government remain fresh.

Congressional allies of President Jose Mujica, who was a leftist Tupamaro guerrilla leader during the junta era, tried but failed to revoke the amnesty law in May.

The opposition has said the measure violates the constitution and notes the amnesty was approved by Uruguayans in two national referendums, first in 1989 and then in 2009.

Nationalist Sen. Jorge Saravia called Tuesday's senate vote "a coup d'etat" that ignored the decision of citizens in the two plebiscites.

Uruguay's Congress approved the military amnesty in 1986, after leftist guerrillas who had fought the government received amnesties.

Members of Uruguay's armed forces have threatened to seek prosecution of former Tupamaro guerrillas if legislators strike down the military amnesty.

___

Associated Press writer Michael Warren in Buenos Aires contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-10-26-LT-Argentina-Uruguay-Dirty-Wars/id-5ae72ad3e24449a78913d44aab7977b9

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Google Releases Geothermal Potential Map of the US

Yes, there are idiots. So? Even the Audubon Society supports wind power, so long as you do the (required) bird safety studies and best-practices for bird strike amelioration. Bird turbine deaths are a drop in the bucket compared to most anthropogenic bird death causes, even taking into account its currently limited scale. Our worst are glass windows and the raising of housecats, but everything from habitat destruction to hunting to industrial waste ponds to vehicle strikes kills far more birds than wind turbines. The "wind turbines are bird cuisinarts" notion came from one old, specific wind farm, built in as horrible of a location and manner as possible (Altamont Pass). It was from before the bird strike issue was well known. They built it in the middle of a raptor flyway, using small, low, closely spaced, fast-spinning turbines whose tower structure was inviting for birds to try to perch on. It was a perfect recipe for disaster, and doesn't apply at all to modern wind farms.

There are some concerns about EGS, mainly about earthquakes; however, the quakes are low-level, and all you're really doing is just accelerating what was going to come naturally. Apart from that, geothermal is about as non-intrusive of a power generation method as you can get -- just a plume of steam rising in the distance. There's even one interesting geothermal approach being pursued out there that eliminates even EGS's problems. Instead of drilling open "wells", then fracking a reservoir, then running water through the reservoir, instead you drill a self-contained water-cooled "heat sink" of thermally-conductive grout. Your water working fluid never touches the rock (only the grout does), so it never takes on corrosive minerals or waste gasses, there's no earthquakes (because there's no fracking), and it works reliably, equally well everywhere in the world with the same heat gradient (instead of just in areas with good potential reservoir rock layers) since you don't have to get water to run through a fracked rock layer in just the right manner (one of the big problems with EGS is that you never really know where your water is going to go once you inject it until you drill the well, frack the rock, cross your fingers and try).

Source: http://rss.slashdot.org/~r/Slashdot/slashdotScience/~3/NgbT8VEuPPM/google-releases-geothermal-potential-map-of-the-us

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US pulls envoy out of Syria, Damascus retaliates

FILE - In this June 20, 2011 photo taken during a government-organized tour for foreign diplomats and the media, US ambassador in Syria Robert Ford, covers his nose during his visit with other foreign diplomats to a mass grave, in Jisr el-Shughour, north of Syria. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday, Oct. 24, 2011, that Ambassador Robert Ford returned to Washington this weekend after "credible threats against his personal safety." (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi, File)

FILE - In this June 20, 2011 photo taken during a government-organized tour for foreign diplomats and the media, US ambassador in Syria Robert Ford, covers his nose during his visit with other foreign diplomats to a mass grave, in Jisr el-Shughour, north of Syria. State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday, Oct. 24, 2011, that Ambassador Robert Ford returned to Washington this weekend after "credible threats against his personal safety." (AP Photo/Bassem Tellawi, File)

(AP) ? The Obama administration pulled its ambassador out of Syria over security concerns, blaming President Bashar Assad's regime for the threats that made it no longer safe for Robert Ford to remain. The Syrian government quickly ordered home its envoy to the United States, raising the diplomatic stakes.

Ford traveled to Washington this weekend after the U.S. received "credible threats against his personal safety in Syria," State Department spokesman Mark Toner said Monday. Ford has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, and enraged Syrian authorities with his forceful defense of peaceful protests and harsh critique of a government crackdown that has now claimed more than 3,000 lives.

"We hope that the Syrian regime will end its incitement campaign against Ambassador Ford," Toner said. "At this point, we can't say when he will return to Syria."

