Discussion about World News and Happenings. http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php Thu, 20 Nov 2008 20:46:12 -0500 1440 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=63801
Unidentified miscreants have launched a denial of service attack on a UK-based anti-fraud website.

Bobbear.co.uk, which fights money laundering by warning about groups attempting to recruit mules, was left unreachable on Monday after coming under a distributed denial of service attack. Net security firm Sophos reports that the site was taken out by an assault from a botnet of compromised PCs that began late on Sunday. The timing of the assault coincides with the launch of Get Safe Online week in the UK.

It's pretty clear that Russian criminals are behind the attack and it is still continuing, site admin Bob Harrison told El Reg. "Undoubtedly it is simply a response to the work I do in highlighting the mainly Russian money laundering and reshipping frauds that are currently plaguing the internet and wrecking the lives of innumerable victims."

Harrison has reported the attack to the Met's computer crime unit and to Russian domains linked to the assault, more details of which can be found here.

It's not the first time the site has come under fire from cybercrooks. In October 2007 a spam campaign sought to discredit Bobbear by bombarding all and sundry with supposed begging requests. In reality the "Joe Job" junk mail messages, asking for donations through online payment service e-Gold, were nothing to do with site administrator Bob Harrison or Bobbear.co.uk.

UK hosts Fasthosts unwittingly aided fraudsters by temporarily suspending the Bobbear.co.uk domain in response to complaints about the fraudulent emails.]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:13:59 -0500 63801 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=63202 Moscow
09 November 2008

The Russian navy says the nuclear-powered Russian naval submarine, involved in a deadly accident, has pulled into port at Bolshoi Kamen, a military shipyard not far from the eastern city of Vladivostok. Russian Navy officials say at least 20 shipbuilders and servicemen were killed Saturday when the fire-extinguishing system aboard the vessel was activated in error. The officials say the submarine was in the waters of the Sea of Japan conducting sea trials when the accident occurred. Emma Stickgold reports from Moscow for VOA that the accident occurred amid Russia's attempt to show the world its military prowess, as its relations with the West have soured.

In addition to the dead, more than 20 were injured in the Saturday accident, which was the worst incident involving a Russian submarine since 118 were killed in the 2000 Kursk fiasco, after an explosion sank the vessel.

Russian naval spokesman Captain Igor Dyagalo said the nuclear powered submarine was able to return to its base, on Russia's Pacific coast, using its own power.

The nuclear reactor that powers the submarine appears to have been unscathed in the accident, and Dyagalo described radiation levels in the area as "normal," in the hours after the incident.

Technicians and specialists comprised the majority of the 208 people aboard the vessel.

The injured suffered from varying degrees of poisoning, with local news agencies reporting that the fire-extinguishing systems aboard many submarines use chemicals and foam.

The submarine reached the Bolshoi Kamen shores Sunday, with a rescue vessel joining it for the journey back.

Dyagalo did not say what led to the inadvertent activation of the fire-extinguishing system, but local news agencies were reporting that human error was likely to be the cause.


Russia's navy has recently taken to showing its might, with a naval squadron set to take part in joint exercises not far from U.S. shores in Venezuela.

Navy officials said that President Dmitry Medvedev was briefed on the accident, and called for a "full and meticulous" investigation, as well as aid to the families of the victims.

Source: http://www.voanews.com/english/2008-11-09-voa8.cfm]]> Sun, 09 Nov 2008 09:44:17 -0500 63202 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=63179

CLEVELAND (AP) — A contractor who found $182,000 in Depression-era currency hidden in a bathroom wall has ended up with only a few thousand dollars, but he feels some vindication.

The windfall discovery amounted to little more than grief for contractor Bob Kitts, who couldn't agree on how to split the money with homeowner Amanda Reece.

It didn't help Reece much, either. She testified in a deposition that she was considering bankruptcy and that a bank recently foreclosed on one of her properties.

And 21 descendants of Patrick Dunne — the wealthy businessman who stashed the money that was minted in a time of bank collapses and joblessness — will each get a mere fraction of the find.

