Eeyore's News and View

Global Government, a good thing? Of course not
EU signs pact with Internet networking sites
February 10, 2009 - 9:32am
BRUSSELS (AP) - The European Union has signed a pact with 17 social networking providers including Facebook, MySpace and Google to improve safeguards against the bullying of teenagers online.
EU spokesman Martin Selmayr says networking sites are now used by some 42 million people in the European Union, and young users need to be protected from abusive behavior on the Web sites.
The agreement commits the site operators to "limit the risks" of misuse by providing a "report abuse" button. This allows users to report "inappropriate contact from or conduct by" another user.
The site operators must also make sure online profiles and contact lists of underage users are set to the highest privacy settings.
The EU announced the agreement Tuesday.
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=108&sid=1597697

EU agree to coordinate on toxic assets
BRUSSELS – European Union finance ministers agreed Tuesday to coordinate the way they could tackle toxic assets on banks' balance sheets that have frozen lending and aggravated the recession.
They are aiming to stem a possible rash of go-it-alone government moves among the EU's 27 nations — such as Britain's plan to insure the bad assets that have punched huge holes in banks' balance sheets.
Speaking on condition of anonymity because the agreement is not yet public, diplomats said ministers had agreed "on the need for a coordinated approach to ensure a level playing filed and avoid distortions among banks."
This would set "a correct and consistent approach to valuation" and call on EU regulators to check that any state program would not damage competition by giving some banks an advantage over rivals.
But EU nations are unlikely to pick one option, instead agreeing a range of tools enabling each country to pick the one they like best for its banking sector.
Getting bad assets off banks' hands would theoretically free money for lending and restore the banking sector to some kind of normality because banks would not have to hold back funds to cover massive potential losses.
The U.S. is also planning to buy some of its banks' bad assets, building on last month's move to cover $118 million of Bank of America's toxic investments. Banks gorged on securities backed by risky U.S. mortgages, only to now find that the market for such assets has dried up.
Diplomats said EU ministers wanted to leave some flexibility in what assets each government might guarantee.
Officials say they are looking at several options include setting up a "bad bank" to buy assets dragging down banks' finances, or a government guarantee.
French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel wrote a joint letter Monday to say restoring credit to the economy should be the top priority for the EU — and dealing with problem assets would help restore confidence in the banking sector.
Britain has gone further than other nations in promising to use state money to guarantee toxic assets. Alistair Darling, the British chancellor of the Exchequer, said nations had to "do everything we can to get lending going again."
EU leaders are planning to meet this month to coordinate a patchwork of national stimulus programs that has led to complaints that some governments are moving to protect their industries from rivals.
Swedish Prime Minister Fredrik Reinfeldt said Monday he feared some aid might trigger protectionism. Last week, the Czech Republic criticized Sarkozy for suggesting a French-owned auto factory in the Czech Republic should be making cars in France.
EU regulators have warned France about insisting car makers only receive government help if they buy French car parts or invest in France — a French effort to reverse a trend where car manufacturing jobs have shifted to lower-wage eastern European nations.
The letter from Sarkozy and Merkel also called on the EU to talk about when they should start reducing public debt. Many euro nations are slipping from budget surpluses into shortfalls as the economy contracts, depressing tax revenues and hiking welfare payments.
On Monday, Juncker cautioned that government spending to restore the flow of credit to the economy "could have a very serious impact on public finances."
The EU's top economy official, Joaquin Almunia, said he wanted to see shareholders share some of the burden of bad assets and transparent methods to value the investments.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090210/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_eu_economy

Here is a third article, actually a blog entry, has to do with the Globalization theme.

Globalization Is The Enemy
Globalization is the enemy. Make no mistake it does not matter if Obama or McCain is the president. It does not matter which party is in control. The economic demise America is experiencing is an engineered transfer of wealth whose end is the destruction of the middle classes in every country on the planet and the installation of one all powerful world government.
The lie the globalists used was that by increasing the number of middle class workers in developing nations America would find new markets for their products. Honestly this might have worked unfortunately the corporations maintained their third world laborers in slave labor conditions and pocketed the profits. So rather than equalizing wages around the globe money flowed from the American citizens to the globalists bank accounts.
When corporations, with our governments blessing, started sending our manufacturing jobs to countries that utilize slave labor it was over for America. Logically we were never meant to compete, it was not possible. Our manufacturing jobs were sent to China. A technology bubble was created to placate the upset masses. These replacement jobs were then shipped to India after we developed the systems.
To dampen the American workers loss we were given cheap credit and a booming housing market. All middle class jobs were being shipped overseas at the same time home prices were skyrocketing…did this really make any sense to anyone. All those displaced workers took up employment in the housing industries. Everyone made huge money and no one noticed the strip-mining of our most valuable resource…our jobs.
The wonderful housing bubble also allowed for the entrapment of the remaining American middle class workers in “debt slavery”. Through declining wages, cleaver legislation and the “American Dream” the globalists thought that Americans would simply work themselves to death in an ever decreasing jobs market trapped in their overpriced homes.
This did not happen. As the American workers started sensibly abandoning their upside down mortgages en mass the global elite demanded payout from our government. The banks were given literally trillions in tax payer dollars under the guise of stimulating lending and restarting the massive consumption engine that is America. Instead the loan industry hoarded the money investing in things like toll roads, private prisons and security agencies. All of this legislatively hidden from the American public!
While all this was going on the worlds governments were instituting policies and procedures to combat “terrorism”. The big, bad war on terror is nothing more than a smoke screen that allows the corporate/government complex to install public control mechanisms in an unmolested and patriotic manner. So when it does fall apart in the “developed” nations and the people figure out they have been screwed over it will be easy to maintain control. This is where we are at today.
Tomorrow or Monday Congress will pass a trillion dollar stimulus bill to create jobs by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. It will not work…the stimulus bill will not restart our consumption economy…but that not its real purpose. Our globalist masters will need good roads to fully strip our land and enslave the indebted American public. We still have the largest most productive farmlands in the world and they will need good workers to till and plant.
Don’t worry about the trillion dollars added to our national debt…the republic is dead.
Now I am gonna have a beer and watch another episode of buffy. Tomorrow I will tell you about my tractor.
http://www.bearridgeproject.com/

