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Making Unique Observations in a Very Cluttered World

Tuesday 18 June 2013

'Hair Stockings' From China Promise To Keep Perverts (And Everyone Else) Far Away -


'Hair Stockings' From China Promise To Keep Perverts (And Everyone Else) Far Away - 

china hair stockings

Keep warm and repel perverts (and everyone else for that matter) with these marvellous hair stockings from China.

The furry tights are being touted as “super sexy, summertime anti-pervert full-leg-of-hair stockings” by @HappyZhangJiang on China’s Twitter equivalent Sina Weibo, who adds they are “essential for all young girls going out.”

Images of the hirsute hosiery are currently going viral, and the product is reminiscent of a similar item released by J.Crew in 2010, which prompted Gawker to ask: “Maybe they could market it as a sexy Chewbacca accessory?”

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Lake Michigan Beach Closed After Children Emerge Covered In Mystery Silver Substance... -


Lake Michigan Beach Closed After Children Emerge Covered In Mystery Silver Substance... - 



Swimmers have been ordered out of Lake Michigan at Porter Beach because of a substance in the water. 

It was originally thought to be an oil slick that prompted the closure of Porter Beach and the Indiana Dunes State Park Beach right next door, but park ranger Bruce Rowe said samples taken of the quarter-mile long slick show it is not.

The Indiana Department of Environmental Management later said the substance was identified as tri-calcium orthophosphate.

Rowe said, around noon Monday, beach visitors noticed their children coming out of the lake with a silvery, almost metallic material sticking to them, which prompted the beach closure.

Lifeguards walked the shoreline, announcing the water was off-limits.

“They said it with urgency. They told everybody to evacuate the water immediately,” beachgoer Jason Pavela said.

Several agencies were investigating, including the U.S. Geological Survey.

Rowe said it will likely be sometime Tuesday before they have any idea of what the substance is, so no one is allowed into the water until then.

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The Scary Truth Of How Terrorists Could Crash Your Car - automotive cyber terrorism becomes a real fear -


The Scary Truth Of How Terrorists Could Crash Your Car - automotive cyber terrorism becomes a real fear - 



Imagine this grisly scenario: You're driving down the interstate with the cruise control set at the speed limit. Without warning, your car accelerates. The speedometer pushes past 100 miles per hour. Suddenly, the car turns left and crashes into the concrete median.

If you are lucky enough to survive, you emerge from your wrecked vehicle and see crashes all along the highway. Hundreds of identical, high-speed accidents have taken place at the same time.

Although it sounds like a scene out of a Stephen King novel, experts are worried that sort of mass-scale automotive terrorist attack could actually happen here. As cars become reliant on software and electronics to run everything from infotainment to engines and brake systems, they are increasingly vulnerable to people with malicious intent.

"Cars basically look like they have for 50 years, but underneath they've changed dramatically," said John D. Lee, a mechanical engineering professor at the University of Wisconsin. "A car is a rolling computer network with 80 to 100 microprocessors and 100 million lines of code."

It's become such a concern that last year, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration quietly opened up a cyber terrorism department to keep track of software issues that could make cars vulnerable to attack.

Software is entwined with every conceivable system aboard today's vehicles, linking everything from brakes, powertrain and throttle to infotainment, Bluetooth connection and MP3 players.

Connected cars -– or rolling computers -– hold great promise for automotive safety. Human error causes more than 90 percent of the 10.8 million motor-vehicle accidents in the U.S. each year, according to Mitch Bainwol, chairman and CEO of the Alliance of Automobile Manufacturers. Safety developments both inside the car and along the highway could dramatically reduce accidents and fatalities.

But there is a dark side. Experts fear terrorists could launch an attack by breaching security in the software of a particular automaker or, in the years ahead, through the wireless infrastructure being developed to provide information for connected cars.

Critical systems hacked

"Can some 14-year-old in Indonesia shut a bunch of cars down because everything is wired up?" That's the question U.S. Senator Jay Rockefeller posed to a panel of automotive experts during a Senate Commerce Committee hearing last month.

