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Authorities can now put the brakes on terrorists who hijack New York buses.

Like something out of the movie “Speed,” a new GPS device enables authorities to remotely control a bus - slowing it down to 5 mph and preventing it from restarting once it has stopped. The device has been installed on thousands of local commuter and tourist buses.

The technology is designed to prevent a terrorist from ramming a bus filled with people and explosives into buildings or tunnels.

They’ve been watching too many movies…

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A BBC investigation estimates that around $23bn (£11.75bn) may have been lost, stolen or just not properly accounted for in Iraq.

For the first time, the extent to which some private contractors have profited from the conflict and rebuilding has been researched by the BBC’s Panorama using US and Iraqi government sources.

A US gagging order is preventing discussion of the allegations.

The order applies to 70 court cases against some of the top US companies.

[Quote:]

During the five years that the United States has occupied Iraq, the Bush administration has created a state with a number of notable features: A venal, dysfunctional government. A terrorist haven and training ground. A nation so violent and dangerous that 10 percent of the population has fled.

Add to that a new hallmark: nearly the most corrupt nation on Earth.

Only two states out of 180, Somalia and Burma, outrank Iraq in Transparency International’s latest worldwide corruption index. They are tied for last place. But Iraq has plummeted through the rankings since 2004, when it was near the middle of the pack, and is now within a hair’s width of crashing to the bottom.

[Quote:]

John Kasich allows psychic, Jane Doherty, to make predictions about events to occur in 2007. She predicts 2008 US presidential nominees, discovery of oil, Syria-Israel war, Russia/Iran region earthquakes, trouble in africa, tornadoes in kansas more. Michael Shermer of “Skeptic Magazine”, argues that psychics will make general predictions that anyone could predict and be accurate. Kasich does not buy predictions by Doherty, but says she will be held accountable at the end of 2007. I guess we will see if she is correct.

[Quote:]

The Pentagon urged interrogators at Guantanamo Bay to destroy handwritten notes in case they were called to testify about potentially harsh treatment of detainees, a military defense lawyer said Sunday.

The lawyer for Toronto-born Omar Khadr, Lt. Cmdr. William Kuebler, said the instructions were included in an operations manual shown to him by prosecutors and suggest the U.S. deliberately thwarted evidence that could help terror suspects defend themselves at trial.

There are probably real terrorists at Guantanamo, but any guilty verdict has no legitimacy left.

Thank you, Fai! Thank you, anonymous donor!

[Quote:]

Pubs in Yorkshire have been ordered to ban people from wearing flat caps or other hats so troublemakers can be more easily recognised.

The Park Hotel in Wadsley, Sheffield, is the latest to be asked to impose the rule by senior police officers.

Mark Kelly, the landlord said: “Police asked us to ensure that everyone removes headgear.

[Quote:]

A German citizen has gone to court in an attempt to force his government to seek the extradition of 13 suspected CIA agents who allegedly kidnapped him.

Khaled al-Masri says he was abducted in December 2003, flown to a US detention centre in Afghanistan and tortured.

Mr Masri was released in May 2004 after his captors allegedly told him he had been mistaken for someone else.

In September, the justice ministry decided not to pursue arrest warrants issued for the suspected CIA agents.

A spokeswoman, Eva Schmierer, said the ministry had been told by Washington that any extradition would jeopardise “American national interests”.

You know who else is using an iPhone?

but then again, so is he

[Quote:]

Apple has signed multi-year agreements with carriers authorizing them to distribute and provide network services for iPhones in over 70 countries. These agreements are generally not exclusive with a specific carrier, except in the United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Spain, Ireland, and certain other countries. Under the vast majority of these agreements, Apple will not receive follow-on revenue generating payments from carriers for the new iPhone 3G beyond the purchase of the device by carriers or a commission on sales of the device by Apple. Apple will continue to receive payments from cellular network providers related to first-generation iPhones as long as they remain active on authorized networks.

[Quote:]

We just talked to AT&T’s President of National Distribution Glenn Lurie, who gave us all the pricing and activation details for the iPhone 3G, which won’t be getting special treatment anymore. It will be using all AT&T’s standard voice and data plans, which means $30 for unlimited 3G data for consumers, $45 for business users, on top of voice. Also, no in-home activation for iPhone 3G—it does require a two-year contract, and it will have to be activated in store (at AT&T or Apple Store), which takes 10-12 minutes, meaning that first day line is going to SUCK.

It’ll be interesting to see how the unlockers are going to get around the mandatory in-store activation. And it looks like the operators are now subsidizing the iPhone price…