Business as usual in DC, nothing changes but the names, that does happen often enough.
Bailout recipients keep donating
Jennifer Haberkorn (Contact)
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
Wall Street executives have pleaded economic ruin, secured hundreds of billions of dollars in taxpayer assistance and been pilloried for their business excesses. But none of that has curbed their appetite for doling out political donations - or the willingness of politicians to accept the largesse.
A Washington Times analysis found that executives and employee-funded political action committees of banking companies that received bailout money have donated more than $2 million to members of Congress and other politicians since lawmakers approved the federal rescue of America's financial system in October.
The PACs linked to the top 20 recipients of federal rescue funds have spent a combined $1.5 million on donations since Congress approved the bailout while employees of the top 10 recipients of bailout money have donated an additional $726,070, Federal Election Commission records showed.
The financial industry has long been a dominant political giver. For instance, executives of the top 10 bailout recipients gave $1.2 million in donations during the same period in 2004.
But their continued largesse since the bailout is a stark reminder that its executives still intend to play expensive politics even in the midst of a belt-tightening recession, analysts said.
"Taxpayers hope their money is being allocated entirely on the merits, but with Congress controlling how much money the Treasury gets to hand out, it will be impossible to completely exclude politics from this process," said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics, a nonpartisan group that studies political giving.
Lawmakers said the federal bailout program, which was passed Oct. 3, would help banks keep credit moving in the market to help Americans buy homes and cars.
But within weeks, money also was moving into their campaign accounts.
JPMorgan's employee PAC, for instance, has issued $275,552 in political donations since Oct. 16, including $91,000 spent three weeks after the bailout was approved.
Wells Fargo & Co.'s employee PAC has approved $211,400 in political donations. Bank of America's PAC issued another $304,265.
Banks stress that neither corporate money nor federal funds - distributed under the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) - are used in PACs.
"Through our voluntary team member-funded political action committees - not through corporate dollars - Wells Fargo makes contributions to candidates who understand the needs of our company, team members, customers and communities," Wells Fargo spokeswoman Julia Tunis Bernard said in an e-mail.
PACs are made up largely of employee contributions, and decisions about who receives a donation typically are made by a committee of employees.
"We don't use TARP funds for lobbying or political contributions," Bank of America spokeswoman Shirley Norton said. "We're very sensitive to the fact we have taxpayer money."
Members of Congress, some of whom have derided the banks for frivolous spending in the middle of the massive credit crisis, have received a majority of the campaign cash, according to a review of the FEC documents.
Rep. Shelley Moore Capito, West Virginia Republican, collected a combined $10,000 from the PACs of Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs in October. She had voted against the bailout that month.
Rep. David Scott, Georgia Democrat, collected $9,500 from the PACs of Wells Fargo, JPMorgan and Goldman Sachs during October. He voted for the bailout.
Rep. Barney Frank, Massachusetts Democrat and chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, collected $9,500 from Wells Fargo and Goldman Sachs PACs in the month after the bailout was approved.
Michael Andel, Mr. Scott's chief of staff, said the congressman was focused on getting mortgage relief passed, not necessarily aiding the banks.
"Banks and credit unions like Congressman Scott, but they fight all the time," Mr. Andel said. "He has been supportive of efforts that bring strong oversight to TARP funding."
The Treasury Department controls how and to whom the money is distributed, but Congress initially had to approve the program.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/10/bailout-recipients-keep-donating-to-politicians/

FAA says Hackers broke into agency computers
by JOAN LOWY, Associated Press Writer Joan Lowy, Associated Press Writer – Tue Feb 10, 12:22 am ET
Featured Topics: Barack Obama Presidential Transition WASHINGTON – Hackers broke into the Federal Aviation Administration's computer system last week, accessing the names and Social Security numbers of 45,000 employees and retirees.
The agency said in a statement Monday that two of the 48 files on the breached computer server contained personal information about employees and retires who were on the FAA's rolls as of the first week of February 2006.
The server that was accessed was not connected to the operation of the air traffic control system and there is no indication those systems have been compromised, the statement said.
"The FAA is moving quickly to prevent any similar incidents and has identified immediate steps as well as longer-term measures to further protect personal information," the statement said. The agency said it is providing a toll-free number for employees "who believe they may be affected by the breach."
Tom Waters, president of American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3290, said FAA officials told unions representing agency employees at a briefing Monday that the second breached file with personal information contained encrypted medical information.
"These government systems should be the best in the world and apparently they are able to be compromised," said Waters, an FAA contracts attorney. "Our information technology systems people need to take a long hard look at themselves and their capabilities. This is malpractice in their world."
The FAA statement said the data theft has been reported to "law enforcement authorities," who are investigating.
All affected employees will receive letters notifying them of the breach, the statement said.
Waters said FAA officials told union leaders the incident was the first of its kind at the agency. But he said his union complained about three or four years ago about an incident in which employees received anti-union mail that used names and addresses that appeared to be generated from FAA computer files.
He said the union complained to the FAA and the Transportation Department's inspector general but no action was taken.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20090210/ap_on_go_ot/faa_computers

Here are two articles about our teens and the "elightened" culture they are being brought up in.
Teenagers 'spend an average of 31 hours online'
Teenagers spend an average of 31 hours a week online and nearly two hours a week looking at pornography, according to a study.
They spend some three and a half hours communicating with friends on MSN, and around two hours on YouTube and in chat rooms.
Just over an hour is devoted to looking up cosmetic surgery procedures such as how to enlarge breasts and get collagen implants, an hour and a half is spent on family planning and pregnancy websites and one hour 35 minutes is spent investigating diets and weight loss.
One in four teenagers of the 1,000 polled said they regularly spoke to strangers online but thought it harmless.
One in three admitted trying to hide what they were looking at if a parent entered the room.
But children also use the internet to help them with homework, with at least three hours a week spent searching for such information.
The research was conducted by www.cybersentinel.co.uk, which provides software solutions allowing parents to block access to certain sites.
Spokesman Ellie Puddle said: "The alarming thing is the survey shows teenagers are obviously exploring all sorts of topics as a result of modern-day pressures.
"Talking to friends on social networking websites can be completely risk-free, good fun. But there is also the danger of online predators.
"Teenagers and parents need to realise the dangers of talking to strangers online but parents must not overreact by denying access to the internet. The internet is a fantastic resource for learning and development."
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/scienceandtechnology/technology/4574792/Teenagers-spend-an-average-of-31-hours-online.html

