Summary Box: UK spies ask hackers to crack code (AP)

CLOAK: Britain's electronic listening agency, GCHQ, is trying to reach individuals with "a keen interest in code breaking and ethical hacking" for new career opportunities. Officials say they need people to counter "threats to information and computer technology." However, anyone who has hacked illegally need not apply, according to GCHQ.

DAGGER: The agency revealed it is behind an online campaign to find the next generation of cyber spooks. It launched a cryptic website last month featuring a box of code made up of numbers and letters. There is no branding on the site, only the phrase "Can you crack it?"

POCKET PROTECTORS: More than 50 people have successfully cracked the code so far ? of which 80 percent have submitted an application.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/security/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111202/ap_on_bi_ge/eu_britain_spy_games_summary_box

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Humane Society: Pets aren't good gifts ? Hinsdale news, photos ...

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Carrie and Grant Johnson purchase a Giving Tree Ornament at Hinsdale Humane Society. (Photo submitted by the Hinsdale Humane Society)

While the Hinsdale Humane Society is looking for many things to help the shelter during the holiday season, adopting a pet as a Christmas present isn?t one of them.

?We strongly discourage adopting pets for someone else as a gift,? said Jennifer Vlazny, operations manager for the shelter. ?The person who will be living with and taking care of the animal should pick it out. Buying an animal is like buying a house ? people have different tastes.?

The holiday season is also a very hectic time of year, which can be traumatic and stressful for a new dog or cat, Vlazny said. Instead, she suggests giving a promise certificate or something to represent the gift will cover all costs with the adoption of an animal.

?While it?s cute to put a big bow on an animal and place it under the tree, it?s important to make sure the pet is a good match,? said Pam Salomone, events director for the shelter. ?Our focus is making sure the right pet ends up with the right person. The animals are less likely to come back to us that way.?

While the shelter always encourages adoption, Salomone said it?s important to make sure it?s the right time for the receiving party to take on an animal.

Vlazny said the humane society?s adoptions are up 20 percent in 2011 compared to 2010, but there are still unfulfilled needs and day-to-day operation costs that the shelter needs help with this holiday season.

Salomone said those looking to help the shelter during the holiday season can pick an ornament off the giving tree, sponsor an animal for the season or purchase holiday cards made by the shelter. The giving tree lets the person interested in helping choose an ornament with a specific item listed, ranging from $12 to $200.

?We?ve got everything from paper towels to cat chow to medicine on the ornaments,? Salomone said. ?These kinds of items help us tremendously ? they help us get through the year.?

For more information on holiday giving ideas through the Hinsdale Humane Society, click here.

bdoyle@tribune.com

Source: http://triblocal.com/hinsdale/2011/12/02/humane-society-pets-arent-good-gifts/

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Oklahoma vs Oklahoma State 2011 NCAA Football Picks Week 14

The Oklahoma State Cowboys (10-1, 7-1 Big 12) will get their final opportunity to wow the 2011 NCAA football picks voters when they take the field against the Oklahoma Sooners (9-2, 6-2 Big 12) on Saturday at 8:00pm ET on ABC in this year?s installment of the Bedlam rivalry. The Cowboys can finish the regular season with one loss and ranked no lower than third with a win over the Sooners, but a blowout win combined by an LSU blowout loss, could perhaps confuse this year?s BCS Title Game scenarios even more. The Cowboys were rolling right along before a crucial loss all but knocked them out of National Title contention. Yes, Alabama also has only one loss, but their loss came to the best team in the country. Oklahoma State?s only loss was a huge NCAA football odds upset at the hands of the Iowa State Cyclones in a game that saw OSU dominate the betting lines as -27.5 point favorites.