Toner said the U.S. embassy will remain open in Damascus and that the threats were specifically directed toward Ford. His return is conditional on a U.S. "assessment of Syrian regime-led incitement and the security situation on the ground," Toner said.

In an immediate response, Syrian Ambassador Imad Moustapha promptly left the U.S. on Monday, said Roua Shurbaji, a Syrian Embassy spokeswoman. She said no other steps were being taken by the embassy and declined to comment on the U.S. allegations.

Ford was the first American ambassador to Syria since 2005. President George W. Bush's administration withdrew a full-time ambassador from Syria over charges the country was involved in terrorism and the assassination of former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. Syria has denied any involvement.

The Obama administration decided to return an ambassador to Syria earlier this year in an effort to persuade Syria to change its policies regarding Israel, Lebanon, Iraq and support for extremist groups. Syria is designated a "state sponsor of terrorism" by the State Department.

Although Ford's appointment in January, while the Senate was out of session, was originally criticized by some Republicans in Congress, he has won praise within the administration and beyond for his determination to meet Syrian opposition leaders in a hostile environment, and tough criticism of the Assad regime's brutal military response to mass demonstrations.

The Senate unanimously approved Ford's nomination earlier this month, with Foreign Relations Committee Chairman John Kerry, a Democrat, praising Ford for continuing to visit cities under siege and "speak truth to power."

Ford was greeted by demonstrators with roses and cheers when he traveled to the restive city of Hama in July, prompting immediate recriminations from the Syrian government, which tried to then limit where Ford could travel. Only days later hundreds of regime supporters attacked the U.S. Embassy in Damascus, smashing windows and spray-painting obscenities on the walls.

Ford also has been the subject of several incidents of intimidation by pro-government thugs, often in coordination with pro-Assad media capturing the humiliation. Media reports said Ford was hit last week with eggs and tomatoes while going to a mosque in Damascus. Other such incidents have occurred after meetings with dissident groups or individuals, and his postings on Facebook have provoked thousands of Syrian and other responses, and even some death threats from pro-Assad hardliners.

The U.S. last month decried Ford's treatment and "unwarranted and unjustifiable," after Assad supporters tried to force their way into a meeting he was having a prominent opposition figure. Syrian police were slow in responding, and Ford was trapped inside the building for about three hours. But White House press secretary James Carney insisted at the time that the U.S. had no plans to remove Ford for his safety.

Haynes Mahoney, the embassy's deputy chief of mission, confirmed that Ford has left Syria but said Washington hadn't not formally recalled him ? a symbolically significant diplomatic step.

At the time of Ford's arrival in Damascus, Syria was bouncing back from years of international isolation. Still, Assad largely shrugged off U.S. attempts to pull it away from its alliances with Iran, Hamas and Hezbollah. And as the Arab Spring protests escalated in Syria, Ford dropped his engagement efforts and took on an increasingly high-profile role defending the rights of Syrian protesters.

Toner lamented that the threats deprived the United States of a valuable emissary to the Syrian people at a time they face daily violence from Assad's security forces. Clashes on Sunday saw forces flood into villages where residents have been on strike and shoot two people dead, according to activists.

President Barack Obama has called on the U.N. Security Council to sanction Syria for using deadly violence against citizens who are rising up against the authoritarian government there.

A seasoned diplomat with extensive Middle East experience, Ford "has worked diligently to deliver our message and be our eyes on the ground" in Syria, Toner said. "This decision was based solely on the need to ensure his safety, a matter we take extremely seriously."

___

Associated Press writers Bassem Mroue in Beirut and Albert Aji in Damascus, Syria, contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/386c25518f464186bf7a2ac026580ce7/Article_2011-10-24-US-Syria/id-54ea1555373743ba95c99eb180f731ca

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Many Alzheimer's patients get drugs with opposing effects, study finds

ScienceDaily (Oct. 25, 2011) ? You wouldn't brake your car while stepping on the gas -- or wash down a sleeping pill with espresso. Yet many people taking common Alzheimer's disease medications -- cholinesterase inhibitors -- are given medications with anticholinergic properties, which oppose their effects. Group Health Research Institute scientists investigated how often that happens and reported on the consequences in an "Early View" study e-published in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.