Hang-up for ‘sexting’ boys
Six middle-schoolers may face kid porn rap
FALMOUTH - Six middle school students could face child porn charges after a boy took a nude photo of his 13-year-old girlfriend and “sexted” it to his pals’ cell phones, cops said.
The six boys, ages 12 to 14, will be summoned to Falmouth District Court for a hearing to determine whether they should be charged with possessing, exhibiting or distributing child porn in the form of a text message photo, according to The Cape Cod Times.
Wendy Murphy, who lectures on sex crimes at the New England School of Law, said “sexting” almost has become an “epidemic.” Murphy said, “I know it seems heavy-handed to bring child porn charges. Law enforcement is using the only tool it has for what has become a huge problem nationwide.”
Columbia University Professor Sari Locker said surveys suggest one in five teens has sent or received nude or semi-nude pictures. “When boys receive a nude picture of a girl, they think the next time they see her they can go further with her in a sexual way than before,” she said. “It becomes an invitation to advance a sexual relationship.” But Locker said she believes criminal charges are excessive: “Clearly these boys are not sexual predators or pedophiles."
http://bostonherald.com/news/regional/view/2009_02_11_Hang-up_for_‘sexting__boys:_Six_middle-schoolers_may_face_kid_porn_rap/srvc=home&position=3

Eeyore's News and View

Survey: Identity theft up, but costs fall sharply
February 9, 2009 - 7:51am
By CANDICE CHOI
AP Personal Finance Writer
NEW YORK (AP) - The number of Americans ensnared by identity theft is on the rise, but victims are striking back more quickly and limiting how much is stolen.
In 2008, the number of identity theft cases jumped 22 percent to 9.9 million, according to a study released Monday by Javelin Strategy & Research. The good news is that the cost per incident _ including unrecovered losses and legal fees _ fell 31 percent to $496.
One reason for the spike in cases is likely the worsening economy. Just last month, 598,000 jobs were slashed across the country and unemployment jumped to 7.6 percent.
"The short story is that criminals are getting more desperate," said Jim Van Dyke, spokesman for Javelin, which started tracking identity theft cases in 2003. Last year marked the first time the number of cases rose.
Crimes of opportunity, such as stolen wallets, were linked to 43 percent of cases last year, up from 33 percent in 2007. That might be why women were 26 percent more likely to be victims of identity theft; they reported more cases of lost or stolen information during in-store purchases.
Online access accounted for only 11 percent of cases, according to the survey.
Despite the growing number of victims, the total fraud amount edged up just 7 percent to $48 billion over the previous year. That's because victims are uncovering cases faster to limit losses. Another reason is that financial institutions are taking more steps to thwart thieves, according to the Javelin study.
For instance, more banks now send change of address confirmations to the original address, Van Dyke said.
This prevents identity thieves from rerouting mail to different addresses and delaying victims' awareness that their accounts are siphoned off.
The Javelin study also found identity theft went undetected longer and cost twice as much when victims knew their attackers. More than 10 percent of victims knew their identity thieves.
Despite the rise in cases, there are simple steps people can take to prevent becoming a victim.
To start, leave personal checks and Social Security cards at home and be aware of who's around when giving personal information in public.
Some types of ID theft aren't preventable, however. Someone could get your personal information by hacking into a retailer's database, for instance.
So even if you're careful about protecting your information, monitor financial accounts regularly.
"Identity fraud is all about prevention and detection," Van Dyke said.
http://wtop.com/?nid=111&sid=1596539

A $15,000 gift for homebuyers?
The U.S. Senate approves an amendment to the economic stimulus package that would provide a tax credit of up to $15,000 for homebuyers who purchase a primary residence in the coming year. But economists are skeptical tax credits will prove stimulative.By The Wall Street Journal
The Senate added to the $900 billion stimulus bill on Wednesday a home purchase tax credit of $15,000, or 10% of the purchase price. If it's included in the bill that goes to the White House, that would represent a big gain not just for potential buyers, but also for the home builders and real-estate agents' groups that have aggressively promoted such a proposal for months as part of their "Fix Housing First" lobbying effort.
The second plank of that lobbying effort — a proposal for federally subsidized 4% interest rates on 30-year fixed-rate mortgages — isn't in the bill, but Senate Republicans are pushing for such a buy-down to spur home sales. Already, the Federal Reserve Bank has tried to lower interest rates by buying up securities backed by mortgages. However, after 10 straight weeks of declines, interest rates have edged up slightly in recent weeks.
Policymakers will also consider increasing limits on loans eligible for financing from government-backed mortgage entities to as high as $729,750 in the nation's most expensive housing markets. The stimulus bill that passed in the House last week included the provision.
Discuss: Would a $15,000 tax credit spur you to buy a home?
The Senate on Wednesday also approved $2 billion for state agencies to finance affordable housing.
Economists are skeptical that a builder tax credit or interest rate subsidies will stimulate the economy. Indeed, some argue encouraging the construction of new homes will only prolong the pain. "It is targeted not to the people who need help but an industry that wants a huge subsidy," said Thomas Lawler, an independent housing economist. "Why give an unbelievable gargantuan subsidy only to people who buy a home? What about renters who are in more dire straits?"
Proponents of a tax credit point to similarly structured subsidies that Congress approved in 1975. The program gave qualified buyers a 5% credit up to $6,000 and brought down interest rates by around 1.5%, to 7%. But critics say that the analogy is misleading because the U.S. was exiting a recession that had been induced by oil prices, not a slide in home values.
"By artificially increasing prices we are encouraging more building," says Harvard economist Ed Glaeser, who chided the Republican Party in a WSJ op-ed on Thursday for embracing interest rate subsidies.
By Nick Timiraos, The Wall Street Journal
http://realestate.msn.com/article.aspx?cp-documentid=17198334&gt1=35000

Judges tentatively order Calif. inmates released
Feb 9, 6:50 PM (ET)
By DON THOMPSON
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) - A special panel of federal judges has tentatively ruled that California must release tens of thousands of inmates to relieve overcrowding.
The judges say no other solution will improve conditions so poor that inmates die regularly of suicides or lack of proper care.
They say the state can cut the population of its 33 adult prisons through changes in parole and other policies without endangering public safety.
The three judges said a final population figure would be set later.
In Monday's tentative ruling, the judges said they want the state to present a plan to trim the prison population in two to three years.
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20090209/D968C2K05.html

