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| NEWS of the Day - November 12, 2011 |
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on some issues of interest to the community policing and neighborhood activist across the country
EDITOR'S NOTE: The following group of articles from local newspapers and other sources constitutes but a small percentage of the information available to the community policing and neighborhood activist public. It is by no means meant to cover every possible issue of interest, nor is it meant to convey any particular point of view ...
We present this simply as a convenience to our readership ... |
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From the Los Angeles Times
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Trucker's widow wins support in push for more safe rest areas
A truck driver's killing has led to proposed federal legislation aimed at providing more safe rest areas for truckers.
A transportation bill headed to the Senate floor includes Jason's Law, named after New York truck driver Jason Rivenburg, 35, who was killed in 2009 by a robber after he pulled his rig into an abandoned South Carolina gas station used by truckers as a rest stop. The robber got only $7, and Rivenburg left behind a son, then 23 months old, and a wife, then pregnant with twins.
Within days after her husband's funeral, Rivenburg's widow, Hope, met with her congressman, Paul Tonko (D-N.Y.). They then joined with trucking industry groups and others to mount a lobbying effort to make safe truck-parking facilities a national priority.
She and other family members have traveled to Capitol Hill, visiting lawmakers' offices, and have used Facebook and Twitter to rally the public to call their representatives.
They scored a victory this week when the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee passed, with rare unanimity in a hyper-partisan Congress, a must-pass transportation bill that includes a provision to make the building of safe truck-parking facilities eligible for more federal funding.
In an interview, Hope Rivenburg called the committee action "very exciting," adding: "It is so nice to see that our representatives in D.C. do listen and care."
"We've worked on this for almost two and a half years," she said, expressing hope that the legislation will make it all the way through Congress. Similar legislation has been introduced in the House by members of both parties.
The American Trucking Assn. has called funding for safer truck parking more critical as states consider closing rest stops because of budget cuts.
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) called attention to the provision during the committee meeting this week, saying it would ensure that "when truck drivers need a place to stop, there's a safe place."
"We cannot continue to ask our long haul truckers to get a proper amount of rest during their workday under the guise of safety, without providing them a safe, accessible place to pull off the road," Tonko said in introducing the legislation.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/nationnow/
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Hundreds offer to help siblings orphaned by drug war violence
Hundreds of readers have offered support to a young El Monte man whose story of becoming patriarch to four younger siblings after a drug cartel shooting robbed them of their parents appeared in a Column One in The Times.
More than 300 people have called or written to ask how they can help Adali Gutierrez, 20, and his siblings.
Checks have arrived blindly in the mail -- several have been for $100; one was for $5, along with a simple note in Spanish.
The offers have included money, gift cards, groceries, a Thanksgiving or Christmas meal, rent payments, computers and Internet access.
The family's parents were killed with they inadvertently walked into a drug war dispute in Mexico. Adali, who was there to celebrate his birthday, was seriously injured in the shootings, and was left with lasting scars on his face.
One of the offers of support came from Dr. Timothy Miller, chief of plastic and reconstructive surgery at the Ronald Reagan UCLA Medical Center. Adali has an appointment on Monday with Miller, who is the chief surgeon for a UCLA group that treats wounded troops.
Many who wrote were modest, saying they weren't wealthy but wanted to share what they did have:
“I can't imagine kids celebrating holidays such as Christmas without their parents and the traditions that come along with it. I am not wealthy in any sense but I would like to send this family gifts for Christmas to make their holiday a little more merrier.”
“I may not have much, but I want to help. I'm a father and husband. We took in a ward, my ‘new son,' we call him. And we too do without luxuries. But we can help a little. Let us know how.”
"I'm a student and work part-time to support myself through college, yet I would like to help in some way. It won't be much, but me and my family have been through financial difficulties ourselves, and I know it will make a difference.”
“I was touched by your story on the Gutierrez family and was wondering if there was any way I could help with tutoring the kids one or two days a week if they need that or are open to that. My husband and I both come from working class, single-parent homes. My husband had to grow up fast too, at the age of 19, when his mother lost several fingers while cleaning a poultry machine at her job. My husband had to drop out of college, get a full time job to take care of his mom and two younger sisters. As he said, it just had to be done.” |
The San Gabriel Valley Conservation Corps, where Adali Gutierrez works, is collecting the donations and coordinating the offers of assistance for the family.
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/lanow/2011/11/hundreds-offer-to-help-siblings-orphaned-by-drug-war-violence.html#more
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From the White House
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Honoring our Veterans for their Service and Sacrifice
WASHINGTON—In this week's address, President Obama spoke from the USS Carl Vinson in San Diego during Veterans Day, and he called on all Americans to rededicate themselves to serving our brave men and women in uniform as well as they have served us. Today, there are more than 850,000 veterans unemployed, which is why the President issued a challenge to private companies to hire or train more than 100,000 post-9/11 veterans or their spouses by 2013, and he was pleased to see the Senate pass proposals in his American Jobs Act on Thursday to give businesses tax credits for hiring veterans. President Obama told veterans that just as they have fought for us, he will continue to fight for jobs and opportunities for them, and that the United States will always honor their service and sacrifice.
Remarks of President Barack Obama
As Prepared for Delivery
San Diego, California
Saturday, November 12, 2011
I'm speaking to you from the bridge of the aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson in San Diego. This is one of the biggest ships in the Navy, and on Friday it was home to one of the most unique college basketball games I've ever seen. It also gave members of our military and our veterans a chance to unwind a little bit, and on this Veterans Day, I want to take this opportunity to thank all our men and women in uniform for their service and their sacrifice.