"Cholinesterase inhibitors are today's primary therapy for slowing Alzheimer's disease," said study leader Denise Boudreau, PhD, RPh, an associate scientific investigator at Group Health Research Institute. "Anticholinergic properties are often found in drugs commonly used to treat gastrointestinal disorders, allergies, urinary incontinence, depression, and Parkinson's disease, and they can have negative effects on cognition and function in the elderly. There's concern that if someone is taking both types of drugs -- cholinesterase inhibitors and anticholinergic medications -- they will antagonize each other, and neither will work."

In clinical trials, cholinesterase inhibitors show modest effects against the functional and cognitive decline of people with Alzheimer's disease. These medications, such as donepezil (Aricept) work by inhibiting the breakdown of acetylcholine, which sends signals in the nervous system. By contrast, anticholinergics -- such as diphenhydramine (Benadryl) and oxybutynin (Ditopan) -- block the action of acetylcholine. Since the two types of drugs have opposite effects, it makes sense not to give both kinds of drugs to an individual person. But until Dr. Boudreau's study, few researchers had explored how often patients are prescribed both types of medications and which harms this might cause.

Dr. Boudreau and colleagues conducted a retrospective cohort study of 5,625 people aged 50 or older who received a new prescription for cholinesterase inhibitors between 2000 and 2007. The researchers used electronic pharmacy records of Group Health Cooperative and Kaiser Permanente Colorado, nonprofit health care systems that together provide care to more than a million people. The research team found patients who also had a prescription for anticholinergics from the year before their cholinesterase prescription until the analysis ended on December 31, 2008, or the patient left the health care system or died. The study was the first to use state death records and insurance claims for nursing home care to look for effects of taking both drug types.

The researchers found:

  • Of the cholinesterase inhibitor users, 37 percent were also taking at least one anticholinergic drug, and more than 11 percent took two or more. This was similar to other studies of Medicare beneficiaries.
  • For those using both medication types, dual use generally lasted three to four months, but 25 percent used both classes of drugs for more than a year.
  • Anticholinergics were already being used in 23 percent of people receiving a new cholinesterase inhibitor prescription, and 77 percent continued, even after starting the cholinesterase inhibitor.
  • Subjects using both medication types were not more likely to enter a nursing home or to die than those taking only cholinesterase inhibitors.

"It's reassuring that we did not observe an association between simultaneous use of the two types of drugs and increased risk of death or nursing home placement," said Dr. Boudreau. "But concomitant use of these drugs is, at the very least, not optimal clinical practice." Preventing concurrent use of opposing drugs could also be a chance to reduce waste in health care spending, since a month of donepezil treatment costs approximately $180.

One reason that health care providers might prescribe conflicting medications is that dementia patients often have multiple medical conditions. Also, anticholinergics are often given to counteract the side effects of cholinesterase inhibitors, which are one of the few available treatments for people with Alzheimer's. Dr. Boudreau hopes the study raises awareness about the potential inappropriateness of prescribing both types of drugs -- and stimulate discussions about the best way to make therapeutic decisions for people with Alzheimer's.

"Providers, families, and patients should carefully consider the extent to which demonstrated benefits or harms in an individual patient justify long-term use of these drugs," said Dr. Boudreau. "A good first step is to have clearly agreed-upon goals for therapy and a plan to monitor for effects and side effects." Now Group Health Research Institute scientists have started to work with Group Health Cooperative on steps like these to improve the quality of care.

A contract with the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute supported this research.

Dr. Boudreau's co-authors are Senior Biostatistician Onchee Yu, MS, Group Health Vice President for Research and Executive Director Eric B. Larson, MD, MPH, and Jeanene Johnson, MPH, of Group Health Research Institute, in Seattle; Shelly L. Gray, PharmD, MS, of the University of Washington; and Marsha A. Raebel, PharmD, of the Kaiser Permanente Colorado Institute for Health Research and the University of Colorado at Denver. Drs. Boudreau and Larson are also affiliated with the University of Washington.

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The above story is reprinted from materials provided by Group Health Research Institute.

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Journal Reference:

  1. Denise M. Boudreau, Onchee Yu, Shelly L. Gray, Marsha A. Raebel, Jeanene Johnson, Eric B. Larson. Concomitant Use of Cholinesterase Inhibitors and Anticholinergics: Prevalence and Outcomes. Journal of the American Geriatrics Society, 2011; DOI: 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2011.03654.x

Note: If no author is given, the source is cited instead.

Disclaimer: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Views expressed here do not necessarily reflect those of ScienceDaily or its staff.

