drum roll

German encription experts have coordinated a hack of international cellular telephone encription codes to "demonstrate the weaknesses of the security measures protecting the global system for mobile communication (GSM) and to push mobile operators to improve their systems."

The GSM code, which is now freely circulating on the internet, will compromise the security of phone calls of more than 3b people in 212 countries. 3G phone transmissions use a different security code and will not be affected.
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North Tehran- Anti-government protestors arrest and beat Basij. Interestingly the protests have spread beyond the affluent neighborhoods of northern Tehran into many cities throughout the country. Also, anti-government crowds are populated with more and more traditionally dressed Iranian, which leads analysts to believe the Mousavi movement is gaining more widespread support. Feb. 12th is the next Iranian national holiday and could be witness to the next round or widespread demonstration.

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WSJ op-ed by McKinnon on Orszag monumental challenge to decrease US federal spending. Mr. Orszag is aiming to drop the deficit to 3% of total GDP within 5 years. In fiscal year 2015, this would mean elimination of $180 billion in spending which roughly equates to the combined annual spending of the departments of Commerce, Energy, Interior and Transportation.

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Israeli authorities have arrested Mordechai Vanunu for allegedly disclosing intimate details concerning the countries clandestine nuclear program.