Lu Cong has quite the unique style. Emphasis on the eyes is clearly a major factor…something does make one feel that the subjects are doing more than being passive subjects. Perhaps it’s the simplicity of the characters, the type that typically don’t get the reward of being painted. Continue reading …
[Jump to update on 6/4/2011, sensitive accounts compromised] Today, Lulz Security (LulzSec) successfully hacked Sony Pictures’ databases using a simple SQL injection by exploiting a basic security gap. Last month LulzSec hacked Sony Music Japan using a SQL injection, soon after another group used the same method to attack Sony BMG Greece! The big deal with today’s hacking of Sony Pictures’ database is that at least 1 million of the 4.5 million records that were discovered in the database hacks contain sensitive user information – we’re talking passwords, e-mail addresses, street addresses and usernames. All this information is currently available to the world right now, and as long as the site stays up it’s on the LulzSec website. Too bad for you if your credentials are in those 4.5 million records – but don’t sit on your hands and wait around for something worse to happen (change your passwords because no one else will help you!).
Pawel Kuczynski creates amazing illustrations that cleverly highlight life’s realities in a way that is quite unique. He brings out the good, the bad, and the ugly juxtaposing innocence with ignorance, irony with poverty, and hypocrisy with truth. Continue reading …
Large-scale social networking websites like Facebook and MySpace are long-term threats to users safety. As a user of social networking websites you make available information that will likely be used by businesses for their own revenue-driven interests – the same information can also be used by malicious parties to cause harm to you.
The security breach goes far beyond the Gawker Media network and stands to ruin operations for most of the web’s largest operations. Hackers can utilize user credentials to enter into e-mail, online banking, and social networking accounts
On May 28, 1998, Amidst a turbulent domestic political environment and against the international community’s advice, Pakistan responded to five nuclear arm tests conducted by India with nuclear arms tests of its own – this exacerbated Pakistan’s already precarious situation and pushed it over the edge into crisis mode. As suggested in the Middle East Economic Digest, “Pakistan has put national pride ahead of economic prudence by testing its nuclear devices.”
Enraged that the lady came through the turnstile before him – the man in this video tripped the unsuspecting lady just right for a perfect face plant. It’s kinda funny…but still – pretty F’ed up – and so, the witch hunt is on…or as the video poster says in Spanish “Cruzada para encontrar a este bárbaro para denunciarlo y darle un escarmiento…” translation = “Crusade to find this barbarian to call him out publicly and teach him a lesson.“
The “Love Colombia” Facebook Page posted the video on FB, which received a slew of entertaining comments (so far 200+) — how interesting would it be if this guy was actually ID’d! He’d be so humiliated! Or he can turn it around and become an e-celebrity – like Antoine Dobson!
10/12: By the way…coincidentally I just read this on Colombia Reports:
Half of Colombian men admit to abusing their female partners, while 26% say they have tried to intimidate them in the past, according to a recent U.N. study.
What!!!
The Nation of Gods and Earths (NGE) is a religion that was started in 1964 which borrows ideas from traditional Islam. The NGE is also known as the Five Percent Nation of Islam, which refers to the NGE’s explanation that 5% of black people are chosen ‘Gods’ of the world and Islam is the black man’s natural culture (but not religion):
The 5%, who are the enlightened divine beings, the poor righteous teachers, having repossessed knowledge of the truth regarding the foundations of life and of oneself, and seek to liberate the 85% through education. (Wiki)
From the creative desk of Somefield – this image just stood out to me…it means so much – you got a duck with slick euro shoes and skinny euro slacks – he’s just chillin’ – saying “Hey, Here I am, Mallard Q. Duck, I’m here, staring right back at ya’ – of course I look nice – this was effortless…I’m a natural” — Continue reading …
At yesterday’s OPEN DC event Shaukat Aziz (former PM and FM of Pakistan) answered an audience question by talking about how IMF funding causes nations to give up economic sovereignty – this was a great point, and a very timely one given today’s economic ‘crisis.’ Aid from international financial institutions comes with rules, and currently, those rules are largely based on the ‘Washington Consensus‘ guidelines for economic growth. Unfortunately, as economist Dani Rodrik presented in his recent book (‘One Economics, Many Recipes’), these western-built guidelines for growth may be obsolete, and at best, can use a few edits.
Some nations have received so much aid from international financial institutions that their debts have had to be pardoned…more than $40 billion in foreign debt was totally written off in 2005 for 18 nations (14 of them African). When countries are spending most of their money on repaying debts – and forgoing critical domestic improvements – they’re terminally screwed. It’s called foreign ‘aid’ – loans granted to spur growth by organizations like the World Bank and African Development Bank – but aid turns into a burden as it instantly becomes debt. This is where the head scratching starts… Continue reading …