Source: http://feeds.sciencedaily.com/~r/sciencedaily/~3/t_DSVGkXCfM/111025163117.htm

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Making Meat Should be a "Factory Process" [Food]

The slightly queasy quote above comes from Professor Mark Post of the?department of vascular physiology at Maastricht University, which?has been given $480,000 to help find a better way of making meat in a lab. More »


Source: http://feeds.gawker.com/~r/gizmodo/full/~3/eGGnOT7XtuA/making-meat-should-be-a-factory-process

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Android's share of the tablet market grows to 27% in one year

Tablet market share

Android has grown to capture 27 percent of the tablet market, that just one year ago was 100 percent filled by Apple.  With the launch of the original Galaxy Tab things have been on a slow uphill climb, but much like the smartphone space diversity and a much more open ecosystem will allow Android to grab a large portion of the pie, and draw manufacturers who can see the profit potential from tablet hardware.  These numbers are impressive, but will likely seem pale when the Amazon Kindle Fire is released, which is seeing upwards of 50,000 pre-orders daily according to internal Amazon documents obtained by the Cult of Android blog.

This parrots the meteoric rise of Android phones in another way as well -- you'll see this 27 percent number trying to be dismissed by detractors and nay-sayers everywhere, using all sorts of outlandish metrics to try and sweep it under the rug.  The fact remains -- people want Android tablets, and are buying Android tablets.  With the release of Ice Cream Sandwich and the Fire, this number's going to grow even faster.  We're here.  Deal with us, or get out of our way.

Sources: Strategy Analytics; Cult of Android


Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/androidcentral/~3/HjKWyzUBjG8/androids-share-tablet-market-grows-27-one-year

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Wall Street rallies after upbeat earnings

By msnbc.com news services

Wall Street rallied at Friday?s opening bell as big U.S. companies reported solid third-quarter earnings.

The Dow Jones industrial average was lately up over 130 points.

Fast-food giant McDonald's Corp. said its profit rose 9 percent over last year, its ninth straight quarter of gains. Its results beat Wall Street's expectations. McDonald's shares surged 2.7 percent in early trading.

Industrial and financial conglomerate General Electric Co. said its net income rose 18 percent as its lending business continued to recover. Net income at software maker Microsoft Corp. rose 6 percent.

(Msnbc.com is a joint-venture of Microsoft and NBC Universal. GE holds minority interest in the latter.)

Earnings at both companies were in line with analysts' expectations. Their revenue beat Wall Street estimates. GE shares fell 1.3 percent in pre-market trading.

Traders are monitoring Europe's efforts to solve the Greek debt crisis. Worries about a default by Greece have caused much of the market's volatility in recent months.

Overseas stock markets appeared give European leaders the benefit of the doubt that they will agree on a package of measures in time for a summit scheduled tentatively for Wednesday.

Traders had hoped for a plan from a summit this weekend. But talks between France and Germany this week have broken down repeatedly. They said yesterday that there will be no deal before a second summit next week. The two countries disagree about the size of losses that private banks should take on Greek debt that they own, among other issues.

Traders sold ultra-safe U.S. Treasury debt overnight as riskier investments rallied. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note rose to 2.20 percent from 2.18 percent late Thursday. Bond yields rise as demand for them falls and their prices decline. That signals traders are demanding a higher return in exchange for holding an investment seen as safe.

Stocks have been lifted at times this week by modestly better news about the U.S. economy. The number of people claiming unemployment benefits declined this week. Housing construction picked up last month, at least for apartment buildings. Inflation remains low.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

Source: http://bottomline.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2011/10/21/8428848-wall-street-rallies-after-upbeat-earnings-reports

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Ky. theater says singer Loretta Lynn has pneumonia

FILE - This Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010 file photo, shows singer Loretta Lynn in the press room during the 44th Annual Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn. A Kentucky theater says Lynn has been hospitalized with pneumonia. The country singer was scheduled to perform Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 at the Performing Arts Center in Ashland, Ky., but the center issued a release saying she is in the hospital and will be unable to do the concert. The center says the show will be rescheduled. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

FILE - This Wednesday, Nov. 10, 2010 file photo, shows singer Loretta Lynn in the press room during the 44th Annual Country Music Awards in Nashville, Tenn. A Kentucky theater says Lynn has been hospitalized with pneumonia. The country singer was scheduled to perform Saturday, Oct. 22, 2011 at the Performing Arts Center in Ashland, Ky., but the center issued a release saying she is in the hospital and will be unable to do the concert. The center says the show will be rescheduled. (AP Photo/Evan Agostini, File)

(AP) ? A Kentucky theater says Loretta Lynn has been hospitalized with pneumonia.