But this day isn't just about thanking our veterans. It's about rededicating ourselves to serving our veterans as well as they've served us. And right now, that's more important than ever.
Last month, I announced that, as promised, we will end the war in Iraq by the end of the year. Many of our military families will be welcoming loved ones home for the holidays. At the same time, we've begun to wind down the war in Afghanistan. And in the next five years, over a million servicemembers will transition back into civilian life – joining the 3 million who have already done so over the last decade.
These are men and women who have served with distinction in some of the most dangerous places on the planet. But for many of them, the challenges don't end when they take off the uniform. Today, more than 850,000 veterans remain unemployed. And too many are struggling to find a job worthy of their talents and experience.
That's not right. We ask these men and women to leave their families and their jobs and risk their lives to fight for our country. The last thing they should have to do is fight for a job when they get home.
To give our veterans the opportunities they've earned, I've directed the federal government to lead by example – and already, we've hired 120,000 veterans. We've also challenged private companies to hire or train 100,000 post-9/11 veterans or their spouses by the end of 2013. So far, many patriotic companies have answered the call, hiring more than 16,000 Americans. And yesterday, thanks to the hard work of Michelle and Dr. Jill Biden, companies announced their commitment to train or hire 125,000 more over the next two years.
But we need to do more. That's why, as part of the American Jobs Act, I called on Congress to pass a Returning Heroes Tax Credit, which would give businesses a tax break for each unemployed veteran they hire; and a Wounded Warriors Tax Credit, which would give businesses a tax break for hiring an unemployed veteran with a disability related to their service in uniform.
These proposals will go a long way towards putting our veterans back to work. And on Thursday, I was pleased to see the Senate put partisanship aside and come together to pass these tax credits. After all, standing up for our veterans isn't a Democratic responsibility or a Republican responsibility – it's an American responsibility. It's one that all of us have an obligation to meet. And the House should pass this bill as soon as possible so I can sign it into law.
As Commander-in-Chief, I want every veteran to know that America will always honor your service and your sacrifice – not just today, but every day. And just as you fought for us, we're going to keep fighting for you – for more jobs, for more security, for the opportunity to keep your families strong and America competitive in the 21st century.
So to all our veterans – thank you for your service. God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America. |
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http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2011/11/12/weekly-address-honoring-our-veterans-their-service-and-sacrifice ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
From the FBI
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DNS Malware: Is Your Computer Infected?
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Operation Ghost Click
International Cyber Ring That Infected Millions of Computers Dismantled
11/09/11
Six Estonian nationals have been arrested and charged with running a sophisticated Internet fraud ring that infected millions of computers worldwide with a virus and enabled the thieves to manipulate the multi-billion-dollar Internet advertising industry. Users of infected machines were unaware that their computers had been compromised—or that the malicious software rendered their machines vulnerable to a host of other viruses.
Details of the two-year FBI investigation called Operation Ghost Click were announced today in New York when a federal indictment was unsealed . Officials also described their efforts to make sure infected users' Internet access would not be disrupted as a result of the operation.
The indictment, said Janice Fedarcyk, assistant director in charge of our New York office, “describes an intricate international conspiracy conceived and carried out by sophisticated criminals.” She added, “The harm inflicted by the defendants was not merely a matter of reaping illegitimate income.”
Beginning in 2007, the cyber ring used a class of malware called DNSChanger to infect approximately 4 million computers in more than 100 countries. There were about 500,000 infections in the U.S., including computers belonging to individuals, businesses, and government agencies such as NASA. The thieves were able to manipulate Internet advertising to generate at least $14 million in illicit fees. In some cases, the malware had the additional effect of preventing users' anti-virus software and operating systems from updating, thereby exposing infected machines to even more malicious software.
“They were organized and operating as a traditional business but profiting illegally as the result of the malware,” said one of our cyber agents who worked the case. “There was a level of complexity here that we haven't seen before.”
DNS—Domain Name System—is a critical Internet service that converts user-friendly domain names, such as www.fbi.gov, into numerical addresses that allow computers to talk to each other. Without DNS and the DNS servers operated by Internet service providers, computer users would not be able to browse websites or send e-mail.
DNSChanger was used to redirect unsuspecting users to rogue servers controlled by the cyber thieves, allowing them to manipulate users' web activity . When users of infected computers clicked on the link for the official website of iTunes, for example, they were instead taken to a website for a business unaffiliated with Apple Inc. that purported to sell Apple software. Not only did the cyber thieves make money from these schemes, they deprived legitimate website operators and advertisers of substantial revenue.
The six cyber criminals were taken into custody yesterday in Estonia by local authorities, and the U.S. will seek to extradite them. In conjunction with the arrests, U.S. authorities seized computers and rogue DNS servers at various locations. As part of a federal court order, the rogue DNS servers have been replaced with legitimate servers in the hopes that users who were infected will not have their Internet access disrupted.
It is important to note that the replacement servers will not remove the DNSChanger malware—or other viruses it may have facilitated—from infected computers. Users who believe their computers may be infected should contact a computer professional. They can also find additional information in the links on this page, including how to register as a victim of the DNSChanger malware. And the FBI's Office for Victim Assistance will provide case updates periodically at 877-236-8947.
http://www.fbi.gov/news/stories/2011/november/malware_110911/malware_110911
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