MIT website hacked in tribute to Aaron Swartz

Hal Hodson, technology reporterA tribute to internet activist Aaron Swartz replaced the homepage for the Massachusetts Institute of Technology today, in an apparent act of protest over the university's role in the legal case that led up to Swartz's suicide on 11 Jan.For a short time, visitors to the MIT.edu home page found a message that read: "R.I.P. Aaron Swartz. Hacked by grand wizard of Lulzsec,...

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Marines beat a retreat in Beyonce lip-sync flap

WASHINGTON: The US Marine Corps beat a hasty retreat Tuesday from a furore over whether Beyonce lip-synched "The Star-Spangled Banner" at President Barack Obama's public inauguration ceremony.First, the New York Times quoted a US Marine Band spokeswoman as saying that, just before Beyonce took the stage Monday, the musicians learned a version of the national anthem it had pre-recorded...

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How Korea's other phonemaker sells good, cheap phones

Pantech Discover, AT&T's higher-end 'budget' AndroidOne of my favorite smartphones on today's market also happens to be one of the least expensive around. It costs just $50, runs Android, boasts a rapid-fire processor and 12.6-megapixel camera, and offers up some ergonomic design elements you won't see anywhere else. Who makes this humble wonder device? I'll give you a hint: the Korean phone-maker...

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Asteroid Mining Metal Abundance

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Left Turn? Obama Speech Invigorates Progressives

A presidential campaign that was largely about jobs and the economy gave way during Monday's inaugural ceremonies to a sweeping affirmation of progressivism and call for "collective action." Now, liberal allies of President Obama say they're closely watching to see whether the second-term president follows through on issues with which he has struggled before.Obama's groundbreaking...

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Today at New Scientist: 21 January 2013

Twitter reveals how Higgs gossip reached fever pitch Anyone who fondly remembers the heady days of excitement preceding the Higgs boson announcement last year can now relive the experienceVibrating navigator shows cyclists the way A buzzing GPS-fuelled belt that tells cyclists when to turn might help them keep their eyes on the road and save livesCall off the pregnancy police - women want the...

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Football: Sundram to be interim Lions coach for Jordan game

SINGAPORE: V Sundramoorthy has been named the caretaker coach for the Lions for their opening Asian Cup group qualifying match against Jordan in Amman next month, while the Football Association of Singapore (FAS) continues its search for Radojko Avramovic's successor.In a media statement, FAS president Zainudin Nordin said that the LionsXII head coach was appointed because of his experience."Having...

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Clouds ruin GeoEye's satellite image of inauguration

A nighttime shot of Washington, D.C. taken on January 19.(Credit:Chris Hadfield)Aw, shucks: imaging company GeoEye could not capture a super high-resolution image of Obama's inauguration today from space.Using its GeoEye-1 and IKONOS satellites positioned 423 miles above the Earth, the company tried and failed -- due to clouds -- on two separate attempts to capture the image of the inauguration, a...

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Attack at Algeria Gas Plant Heralds New Risks for Energy Development

The siege by Islamic militants at a remote Sahara desert natural gas plant in Algeria this week signaled heightened dangers in the region for international oil companies, at a time when they have been expanding operations in Africa as one of the world's last energy frontiers. (See related story: "Pictures: Four New Offshore Drilling Frontiers.")As BP, Norway's Statoil, Italy's Eni, and...

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Obama's 2nd Term: Whose Time Is 'Our Time'?

Jan 21, 2013 12:50pm Jewel Samad/AFP/Getty ImagesANALYSIS By RICK KLEINPresident Obama used a brief pause in the partisan warfare that’s scarred his time in office to return to the ideals of the Declaration of Independence, with his own declaration of urgency and a call to action that reflects shared sacrifice and responsibility.This was no centrist conciliator. It...

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