The country singer was scheduled to perform Saturday at the Performing Arts Center in Ashland, Ky., but the center issued a release saying she is in the hospital and will be unable to do the concert. The center says the show will be rescheduled.

Marketing director Jenny Holmes confirmed the statement to WOWK-TV. She didn't elaborate on Lynn's condition (http://bit.ly/qGAITb).

Calls by The Associated Press to representatives of Lynn were not immediately returned Saturday.

In August, Lynn canceled shows because of knee surgery. Before that, the 76-year-old returned to live performances with a show at the Grand Ole Opry after being forced to cancel shows in Ohio and Connecticut because she was hospitalized for heat exhaustion.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/4e67281c3f754d0696fbfdee0f3f1469/Article_2011-10-22-People-Loretta%20Lynn/id-507440dbc6964956bda3c2641036365d

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FBI official calls for secure, alternate Internet (AP)

BALTIMORE ? The computer networks that control power plants and financial systems will never be secure enough, so government and corporate leaders should consider developing a new, highly secure alternative Internet, a top FBI official said Thursday.

Shawn Henry, the FBI's executive assistant director, said critical systems are under increasing threat from terror groups looking to buy or lease the computer skills and malware needed to launch a cyber attack.

In an AP interview Thursday, Henry said jihadist militants looking to harm the U.S. can tap organized crime groups who are willing to sell their services and abilities to attack computer systems. He would not say which terror group or whether any insurgent networks have actually been able to acquire the high-tech capabilities.

But he said one way to protect critical utility and financial systems would be to set up a separate, highly secure Internet.

Henry sketched out the Internet idea to a crowd at a conference of the International Systems Security Association, saying that cyberthreats will always continue to evolve and outpace efforts to defend networks against them.

"We can't tech our way out of the cyberthreat," Henry said. "The challenge with the Internet is you don't know who's launching the attack." A key step, he said, would be to develop networks where anonymity is not an option and only known and trusted employees have access.

The vulnerabilities of critical systems such as power plants, the electric grid or Wall Street were a prime topic during the conference, reflecting growing concerns by U.S. officials.

Government security officials say cyber attackers are using the Internet to steal money, ferret out classified secrets and technology and disturb or destroy important infrastructure, from the electrical grid and telecommunications networks to nuclear power plants and transportation systems.

And while Henry described a system for the future, the head of the Pentagon's Cyber Command warned that the attacks against critical systems are increasingly carrying destructive viruses or malware.

Gen. Keith Alexander, who also is director of the National Security Agency, said the Pentagon and intelligence agencies must do more to protect their computer systems and coordinate with private companies to safeguard public networks.

And when a computer network is infected, someone should be able to disconnect it, he said.

"Is it the FBI? Is it the NSA? Is it the military or is it the ISPs ? the Internet service providers? But somebody can turn that device off," Alexander said during a conference of the International Systems Security Association.

Alexander added that the Defense Department is finalizing policies that will determine what the military can do in the event of a cyber attack.

The Defense Department has set up a trial program to share cyberthreat data with some large military contractors in order to prevent intrusions. The Homeland Security Department is looking at that model to protect power plants, financial networks or other key systems.

Alexander said that effort may need government action but that Homeland Security must lead it, with reviews to ensure the protections of civil liberties and privacy.

He said it's no longer good enough to try to monitor all networks at the Pentagon or across the government and then block the intrusions as they are detected. Cybersecurity experts note that it can sometimes take months to detect that someone has gotten in.

Instead, Alexander said the Defense Department is planning a drastic reduction in the number of routes into the network, so they can be better monitored and intrusions can be blocked in real time.

He also said defense and intelligence agencies will move to cloud computing, which would use highly secure, encrypted banks of remote computers to store data ? much like people store photos or email in popular online programs.

Doing that, said Alexander, will allow officials to better see and block any threats trying to get into government systems. He also noted that commanders used cloud computing in Iraq, which allowed the military in intelligence officials to more quickly share and disseminate information to troops on the front lines who needed it.

In related action Thursday, the DHS announced that a former executive at the North American Electric Reliability Corp., or NERC, has been named the new deputy undersecretary for cybersecurity.

Mark Weatherford was the vice president and chief security officer at NERC and before that was the chief information security officer for the state of California. He is a former naval cryptologic officer.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/tech/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111020/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_pentagon_cyberattacks

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