16 illegals sue Arizona rancher
Claim violation of rights as they crossed his land
An Arizona man who has waged a 10-year campaign to stop a flood of illegal immigrants from crossing his property is being sued by 16 Mexican nationals who accuse him of conspiring to violate their civil rights when he stopped them at gunpoint on his ranch on the U.S.-Mexico border.
Roger Barnett, 64, began rounding up illegal immigrants in 1998 and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol, he said, after they destroyed his property, killed his calves and broke into his home.
His Cross Rail Ranch near Douglas, Ariz., is known by federal and county law enforcement authorities as "the avenue of choice" for immigrants seeking to enter the United States illegally.
Trial continues Monday in the federal lawsuit, which seeks $32 million in actual and punitive damages for civil rights violations, the infliction of emotional distress and other crimes. Also named are Mr. Barnett's wife, Barbara, his brother, Donald, and Larry Dever, sheriff in Cochise County, Ariz., where the Barnetts live. The civil trial is expected to continue until Friday.
The lawsuit is based on a March 7, 2004, incident in a dry wash on the 22,000-acre ranch, when he approached a group of illegal immigrants while carrying a gun and accompanied by a large dog.
Attorneys for the immigrants - five women and 11 men who were trying to cross illegally into the United States - have accused Mr. Barnett of holding the group captive at gunpoint, threatening to turn his dog loose on them and saying he would shoot anyone who tried to escape.
The immigrants are represented at trial by the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), which also charged that Sheriff Dever did nothing to prevent Mr. Barnett from holding their clients at "gunpoint, yelling obscenities at them and kicking one of the women."
In the lawsuit, MALDEF said Mr. Barnett approached the group as the immigrants moved through his property, and that he was carrying a pistol and threatening them in English and Spanish. At one point, it said, Mr. Barnett's dog barked at several of the women and he yelled at them in Spanish, "My dog is hungry and he's hungry for buttocks."
The lawsuit said he then called his wife and two Border Patrol agents arrived at the site. It also said Mr. Barnett acknowledged that he had turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol since 1998.
In March, U.S. District Judge John Roll rejected a motion by Mr. Barnett to have the charges dropped, ruling there was sufficient evidence to allow the matter to be presented to a jury. Mr. Barnett's attorney, David Hardy, had argued that illegal immigrants did not have the same rights as U.S. citizens.
Mr. Barnett told The Washington Times in a 2002 interview that he began rounding up illegal immigrants after they started to vandalize his property, northeast of Douglas along Arizona Highway 80. He said the immigrants tore up water pumps, killed calves, destroyed fences and gates, stole trucks and broke into his home.
Some of his cattle died from ingesting the plastic bottles left behind by the immigrants, he said, adding that he installed a faucet on an 8,000-gallon water tank so the immigrants would stop damaging the tank to get water.
Mr. Barnett said some of the ranch´s established immigrant trails were littered with trash 10 inches deep, including human waste, used toilet paper, soiled diapers, cigarette packs, clothes, backpacks, empty 1-gallon water bottles, chewing-gum wrappers and aluminum foil - which supposedly is used to pack the drugs the immigrant smugglers give their "clients" to keep them running.
He said he carried a pistol during his searches for the immigrants and had a rifle in his truck "for protection" against immigrant and drug smugglers, who often are armed.
ASSOCIATED PRESS DEFENDANT: Roger Barnett said he had turned over 12,000 illegal immigrants to the Border Patrol since 1998.
A former Cochise County sheriff´s deputy who later was successful in the towing and propane business, Mr. Barnett spent $30,000 on electronic sensors, which he has hidden along established trails on his ranch. He searches the ranch for illegal immigrants in a pickup truck, dressed in a green shirt and camouflage hat, with his handgun and rifle, high-powered binoculars and a walkie-talkie.
His sprawling ranch became an illegal-immigration highway when the Border Patrol diverted its attention to several border towns in an effort to take control of the established ports of entry. That effort moved the illegal immigrants to the remote areas of the border, including the Cross Rail Ranch.
"This is my land. I´m the victim here," Mr. Barnett said. "When someone´s home and loved ones are in jeopardy and the government seemingly can´t do anything about it, I feel justified in taking matters into my own hands. And I always watch my back."
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/feb/09/16-illegals-sue-arizona-rancher/