The short answer is yes. Researchers from the University of Washington and University of California-San Diego hacked into an ordinary, mid-priced, late-model sedan available to any consumer. They unlocked car doors, eavesdropped on conversations, turned the engine on and off and compromised critical vehicle systems.

In a follow-up experiment, the researchers, affiliated with the Center for Automotive Embedded Systems Security, breached all sorts of security measures, uploading malware from a doctored CD and obtaining "full control" over the sedan's telematics unit by calling the car's cell phone, according to their research.

They also compromised a Pass-Thru device, which helps auto technicians diagnose problems, which allowed them to subsequently connect to every car that later was plugged into that device. This was particularly troublesome, because it meant hackers could infiltrate more than one car from a single entry point.

"We demonstrate the ability to adversarially control a wide range of automotive functions and completely ignore driver input –- including disabling the brakes, selectively braking individual wheels on demand, stopping the engine, and so on," the CAESS researchers wrote.

Another daunting conclusion that presents complications for crash investigators: The researchers successfully attacked the car's telematics unit in a way that "will completely erase any evidence of its presence after a crash."

Since the studies were completed, in 2010 and 2011, much has changed, and not necessarily for the better.

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Ruff rough — World’s Ugliest Dogs gather for annual contest -


Ruff rough — World’s Ugliest Dogs gather for annual contest  - 



THE planet’s most hideous mutts are this week gearing up for the only beauty pageant they might ever win – the World’s UGLIEST Dog Contest.
Mangy hounds from around the globe are preparing for the annual show in California, USA, where judges will seek out Earth’s worst-looking canine.
Now in its 25th year, the contest welcomes a whole range of grotesque mongrels, from pugs to terriers, boxer dogs and Chihuahuas.
The yearly horror-fest sees scores of mutts judged in four main categories – first impressions, unique features, personality and audience reaction.

The Quasimodo of the dog world will boast the polar opposite gong to the champion of the annual Crufts show – with a £750 top prize and a slap-up meal at a local restaurant.
This year’s hopefuls include Isaboo, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Status Quo guitarist Rick Parfitt, and Boolah whose tongue lolls out uncontrollably in its mugshot.
While there is jumper-wearing Chupee, a squint-eyed Albert Einstein look-alike with a black-haired snout and yellowing tufts of hair.

Event producer, Vicki DeArmon, 54, said: “The announcement of the winner each year ricochets around the world with that dog’s photo being shared from China to Bolivia to France.
“We usually have between 20 and 30 dogs and we’re on target for that again this year.
“The winning dog will get world fame and recognition, hitting the talk show circuit and appearing at local dog events.”
Last year top spot was clinched by Mugly, an 8-year-old Chinese crested hound from the UK who was also crowned Britain’s ugliest dog in 2005.
Previous winners have included Princess Abby, a Chihuahua with a missing eye and mismatched ears and a boxer mix from California called Pabst.

Ms DeArmon, who is organising the show which takes place this Friday, added: “The contest has grown from a small hometown fair event to one in which the entire world is engaged.
“Fifty per cent of our contestants this year are first time participants and very often, the winner is a new dog. So one of those may well be our winner.”
And here's a run-through of some more of this year's aesthetically-challenged entrants.


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Britain plunged into diplomatic row over claims GCHQ spied on foreign politicians - now issues D notice to hide -


Britain plunged into diplomatic row over claims GCHQ spied on foreign politicians - now issues D notice to hide - 



MoD serves news outlets with D notice over surveillance leaks
BBC and other media groups issued with D notice to limit publication of information that could 'jeopardise national security'


Britain was plunged into a diplomatic row last night following claims that foreign politicians and diplomats were repeatedly spied upon when they attended two G20 summit meetings in London.

The allegations provoked anger in Turkey, Russia and South Africa, whose dignitaries were reportedly targeted by the covert surveillance operations in 2009 while Gordon Brown was Prime Minister.

The intelligence services were even said to have set up internet cafés at the summit venues which they used to read emails sent by visiting officials.

David Cameron refused yesterday to comment on the allegations, which proved an embarrassing distraction for him as the leaders of G8 nations gathered for a two-day meeting at Lough Erne, Northern Ireland.


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