Motley Moose – Archive

Since 2008 – Progress Through Politics

Hunton & Williams, HBGary, and Stuxnet, Too!

Photo: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/F…



The internet group Anonymous has hacked into computer systems operated by a security firm called HBGary, has obtained several tens of thousands of HBGary e-mail messages, and has released them.

http://preview.tinyurl.com/5t3…

Some of the purloined email messages indicate that HBGary was scheming with lawyers at the D.C. firm, Hunton and Williams, to mount PR campaigns to attack the enemies of H&W clients.

The release of these email messages raises legal and ethical questions for the parties involved.

The New York Times has an article about this matter this morning: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/02…

See also this diary at Daily Kos:

http://preview.tinyurl.com/4ak…

There is also a Stuxnet angle to this story.

AOL Buys the Huffington Post

Last night, AOL and Arianna Huffington signed a deal whereby AOL will acquire the Huffington Post and Arianna Huffington will acquire editorial oversight over all AOL media.

A.H. describes this as a merger of visions.  Comments in response to her piece at the Huffington Post about the deal seem to be generally negative.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/…

Egypt Open Thread, 5 February 2011: See You In September?

The United States is now voicing support for a gradual shift in power in Egypt. Speaking in Munich, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, asserted the importance of supporting the country’s recently appointed Vice-President, General Omar Suleiman, and his reported attempts to work out a compromise with opposition groups. Hosni Mubarak would remain President, at least as a figurehead, if not more, until September.

Photo: Protesters continue their occupation of Tahrir Square.

New York Times/Hannibal Hanschke/European Pressphoto Agency

Peter King (R-NY): Wikileaks is a Terrorist Organization

Yesterday, Representative Peter King, ranking member and soon-to-be Chairman of the House of Representatives’ Homeland Security Committee, wrote in a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton that Wikileaks should be officially designated as a terrorist organization.

Wikileaks, “… appears to meet the legal criteria” of a US-designated terrorist organization..,” King wrote. “Wikileaks presents a clear and present danger to the national security of the United States.”

Representative King also has written to Attoney General Holder, urging the criminal prosecutor of Wikileaks founder Julian Assange for violation of the Espionage Act.

WikiLeaks a terrorist organization?  The pen really must be mightier than the sword!

I think they are in the wrong business.

The New York Times has a front-page story, http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11… headlined:

“Democrats Divided on Tax Cut Strategy.”

The story alleges that the White House and the Congressional Democrats are struggling to come up with a unified position as to how to deal with the expiring Bush Tax Cuts. Some of them reportedly have no appetite left for combat.

And they wonder why they just got trounced?

Thirteenthers

The Iowa GOP wants to strip President Obama of his citizenship for having accepted an award from a foreign ruler (in this case, The Nobel Prize).

Their basis for this is the first Thirteenth Amendment, which was never ratified by a sufficient number of states.

“If any citizen of the United States shall accept, claim, receive or retain any title of nobility or honour, or shall, without the consent of Congress accept and retain any present, pension, office or emolument of any kind whatever, from any emperor, king, prince or foreign power, such person shall cease to be a citizen of the United States and shall be incapable of holding any office of trust or profit under them, or either of them.”

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