Families want answers from man who says he dissolved 300 people
Reporting from Tijuana -- Fernando Ocegueda hasn't seen his son since gunmen dragged the college student from the family's house three years ago. Alma Diaz wonders what happened to her son, Eric, a Mexicali police officer who left a party in 1995 and never returned.
Arturo Davila still pounds on police doors looking for answers 11 years after his daughter and a girlfriend were kidnapped in downtown Ensenada.
For the hundreds, perhaps thousands, of families of people who have vanished amid Baja California's drug wars, the search for justice has been lonely and fruitless. But their hopes have been buoyed recently by the Jan. 22 arrest of a man Mexican authorities believe is behind the gruesome disposal of bodies in vats of industrial chemicals.
Santiago Meza Lopez, a stocky 45-year-old taken into custody after a raid near Ensenada, was identified as the pozolero who liquefied the bodies of victims for lieutenants of the Arellano Felix drug cartel. Authorities say he laid claim to stuffing 300 bodies into barrels of lye, then dumping some of the liquefied remains in a pit in a hillside compound in eastern Tijuana.
His capture riveted Mexico with sickening details behind drug violence that has left more than 8,000 dead in two years. For the families of the disappeared, however, it was a chance to revive cases that seemed long forgotten.
In the following days, dozens more people came forward with tales of disappearances. "Please help me find out what happened to him," wrote one woman on a photograph of a young man smiling in a car. "He was my husband."
Victim rights groups estimate that there are more than 1,000 people missing in Baja California, including students, businessmen, merchants and cops. Their cases have been ignored, bungled or blocked by law enforcement officials, activists say.
As a potential cartel insider, Meza could peel back the mysteries surrounding the disappearances, they say. Ocegueda, president of the Citizens United Against Impunity, plans to visit Mexico City this week, where he will request a personal audience with Meza.
Authorities are unlikely to grant access to the suspect, but families hope they'll follow through on their promise to confront him with the photos. His capture has provided their greatest leverage against a government that for years has paid little attention to their concerns, said Ocegueda and other group leaders.
"The government wants to silence what cannot be silenced . . . but they didn't count on someone saying that he personally disintegrated 300 bodies," said Cristina Palacios Hodoyan, whose son, Alejandro, disappeared in 1997. "They're going to have to pay attention to us now."
Federal authorities have told the local media that they are cooperating with the families, having met with them and taken more than 100 photos.
The hillside compound where Meza told authorities he labored lies in an area acquainted with death. There are two cemeteries tucked in the surrounding hills, and funeral processions pass by daily on potholed Ojo de Agua road.
Behind the white gate, Meza said, he would fill a barrel with water and two large bags of lye. Wearing gloves and protective goggles, he'd light a fire underneath, and bring the liquid to a boil before depositing a body. After 24 hours, he would dump the disintegrated remains in a pit and set them aflame.
In Tijuana, the process is known as making pozole. That's because the pink liquid in the barrel resembles the popular Mexican stew. When a Mexican official asked Meza what he did for a living, he replied, "Me llaman el Pozolero": They call me the Pozole Maker.
He earned $600 weekly and said he learned how to disintegrate bodies by first experimenting with pig legs, according to the Mexican federal attorney general's office. Meza allegedly told authorities he worked for several top cartel lieutenants over a 10-year period, most recently for Teodoro Garcia Simental, whom authorities believe is behind the kidnappings of hundreds of people in recent years.
Meza's alleged deeds apparently went unnoticed in the shabby area of ranches and pig and chicken farms. Several neighbors said they had never seen him, and weren't curious. "It's best to be ignorant of such diabolical things," said a local pig farmer, who did not want to be identified because he feared for his safety.
Ocegueda, a slender, intense man with a chain-smoking habit, vows to shatter that ignorance. After his 23-year-old son, Fernando, was kidnapped, authorities did little, so Ocegueda investigated on his own. He donned dirty clothes and a hooded shirt and rode a wobbly bike in tough neighborhoods, chatting up drug dealers and other criminals.
These days he leads demonstrations, camps out at City Hall, and corners military and government officials any chance he gets. After Meza's arrest he went to the San Diego area to meet with 20 families who gave him photographs of loved ones, some of them U.S. citizens, who vanished while going to work or visiting relatives in Mexico.
Ocegueda believes he knows the identities of his son's kidnappers. But his probe, like others, hit a dead end. He believes police protect organized crime members, fear investigations will reveal their own complicity, or are incompetent. Some families have been threatened by police after reporting the crimes. In one case, a man who reported the abduction of his family was kidnapped himself the next day, said Ocegueda, whose claims are supported by many families and a Mexicali-based group, the Hope Assn. Against Kidnapping and Impunity.
"Authorities have told people not to report anything, saying their loved ones were criminals. . . . Instead of helping resolve their cases, they threaten them," said Miguel Garcia, a Mexicali-based attorney who provides legal advice to the Hope Assn.
Last year, the groups gained a key ally when the then-top military commander in the region, Gen. Sergio Aponte Polito, accused several state law enforcement officials of links to organized crime. Among them, he said, was the head of the state anti-kidnapping squad in Tijuana.
Aponte was removed from his post in August, and most of the state officials he accused have not been prosecuted.
Last week at Meza's compound, federal agents continued digging up soil samples looking for human remains. Experts and law enforcement say chances are slim they will be able to identify any of them.
Salvador Ortiz Morales, the state deputy attorney general in Tijuana, said forensic teams have never been able to identify victims dissolved in barrels because so little remains.
The site may not yield answers for another reason.
Meza admitted disintegrating bodies over a 10-year period, but neighbors said the compound was constructed only six months ago. All the more reason, the families say, to pressure Meza to disclose other grave sites, and demand other details on the fate of the missing.
"There are many other families suffering like me," Ocegueda said. "We need to find out what he knows."
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-missing9-2009feb09,0,2537684.story

1st US case of Marburg fever confirmed in Colo. Ebola-hemorrhagic fever
WHEAT RIDGE, Colo. (AP) — The first U.S. case of Marburg hemorrhagic fever has been confirmed in Colorado, and authorities say the patient — who contracted the rare illness while traveling in Uganda — has since recovered.
The disease, caused by a virus indigenous to Africa, spreads through contact with infected animals or the bodily fluids of infected humans. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention spokesman Dave Daigle said no previous cases have been reported in the United States.
The patient had traveled to Uganda, visited a python cave in Maramagambo Forest in Queen Elizabeth Park and encountered fruit bats, which can carry the Marburg virus. The Ugandan government closed the cave after a tourist from the Netherlands died from Marburg in July.
The patient was treated at Lutheran Medical Center in January 2008 and sought follow-up care in July, after learning of the tourist's death. The patient recovered and his or her identity wasn't disclosed.
Pierre Rollin, acting chief of the Special Pathogens Branch of the CDC, said specialized tests of the initial sample taken in January 2008 confirmed the illness in the Colorado patient in December.
CDC officials said identifying the virus and how a patient contracted it can be difficult. It often depends on the quality of the sample being tested and the timing; samples taken early in the patient's illness makes identification easier, Rollin said.
Marburg hemorrhagic fever is extremely rare. The CDC's Web site counts fewer than 500 confirmed cases since the virus was first recognized in 1967. More than 80 percent of the known cases are fatal.
It has an incubation period of 5 to 10 days. The first symptoms are fever, chills and headaches, but symptoms worsen significantly after the fifth day of illness.
Lutheran hospital spokeswoman Kim Kobel said none of the staff and physicians who cared for the patient has developed symptoms.
Rollin said the CDC is testing hospital staff to see if any illnesses were undetected at the time.
http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5icwnbejl-iJTMsx_JWAIgMXlweOAD9671DF00

Eeyores News and View

What most of the talking-heads fail to mention is that Iran has and is capable of using long range missles.
Report: Iran sends satellite to orbitTEHRAN, Iran (AP) — Iran has successfully sent its first domestically made satellite into orbit, state radio reported Tuesday, another development in the country's ambitious space program that has worried many international observers.
The satellite called Omid, or hope in Farsi, was launched late Monday after President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad gave the order to proceed, according to the radio report. State television also showed footage of what it said was the satellite blasting off in the darkness from an unidentified location in Iran.
The reports could not be independently verified by outside observers. Some western observers have accused Tehran of exaggerating its space program.
Iran has long held the goal of developing a space program, generating unease among world leaders already concerned about its nuclear and ballistic missile programs. One of the worries associated with Iran's fledgling space program is that the same technology used to put satellites into space can also be used to deliver warheads.
The satellite was taken into orbit by a Safir-2, or ambassador-2 rocket, which was first tested in August and has a range of 155 miles.
Despite the anxiety by the U.S. and its allies over Iran's space program, it is not exactly clear how developed it is.
In 2005, Iran launched its first commercial satellite on a Russian rocket in a joint project with Moscow, which appears to be the main partner in transferring space technology to Iran. Also in 2005, the government said it had allocated $500 million for space projects in the next five years.
Iranian officials first started developing the satellite, which weighs 60 pounds, in 2006.
Iran has said it wants to put its own satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters in the earthquake-prone nation and improve its telecommunications. Iranian officials also point to America's use of satellites to monitor Afghanistan and Iraq and say they need similar abilities for their security.
Iran hopes to launch three more satellites by 2010, the government has said.
The radio says the satellite launched Monday is designed to circle the earth 15 times during a 24-hour period and send reports to the space center in Iran. It has two frequency bands and eight antennas for transmitting data.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/space/2009-02-03-iran-space-satellite_N.htm?loc=interstitialskip