"If these two individuals had sat down and resolved their disputes and divided the money, the heirs would have had no knowledge of it," said attorney Gid Marcinkevicius, who represents the Dunne estate. "Because they were not able to sit down and divide it in a rational way, they both lost."

Kitts was tearing the bathroom walls out of an 83-year-old home near Lake Erie in 2006 when he discovered two green metal lockboxes suspended inside a wall below the medicine chest, hanging from a wire. Inside were white envelopes with the return address for "P. Dunne News Agency."

"I ripped the corner off of one," Kitts said during a deposition in a lawsuit filed by Dunne's estate. "I saw a 50 and got a little dizzy."

He called Reece, a former high school classmate who had hired him for a remodeling project.

They counted the cash and posed for photographs, both grinning like lottery jackpot winners.

But how to share? She offered 10 percent. He wanted 40 percent. From there things went sour.

A month after The Plain Dealer reported on the case in December 2007, Dunne's estate got involved, suing for the right to the money.

By then there was little left to claim.

Reece testified in a deposition that she spent about $14,000 on a trip to Hawaii and had sold some of the rare late 1920s bills. She said about $60,000 was stolen from a shoe box in her closet but testified that she never reported the theft to police.

Kitts said Reece accused him of stealing the money and began leaving him threatening phone messages. Marcinkevicius doesn't believe the money was stolen but said he couldn't prove otherwise.

Reece's phone number has been disconnected, and her attorney Robert Lazzaro did not return a call seeking comment. There were no court records showing that Reece had filed for bankruptcy.

Kitts said he lost a lot of business because media reports on the case portrayed him as greedy, but he feels vindicated by the court's decision to give him a share.

"I was not the bad guy that everybody made me out to be," Kitts said. "I didn't do anything wrong."

He's often asked why he didn't keep his mouth shut and pocket the money. He says he wasn't raised that way.

"It was a neat experience, something that won't happen again," Kitts said. "In that regard, it was pretty fascinating; seeing that amount of money in front of you was breathtaking. In that regard, I don't regret it.

"The threats and all — that's the part that makes you wish it never happened."

Source: http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hHJNCy_...ynBdkAD94AUVCO0]]> Sat, 08 Nov 2008 22:10:55 -0500 63179 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=62980

(CNN) -- U.S. President-elect Barack Obama is expected to begin building his transition team Thursday, a day after securing an historic election victory.

The Democratic party leader was expected to officially name his White House chief of staff as Rahm Emanuel, a Chicago colleague who helped lead the party majority control of Congress in 2006.

Other key appointments, primarily the treasury chief who will help craft policy to lift the county out of financial crisis, are expected to be named shortly.

President George W. Bush has pledged full cooperation with Obama, who beat Republican rival John McCain to become America's first African-American president, ahead of his inauguration on January 20.

A team of intelligence briefers has been named and is ready to discuss with Obama the Presidential Daily Brief, similar to the one provided to President Bush, says a message from CIA Director Michael Hayden to CIA employees obtained by CNN.

CNN Political Editor Mark Preston said Obama's victory speech on Tuesday launched the transition. Possible appointees for Obama's administration »

"The campaign was over when McCain called to concede," Preston said. "Tonight's speech was about governing. It was a very serious tone -- he was setting the tone, taking his first steps as president." Video Watch Obama's acceptance speech »

CNN Senior Political Analyst Gloria Borger said that it's important to take steps quickly to set the right tone, pointing to President Clinton, who waited weeks to fill Cabinet positions and announced many of his top staffers just five days before he was sworn in.

"Everything you do early on in a presidency gets magnified. You don't want to make the same mistakes that Bill Clinton made," Borger said. iReport.com: What's Obama's biggest challenge?

Obama has no public events scheduled on Wednesday. He will most likely travel to Hawaii soon for the funeral of his grandmother, who died on Monday.

John Podesta, a former chief of staff under President Clinton, will be among those leading Obama's transition team. Valerie Jarrett, one of Obama's top advisers, and Peter Rouse, Obama's Senate chief of staff, will also be involved the effort.