Experts question fallout from new Monster hack
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — For the second time in less than 18 months, the job-search website Monster.com was breached, along with USAJobs.gov, which Monster's parent company runs for the federal government. And yet Monster might suffer little fallout — because the overall state of computer security is so bad anyway.
Attacks against websites have become so common, security experts say, that Monster Worldwide Inc. won't necessarily scare customers away with its January disclosure that its database was plundered of user IDs, passwords, e-mail addresses, names and phone numbers. Monster makes money by charging employers that post jobs and scan the resumes of applicants, who use the service for free.
Security experts said Monster didn't appear to be doing enough to secure its computers, but many played down the latest breach because Monster said no Social Security numbers, personal financial information or resumes were stolen. However, Monster didn't say how many records were exposed. In a previous breach, in August 2007, con artists grabbed resumes on 1.3 million people.
Both incidents affected Monster.com, which boasts more than 75 million members, and USAJobs.gov, which has 8 million registered users. They're both alluring targets because people give job search sites all kinds of personal information. Even just the user names and passwords people use on the sites can be golden to a thief, since people often don't change their information from site to site.
Michael Orenstein, a spokesman for Office of Personnel Management, which oversees USAJobs.gov, wouldn't say whether the government is reconsidering its contract with Monster, which is up in about a year. He said there's no indication that information on USAJobs' members has been used against them.
"We will continue to work with Monster to ensure we have the best available security, so that incidents like this do not occur, or when they do, the damage is limited or of an inconsequential nature," he said. "No breach is good, don't get me wrong, but the information obtained was limited."
Monster declined to comment.
Security analysts noted that if the government — or any other Monster user — switched to another online job-listing service, there would be no guarantee against trouble at the next provider.
"No matter what you pick after Monster, they're just as susceptible to fraud as anybody else — it won't solve the problem," said Ori Eisen, founder of 41st Parameter, a security firm. "The fact that they've been hit twice is because they have the goods. A bank with no money doesn't get hacked. It's because they're an absolutely known target."
Companies often don't know when they've been breached, since the most well-crafted attacks come and go silently. And companies with big targets on their backs can be attacked hundreds of times a day.
Monster's latest breach "shouldn't have happened," said Bruce Schneier, chief security technology officer for BT Group. "But you can't understand a company's network security by looking at public events — that's a bad metric. All the public events tell you are, these are attacks that were successful enough to steal data, but were unsuccessful in covering their tracks."
Jeremiah Grossman, chief technology officer for WhiteHat Security Inc., said he questioned Monster's refusal to publicly discuss how its latest breach happened.
"It doesn't look good, but on its own it's not a complete indictment of them until we know more facts," he said.
http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/2009-02-04-monster-breach_N.htm
Strange, diffidently a target, not random
Bomb critically wounds head of Ark. medical board
WEST MEMPHIS, Ark. (AP) - A car bomb explosion critically wounded the head of the Arkansas panel that licenses and disciplines doctors, detonating in his driveway as he was leaving for work, authorities said.
Police said they had no idea why someone would target Dr. Trent P. Pierce, chairman of the Arkansas State Medical Board. The explosive device placed on or near the car shattered the front of his white Lexus hybrid in a blast the police chief said could be heard a mile away.
"We don't know if this was a random target or someone specifically targeted him," said West Memphis Police Chief Bob Paudert. He said it wasn't known if the doctor was in his car or outside it when the device exploded.
Pierce, a family physician, was taken to Regional Medical Center in Memphis, Tenn., where he was listed in critical condition, hospital spokeswoman Sandy Snell said.
The FBI said a second person was injured outside Pierce's home, but Paudert said only one was hurt. The discrepancy could not be resolved immediately.
Pierce had been due in Little Rock later Wednesday in advance of Thursday and Friday's medical board meeting. The board agenda includes at least seven doctors who previously faced discipline.
Board attorney William Trice, of Little Rock, said he knew of no heated disputes involving Pierce and that Pierce often didn't even take part in board votes.
"This is just off the wall," Trice said. "It's just such bizarre circumstances."
State police used bomb-sniffing dogs Wednesday afternoon to scan the board's headquarters office. The board regulates more than 8,000 doctors, 3,000 therapists and nearly 400 osteopaths.
Though the motive for the attack was unknown, Gov. Mike Beebe was among those expressing concern for other board members.
"I think law enforcement's reaching out, because you don't know if this was connected to the medical board or it was just something individual," Beebe said. "To be safe, I think everybody's trying alert all the members of the medical board to be able to use extra caution."
Pierce is a family-practice physician who patients include the West Memphis police chief.
"He was loved and respected by everybody in this community," Paudert said. "He was a kind and gentle person."
Pierce's car sat wrecked in his driveway, its hood open and bumper partially torn away.
Police blocked off the tree-lined street about 100 yards from the site. Onlookers could see police officers walking back and forth with dogs, while other investigators wore jackets identifying themselves as members of the Arkansas State Police bomb squad or federal agents with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives.
ATF agents did not immediately return a call for comment. Paudert said he planned to meet with ATF agents.
Neighbor Julanne Ingram said she heard the explosion about 8 a.m.
"It was a huge explosion," she said. "It rattled the windows in this house."
Pierce, who is in his 50s, was to have attended board subcommittee meetings Wednesday in Little Rock.
He was appointed to the board in January 1997 and reappointed in 2005 by then-Gov. Mike Huckabee. The board oversees the practice of medicine in Arkansas and can discipline doctors for wrongdoing, including revoking their medical licenses.
In August, the chairman of Arkansas' Democratic Party was slain by a man who was later killed by officers after he threatened them. The motive for the shooting of Bill Gwatney was never determined.
http://wtop.com/?nid=104&sid=1592909