Jarrett told CNN that Obama will begin making public his plans for the transition soon.

"In the days ahead, you will be hearing more directly from Sen. Obama ... about the steps that he'll be taking to get prepared to lead on January 20," she said shortly after Obama gave his victory speech.

Filling out his economic team is a top priority for Obama as he begins to implement a strategy to quell the economic crisis.

"This is one of the first times that I can remember that the secretary of the treasury is going to be almost as important as the secretary of state," said David Gergen, a senior political analyst for CNN, who served in the Reagan and Clinton administrations.

Names circulating for the secretary of the treasury position include Timothy Geithner, Lawrence Summers and Paul Volcker, among others.

Geithner helped deal with Wall Street's financial meltdown earlier this year, overseeing the acquisition of Bear Stearns by JPMorgan Chase and the bailouts of AIG and Lehman Brothers. He was appointed president of the New York Federal Reserve in November 2003.

Summers was appointed treasury secretary in July 1999 and served as the chief economist of the World Bank from 1991 through 1993. Prior to his career in government, he taught economics at Harvard.

Volcker is a former chairman of the Federal Reserve, serving under Presidents Carter and Reagan. He also worked in the private sector as an investment banker and headed the investigation into the United Nations' oil-for-food program for Iraq.

The White House is holding an economic summit on November 15. Obama could delay naming his economic team in order to avoid interfering with the G-20 summit.

Obama's national security team is another priority as the country fights wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. It could also be an area where he goes outside his party for an appointee.

Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel and current Defense Secretary Robert Gates are among the names floating around for that team.

Hagel, who was elected to the Senate in 1996 and is a Vietnam veteran, has been a fierce critic of the Bush administration's handling of the Iraq war.

Gates has served in Bush's cabinet for almost two years. He worked for the Central Intelligence Agency for 27 years, serving as its director from 1991 through 1993. He also served as deputy national security adviser under President George H. W. Bush.

"What Barack Obama has to do in the transition time is set the tone," Borger said. "If he reaches out to Republicans in the cabinet -- if he decided to keep Bob Gates at Defense -- that's really, really important."

Source: http://www.cnn.com/2008/POLITICS/11/06/obama.transition2/]]> Thu, 06 Nov 2008 05:38:59 -0500 62980 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=62920
Americans placed their faith in Barack Obama today, overcoming a past of slavery and segregation, and electing the first African-American to the US presidency.

At Obama's election party in Chicago, there were raucous celebration and tears of joy as the US TV networks just after 11pm ET (4am GMT) declared that the Democratic candidate had been voted America's 44th president.

He was carried across the threshold by epic voter turnout across the country, giving him a wider margin over John McCain than any other president in the last two decades.

Obama, accompanied to the podium in his home town of Chicago by his wife Michelle and his two daughters, alluded to the historic nature of his victory.

"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible; who still wonders if the dream of our founders is alive in our time; who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer," he said.

"It's been a long time coming, but tonight, because of what we did on this day, in this election, at this defining moment, change has come to America."

The Illinois senator spoke moments after McCain made a gracious concession speech in front of his supporters in Phoenix, Arizona, bringing the election to a close after nearly two tumultuous years.

"We have come to the end of a long journey. The American people have spoken and they have spoken clearly," McCain said.

The defeated Republican said America had come a long way from the racial injustices that were a stain on the country's history, and called for the country to unite behind Obama.

He said he deeply admired and commended Obama for winning a "historic election".

The scale of Obama's victory exceeded Democratic expectations, as Obama was projected to win 338 electoral votes to McCain's 129.

Obama's successes in the White House race were matched by Democratic wins in congressional seats. The backlash against Bush provided the Democrats with one of their most satisfying wins of the night, ousting the veteran Republican Elizabeth Dole.

McCain's hopes began unravelling when networks projected Obama would win Pennsylvania, the state where the Republican planned to make his last stand.

An even bigger setback for McCain followed when networks projected Ohio would go to Obama. The state decided the 2004 race between George Bush and John Kerry.

Piling on the humiliation for the Republican, Obama was projected to win Virginia, the first time the state has voted for a Democrat in a presidential race since Lyndon Johnson in 1964.
.
Obama was projected to hold on to all the states the Democrats took in 2004, and win half a dozen or more of the battleground states that had been held by the Republicans.

The Democrat was also projected to win New Hampshire, Connecticut, Delaware, Washington DC, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts and New Jersey.

McCain was projected to win Oklahoma, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia and South Carolina.

Fears that many white voters would fail, in the privacy of the polling booth, to vote for a black candidate appeared to be unfounded, suggesting that race is becoming less of an issue in the US.

Americans voted in record numbers throughout the day as they finally got the chance to turn their backs on George Bush's disastrous presidency and choose a new leader after America's longest and costliest election campaign.

From the eastern shores of Virginia, across the industrial heartland of Ohio, and on to the Rocky mountain states of Colorado and New Mexico and beyond, poll workers and voters reported long lines and waits of several hours in the most eagerly anticipated US election for half a century.

Turnout was at levels not seen since women were first given the vote in 1920. Election officials predicted turnout would come close to 90% in Virginia and Colorado, and 80% in Ohio and Missouri.

The odds had been stacked against McCain from the start, linked, as he was, to George Bush, with his near-record low popularity ratings, hostility towards the Iraq war and an impending recession.

But McCain managed to hold his own until mid-September, when the Wall Street crash saw Obama open up a commanding lead.

The next president will inherit horrendous economic problems that will limit the scope of his ambitions. Obama, in his final rallies, was already tempering his early promise of change with warnings about how he would have to curb some of his more ambitious plans, trying to lower expectations that he would be able to move quickly on healthcare and education reform.

Independent election monitors reported sporadic instances of delayed openings of polling stations, broken voting machines, ballot shortages, voter confusion and occasional abuse in a number of battleground states including Florida, Ohio, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Virginia.]]> Wed, 05 Nov 2008 03:29:55 -0500 62920 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=62917
AP WASHINGTON – Barack Obama swept to victory as the nation's first black president Tuesday night in an electoral college landslide that overcame racial barriers as old as America itself. "Change has come," he declared to a huge throng of cheering supporters.

The son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, the Democratic senator from Illinois sealed his historic triumph by defeating Republican Sen. John McCain in a string of wins in hard-fought battleground states — Ohio, Florida, Virginia, Iowa and more.

On a night for Democrats to savor, they not only elected Obama the nation's 44th president but padded their majorities in the House and Senate, and come January will control both the White House and Congress for the first time since 1994.

Obama's election capped a meteoric rise — from mere state senator to president-elect in four years.

In his first speech as victor, Obama catalogued the challenges ahead. "The greatest of a lifetime," he said, "two wars, a planet in peril, the worst financial crisis in a century."

He added, "There are many who won't agree with every decision or policy I make as president, and we know that government can't solve every problem. But I will always be honest with you about the challenges we face."

McCain called his former rival to concede defeat — and the end of his own 10-year quest for the White House. "The American people have spoken, and spoken clearly," McCain told disappointed supporters in Arizona.

President Bush added his congratulations from the White House.

In his speech, Obama invoked the words of Lincoln and echoed John F. Kennedy.

"So let us summon a new spirit of patriotism, of service and responsibility where each of us resolves to pitch in and work harder," he said.

He and his running mate, Sen. Joseph Biden of Delaware, will take their oaths of office as president and vice president on Jan. 20, 2009.

Obama will move into the Oval Office as leader of a country that is almost certainly in recession, and fighting two long wars, one in Iraq, the other in Afghanistan.

The popular vote was close — 51.3 percent to 47.5 percent with 73 percent of all U.S. precincts counted — but not the count in the Electoral College, where it mattered most.

There, Obama's audacious decision to contest McCain in states that hadn't gone Democratic in years paid rich dividends.

Obama has said his first order of presidential business will be to tackle the economy. He has also pledged to withdraw most U.S. combat troops from Iraq within 16 months.