Google Offers "Latitude" To Track People
Google is releasing free software Wednesday that enables people to keep track of each other using their cell phones.
CNET got a sneak peek at it, and CNET-TV Senior Editor and Early Show contributor Natali Del Conte explained how it works on the show Tuesday.
She says "Latitude" uses GPS systems and what's called cell tower triangulation to do the job. The software seeks the closest three cell towers and, with GPS, combines the data to show where someone is.
It is designed to work on any phone with Internet capabilities, except the iPhone.
"Latitude" is being marketed as a tool that could help parents keep tabs on their children's locations, but it can be used for anyone to find anyone else, assuming permission is given.
"What Google Latitude does is allow you to share that location with friends and family members, and likewise be able to see friends and family members' locations," Steve Lee, product manager for Google Latitude, told CNET. "For example, a girlfriend could use it to see if her boyfriend has arrived at a restaurant and, if not, how far away he is."
CNET points out that, "To protect privacy, Google specifically requires people to sign up for the service. People can share their precise location, the city they're in, or nothing at all."
"What we found in testing," Lee added to CNET, "is that the most common scenario is a symmetrical arrangement, where both people are sharing with each other."
For complete details from CNET on "Latitude," click here.
But how accurate is "Latitude"?
Del Conte found a family willing to give it a try. The results? Mixed:
The family lives in an area with spotty cell phone reception, Del Conte points out. They found that, if they went to more urbanized areas, the accuracy of the program increased.
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2009/02/04/earlyshow/leisure/gamesgadgetsgizmos/main4774320.shtml?tag=topHome;topStories

Better watch out what you allow on your websites and blogs, it coming here sooner then later.
4 Google execs on trial in Italy for abusive video
Wednesday February 4, 11:03 am ET
4 Google Italy execs on trial in Milan over video showing abuse of disabled youth
ROME (AP) -- Google Italy says four of its executives are being tried in Milan over a video uploaded onto the Italian site that showed a disabled youth being abused.
The company said Wednesday that the four are facing trial on accusations that they failed to control the content of the video, which surfaced on Google's Italian video site in September 2006. Google denies wrongdoing and said in a statement that the trial is "absolutely unjustified."
Google Italy said the opening hearing at a Milan courthouse Tuesday was devoted to technicalities. Proceedings were adjourned until Feb. 18.
The trial was sought by Vivi Down, an advocacy group for Down syndrome.
http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/090204/eu_italy_google_videos.html?.v=1


Canada: 36 farms quarantined for bird flu 02 Feb 2009In Canada, 3 of 4 of the most recent bird flu outbreaks have occurred in British Columbia's Fraser Valley. There are theories, but no evidence, as to why the valley attracts the virus. In the most recent avian influenza outbreak, 60,000 turkeys were culled. Tests indicate the virus has not spread to any other poultry producers within a 3-km quarantine zone.The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has quarantined 7 premises outside the zone and an additional 2 inside, based on an analysis of the movement of people, products and equipment. In total, 36 premises are under quarantine.Third major outbreakThis is the third bird flu outbreak in the Fraser Valley in recent years. Some scientists believe this to be related to the high-concentration of poultry operations in the valley and its location under the Pacific migratory flyway for wild birds that carry the disease.History of AI in the regionFraser Valley's first outbreak occurred in 2004 when an H7-type flu transformed into a highly contagious strain.The second outbreak occurred in November 2005, when 2 duck farms were infected with the H5N2 strain of the virus.In 2007, a highly pathogenic H7N3 strain was found in Saskatchewan on a farm that produced hatching eggs to produce broiler chickens.
http://www.worldpoultry.net/news/canada ... -3544.html

This year, the lucky wedding date was 7/7/07 but did you know that next year, 8/8/08 is considered equally as lucky especially in Chinese culture and Chinese weddings? Even if you are not of Chinese heritage, If you a bit superstitious or if you just want an extra bit of good fortune, a wedding held on 8/8/08 may be your lucky day.
Why 8? In Chinese culture, 8 is considered the luckiest of all numbers, as it portends prosperity and wealth. The number 8 is so lucky in fact for the Chinese, that in China, they often auction off license plates for thousands of dollars just because they contain the lucky number. The number is also coveted for addresses, phone numbers and bank accounts. A single 8 on a piece of property lends a sense of high status among the Chinese, as they know top dollars were paid just to obtain that number. Lucky 8 is so lucky, that the Beijing Olympics are due to open on 8/8/08 at exactly 8:08:08 PM. (for the whole story, if you really want it click the link)
http://ezinearticles.com/?The-NEW-Lucky-Wedding-Date---8-8-08&id=779719

Here are a few things to watch out for. You need to not only watch for this skimming thing but i have seen some articles recently when gas was at 4 gallons, of people having fuel stolen out of their vehicles. You have to watch out for your own back, no one will do it for you.

Be on the lookout for spam e-mails spreading the Storm Worm malicious software (malware) which mention "F.B.I. vs. facebook". The e-mail directs the recipient to click on a link to view an article about the FBI and Facebook. Once the user clicks on the link, malware is downloaded to the Internet connected device and causes it to become infected and become part of the Storm Worm botnet. A botnet is a network of compromised machines under the control of a single user. Botnets are typically set up to facilitate criminal activity such as spam e-mail, identity theft, denial of service attacks, and spreading malware to other machines on the Internet.
The following is a sample image of the web page utilized for the e-mail scheme:
http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/fbi-facebook.asp http://www.snopes.com/computer/virus/storm.asp