]]> Wed, 05 Nov 2008 01:24:49 -0500 62917 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=62807

We've been through a lot in the two-year slog that will be remembered as Campaign 2008.

Much of it was temporarily fascinating. And at the same time utterly forgettable.

What will endure? What will fade faster than a campaign promise? The answers depend, in part, on who wins Tuesday night. If Barack Obama becomes president, he and Michelle may soon be fist-bumping on the White House portico.]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 05:43:46 -0500 62807 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=62636 By Stephanie Lysaght, Times Staff Writer
Source : www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-celebcostumes-pg,0,3020915.photogallery

They dress up like other people for a living, but that doesn’t keep actors from donning elaborate costumes for Halloween. Here are some highlights from celebrity Halloween parties, in all their sexy, spooky splendor.

Last year, Paris Hilton poked fun at her stint in the slammer by sporting this "Jail Bait" costume to "A Very Sexy Halloween" at LAX Nightclub in Las Vegas.



Celebrity Halloween costumes
Model Petra Nemcova put all the other Cleopatras to shame at last year's Roberto Cavalli Vodka and Giuseppe Cipriani bash.



Celebrity Halloween costumes
Fashion designer Lauren Conrad took her style cues from the Roaring '20s at last year's 100 Club Halloween Party at Les Deux in Hollywood.



Celebrity Halloween costumes
"Gossip Girl" actress and media darling Tinsley Mortimer popped into last year's Roberto Cavalli Vodka and Giuseppe Cipriani party wearing this getup. Maybe she's the goddess of partying?



Celebrity Halloween costumes
Teri Hatcher and daughter Emerson squeezed in some mother-daughter bonding at 2007's Dream Halloween "Under the Big Top" party.



Celebrity Halloween costumes
She plays Julie Mayer on “Desperate Housewives,” but at 2007's "Under the Big Top" party, Andrea Bowen dressed up as a trapeze artist. Now, that’s original!



Celebrity Halloween costumes
Roberto Cavalli had the fashion community in stitches last year when he came to his party dressed as designer Karl Lagerfeld. Said the rest of the world: "Huh?"



Celebrity Halloween costumes
Eve made one hot corrections officer performing at the Roberto Cavalli Vodka and Giuseppe Cipriani bash last year.



Will you dress like that too?

]]> Fri, 31 Oct 2008 04:54:40 -0400 62636 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=62379
Diwali Customs&Rituals



Diwali is the one Hindu festival that unites the whole of India. It is traditionally known as the "festival of lights", for the common practice is to light small oil lamps (called diyas) and place them around the home, in courtyards, gardens, verandahs, on the walls built around the home and also on the roof tops. In cities, especially, candles are substituted for diyas;and among the riches, candles are made to substitute for fashionable and classy neon lights. The celebration of the festival is customarily

accompanied by the exchange of sweets and the explosion of fireworks. Diwali is an occasion for cheerfulness and togetherness. This is an occasion for young and the old, men and women, rich and poor - for everyone to celebrate. Irrespective of their religious and economic background, the festival is celebrated throughout the country to ward off the darkness and welcome light into life as light is always associated with hope for the future Diwali is celebrated 20 days after Dussera, on Amavasya - the 15th day of the dark fortnight of the Hindu month of Ashwin (Aasho) (Oct/ Nov) every year.

Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming, that is his return to Ayodhya after the defeat of Ravana and his coronation as king The legend related to the festival is that King Dashratha had three wives namely Kaushalaya, Keykayee and Sumitra and four sons Rama, Bharat, Laxmana and Shatrughan. Rama was the son of Queen Kaushalaya and Bharat was the son of Queen Keykayee. Keykayee wanted Bharat to be the next King of Ayodhya, while King Dasharatha wanted Rama, his eldest son to be the King. But Keykayee made full use of the two wishes King Dasharatha had promised. Keykayee asked for sending Rama to exile for the period of fourteen years and to crown Bharat as the king, though Bharat refused to accept the kingship. During that time Lord Rama fought and won fierce battle in the southern part of the Indian sub-continent, killing the king of Demons, Ravana who had forcibly taken away his wife Sita. Diwali marks his victorious return to his kingdom along with Hanuman, the Vanar who helped him in achieving success. The legend states it took 20 days for Rama to return to his kingdom after defeating Ravana. As with other Indian festivals, Diwali signifies many different things to people across the country. In north India, Diwali celebrates Rama's homecoming from fourteen years of exile that is his return to Ayodhya after defeating Ravana and his coronation as king; in Gujarat, the festival is celebrated to honor goddess Lakshmi, the goddess of wealth; and in Bengal, it is related with the goddess Kali. But everywhere, it is celebrated with the same sprit and signifies the renewal of life.

Diwali is one of the most celebrated festivities in the Indian culture. Uniting all members of the community, young and old, rich or poor, the lighting of the lamps represents a way of paying obeisance to God for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and valoured fame People give expressions to their happiness by lighting earthen diyas and decorating the houses to welcome Lakshmi- the Goddess of wealth and prosperity, bursting fire crackers and inviting the near and dear ones to their households for partaking in the luxurious feast. The lighting of lamps is a way of paying obeisance to God for attainment of health, wealth, knowledge, peace and fame and it also signifies goodness. It is also marked as the beginning of the Hindu New Year and as a brand new beginning for all. Diwali is celebrated for five days, each day having it's own significance, rituals and myths
DIWALI is a five-day festival, which includes Dhanteras, Narak Chaturdashi, Deepawali, Govardhan and Bhaiya Dooj.

Happy deepavali.
]]> Mon, 27 Oct 2008 00:37:13 -0400 62379 http://www.dreamteammoney.com/index.php?showtopic=62283

Imprecise though they may be, campaign finance reports offer a road map to the battlefield.

Republicans are moving money to Nevada, Colorado, Pennsylvania and Florida -- and taking it out of New Mexico, where George Bush won four years ago, a close look at the latest campaign finance disclosures filed with the Federal Election Commission in the past 24 hours shows.

Barack Obama and the Democratic National Committee are sending millions to those states and several more. They money is being used for getting out the vote in the final push leading up to election day.

In another indication of Obama’s money advantage over John McCain, he and the DNC transferred $23.4 million to state Democratic parties, including several in states that McCain must hold in order to win.

The Republican National Committee transferred $11.3 million, though it was bolstered by transfers from a few other state parties.

McCain, limited to spending no more than the federal grant of $84 million, apparently did not use it to shift money to state parties in the first part of October.

The reports covering the first 15 days of October show that the GOP is taking money out of New Mexico -- a state that it had hoped to hold, after George Bush won a narrow victory there four years ago.

The New Mexico Republican Party shifted $250,000 to its Nevada counterpart, while the Republican National Committee sent the $1.2 million to the Silver State.

California’s Republican Party also transferred $1 million over the Donner Summit to Nevada, according to state party spokesman Hector Barajas, who was in Nevada helping with the campaign to hold five electoral votes for McCain.

Obama and the DNC sent $900,000 to Nevada, and organized labor was making a major push to get out the vote there.

The RNC also sent $1.13 million to Colorado hoping to hang on to its nine electoral votes. California’s GOP sent $2 million to the Rocky Mountain State.

Obama and the DNC sent $1.4 million to Colorado in the first 15 days of the month.

Obama and the DNC also underscored the Democratic desire to wrest Wisconsin, sending $2.1 million to that state’s Democratic Party. Another $2.5 million went to the Ohio Democratic Party.

Florida and Pennsylvania, of course, remain centers for spending.

The DNC and Obama transferred $4 million to the Sunshine State while the RNC sent $3.2 million there in the first 15 days of the month. Then there is Pennsylvania. The RNC moved $1.5 million there, to the Democrats' $2 million.

-- Dan Morain

Photo credit: Alex Brandon/AP

Source: http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington...k-obama-sp.html]]> Sat, 25 Oct 2008 00:11:30 -0400 62283