Thieves skim credit card data at fuel pumps
By Katharine Lackey, USA TODAY
Customers and police agencies across the USA are dealing with another pain at the pump — thieves who install hard-to-detect electronic devices at stations to steal credit and debit card data.
The skimmed data are used to create cards used at the victims' expense, says James Van Dyke, president and founder of Javelin Strategy and Research, a financial consulting firm that focuses on fraud and identity theft.
Investigations of theft related to skimming devices at gas pumps continue in California, Washington, Nevada, Pennsylvania and Delaware, according to various police departments.
Though the most recent cases don't necessarily represent an epidemic, the Secret Service is investigating incidents across the country, says Ed Donovan, spokesman for the agency, which has financial and electronic crimes units.
Skimming devices have been used for several years, most often at ATMs. Thieves increasingly target pumps because it's a cheap, easy way to steal credit and debit card information, Van Dyke says.
"Card fraud at gas pumps is a significant problem, and that's because of the unintended nature of the checkout devices," he says. "Essentially, every gas pump is an electronic cash register."
The skimming devices can be installed outside or inside the pump. Thieves glue a plastic sleeve, equipped with covered wires that capture data, over the pump's card reader or connect the device directly to the reader inside.
The devices are molded and painted to match the machine and are small, making them hard to detect, Van Dyke says. Among recent cases:
•California: San Jose police are investigating a case that began in May, when thieves placed a skimming device at an Arco station, eventually taking more than $200,000 from up to 180 victims, says police department spokesman Jermaine Thomas. The device was on the pump for more than a month, after which the suspects retrieved the machine, Thomas says.
"Your normal, average person would not even know that the skimming device is attached," he says.
• Washington: The Pierce County Sheriff's Office is investigating a case where thieves installed a skimming device at an Arco gas pump last August, leaving it there for 11 months and cleaning out at least 120 victims' bank accounts over the July 4th weekend, says sheriff's spokesman Ed Troyer.
Reports of fraudulent withdrawals are still pouring in, and the number of victims could reach 250 with a total of $500,000 stolen, he says.
• Pennsylvania: State police recovered four skimming devices installed inside gas pumps at Wawa stations in Delaware, Chester, Montgomery and Bucks counties beginning in April, trooper Christopher Shoap says. He suspects more devices were used at other stations and estimates that several dozen victims have lost tens of thousands of dollars.
•Delaware: The Pennsylvania case is linked to one in Delaware, where police suspect a device was placed and later retrieved at a New Castle Wawa pump, Shoap says. The Secret Service is investigating, says Cpl. Jeff Whitmarsh of the Delaware State Police. The Secret Service would not comment because the investigation is continuing.
•Nevada: The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department is investigating two devices placed at gasoline pumps within the past four months, in addition to several cases where devices were placed on ATMs, says Lt. Bob Sebby of the financial crimes unit.
The combined cases total $1 million to $3.5 million stolen from hundreds of victims' accounts, Sebby says. The department is trying to prevent additional identity fraud by asking gas stations to consider placing sticker seals on the pumps that employees can check daily.
"With identify theft, it's not a matter of if you're going to be a victim, it's a matter of when," Sebby says.

http://www.usatoday.com/money/industries/energy/2008-08-04-gaspumpskimming_N.htm

This is probably a political stunt, but i personally think it is good thing. It may be nothing more then the house getting mad at DC for thumbing their nose at the Supreme court decision.

House seeks to end D.C. gun measures August 5, 2008 - 10:14amWASHINGTON (AP) - House leaders have agreed to allow a vote next month on a bill that would end local handgun control in the District of Columbia.
The measure was filed last week by several conservative Democrats, and supporters say it has a good chance of passing the House. Its prospects in the Senate are unclear.
The Supreme Court struck down the city's 32-year-old handgun ban in June. Since then, D.C. lawmakers have passed emergency legislation that maintains strict regulations.
The House bill seeks to eliminate those measures.
The legislation would allow D.C. residents to own handguns without registering them with police if they meet federal requirements for firearms ownership.
The bill also would end a requirement that owners keep their handguns unloaded and disassembled in their homes and would repeal the city's ban on most semiautomatic handguns. ___
Information from: The Washington Post, http://www.washingtonpost.com/
http://wtop.com/?nid=596&sid=1441828

11 Charged in Massive Credit Card Fraud Case
NEW YORK — The Department of Justice announced Tuesday the indictment of 11 people whom they say stole millions of credit and debit card numbers from major retailers in the nation's largest case of identity theft.
The 11 people — including three Americans — allegedly targeted such retailers as TJX Companies, BJs Wholesale Club, OfficeMax, Boston Market, Barnes & Noble, Sports Authority, Forever 21 and DSW.
"This is the single largest and most complex identity theft case ever charged in this country," Attorney General Michael Mukasey said at a hastily planned press conference in Boston Tuesday.
Named as the alleged ringleader in the indictment is Albert "Segvec" Gonzalez, of Miami, who had worked as a confidential informant for the Secret Service. He has been charged with computer fraud, wire fraud, access device fraud, aggravated identity theft and conspiracy for his role in the scheme and faces the possiblilty of life imprisonment.
"The Boston indictment alleges that Gonzales and his co-conspirators stole over 40 million credit and debit card numbers making this the largest credit card fraud and identity theft scheme ever identified, investigated and prosecuted in the United States," U.S. Attorney for the District of Massachusetts Michael Sullivan said Tuesday.
Also named in the indictments are Christopher Scott and Damon Patrick Toey, also of Miami.
Investigators say Gonzalez and his cohorts were able to tap into computer networks using a technique called "war driving."
"War dirving is simply driving around in a car with a laptop computer looking for accessible wireless computer networks," Sullivan said.
Once they found a retailer's network, officials alleged the men would hack into the system and install "sniffer programs," which would relay sensitive credit card information back to the men.
"This allowed the defendants to remotely capture sensitive information such as the card numbers, passwords and account information," Sullivan said.
Those named in the indictment allegedly sold the information to criminals abroad and in the U.S., or encrypt blank credit cards to withdraw money from ATMs, officials said.
Federal officials discovered Gonzalez was involved in the scheme after he began working for the Secret Service as an informant. He is in custody.
Indictments were unsealed Tuesday in San Diego against Maksym "Maksik" Yastremskiy of Kharkov, Ukraine, and Aleksandr "Jonny Hell" Suvorov of Sillamae, Estonia. The indictments charge them with crimes related to the sale of the stolen credit card data.
Furthermore, indictments against Hung-Ming Chiu and Zhi Zhi Wang, both of China, and a person known only by the online nickname "Delpiero" were also unsealed in San Diego.
The heist was a black eye for retailers like TJX. The company, which initially disclosed the data breach in January 2007, said a few months later that at least 45.7 million cards were exposed to possible fraud in a breach of its computer systems that began in July 2005. Court filings by some banks that sued TJX put the number of cards affected at more than 100 million, based on estimates by officials with Visa and MasterCard, who were deposed in the suit.
In May, TJX said it won support from Mastercard-issuing banks for a settlement that will pay them as much as $24 million to cover costs from the data breach. A similar agreement reached last November with Visa-card issuing banks also was overwhelmingly approved. That agreement set aside as much as $40.9 million to help banks cover costs including replacing customers payment cards and covering fraudulent charges.
Federal officials urged those who think they may have been affected by the ID theft scheme to contact their bank.
FOXNews.com's Sara Bonisteel and the Associated Press contributed to this report.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,398141,00.html

You can go to a couple of places that have a ton of info about identity theft and scams.
http://www.foxbusiness.com/personal-finance/lifestyle-and-money/consumer-debt/index.html

http://www.wtop.com/?nid=63