The Cowboys may have been playing with heavy hearts in that game, as the university had just lost their women?s basketball Head Coach and Assistant Coach in a tragic plane crash just days after the Cowboys held a service to honor the 10-year anniversary of another fatal plane crash that took the lives of some of the members of the men?s basketball program. It almost sounds made-up, but nothing about these tragedies s unreal. Quarterback Brandon Weeden and wide-out Justin Blackmon will try to give their home fans one last show this season and when they take the field against the Sooners, they will be doing so as 3.5 point NCAA football predictions favorites at Boone Pickens Stadium in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

Oklahoma has featured one of the nation's most powerful offenses this season, but on Saturday against Oklahoma State, they will be without leading rusher, Dominique Whaley, and leading wide receiver, Ryan Broyles. Oklahoma State has lost the last seven games in this Bedlam rivalry series, and now would be a good time for Head Coach Mike Gundy to secure his first win over a depleted Sooners squad. They must fight tooth and nail however, because Bob Stoops has a system in place that does not rely on any single player, but on the team as a whole. The Cowboys have not taken the field since their November 18th loss to Iowa State so he has to make sure that his team comes out ready to play because if they are slow to come out of the gates, then Oklahoma will pull away before the Cowboys figure out what hit them.

If you're looking for the inside edge, subscribe to our free sports picks newsletter and get the insight you need to make an informed decision from the top NCAA football handicapping experts before every sports wager!

NCAA Football Odds at Bodog Sportsbook
Oklahoma Sooners +3.5, Over 71 (-105), Money Lines +135
Oklahoma State Cowboys -3.5, Under 71 (-115), Money Lines -155

Submitted by Michael Davis on Sat, 12/03/2011 - 11:11am.

Source: http://www.onlinesportshandicapping.com/news-995/football-picks/120311-oklahoma-vs-oklahoma-state-2011-ncaa-football-picks-week-14.html

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Sarkozy: Paris, Berlin to push for treaty changes

PARIS (AP) ? French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he and the German chancellor will push for European treaty changes to "rethink the organization of Europe" in order to protect the euro.

Sarkozy said in a speech on Thursday that he and Angela Merkel would unveil proposals at a meeting on Monday in Paris.

But he provided few details about what the changes would entail.

THIS IS A BREAKING NEWS UPDATE. Check back soon for further information. AP's earlier story is below.

PARIS (AP) ? French President Nicolas Sarkozy says he and the German chancellor will meet in Paris on Monday to unveil proposals that he said will "guarantee the future of Europe."

Sarkozy, who was speaking in Toulon in southern France on Thursday, did not specify what he and Angela Merkel might propose to help alleviate Europe's financial crisis.

The two countries are the powerhouses of the European economy.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-01-EU-France-Financial-Crisis/id-697fe03c82894ad9a74a1b6d3f1b2f23

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Mich. mother convicted of killing kids gets life (AP)

DETROIT ? Calling it a "horrendous" crime, a judge sentenced a Detroit-area mother to life in prison Wednesday for setting a fire that trapped and killed two of her children in a mobile home.

Sharon Hinojosa says the tragedy in Huron Township was an accident. But prosecutors accused her of intentionally setting the fire in a bid to improve her relationship with a boyfriend, the father of another child who escaped the blaze in Hinojosa's arms.

Wayne County Circuit Judge Daniel Hathaway said Hinojosa's acts in 2009 "constituted a complete betrayal of what being a mother stands for."

She was convicted earlier this month of first-degree murder in the deaths of son Anthony, 4, and daughter Alayna, 3. The judge said it was "horrendous" and "heinous."

Hinojosa, 31, turned to the courtroom gallery, apologized and said she loved her kids.

"You think you're mourning? I'm mourning, too," she said.

The remarks angered relatives of the victims who moments earlier told the judge about the impact on their lives. Alayna's grandmother, Denise Jones, said it was "cowardly" for Hinojosa to "disregard these children like a bag of garbage."

Hinojosa's attorney, Bryan Sherer, declined to comment.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/crime/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_re_us/us_fatal_fire_mom

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Seagate outs second-gen Momentus XT: a 750GB hybrid laptop drive for $189

Seagate was quick to jump into the hybrid HDD/SSD fray last year, with the decently priced and capable Momentus XT. Now we have a successor with identical branding, but with the HDD upped to 742GB, NAND storage slightly increased to 8GB, plus a faster SATA III 6Gb/s interface. The 'flash-assisted drive' promises to cut boot-up and lag times compared to a standard laptop hard disk, by gradually learning which of your files are popular enough to deserve a spot in that solid state VIP lounge. We're looking at a price of $189, including a five-year warranty, and availability from today. Read on the full PR.

Continue reading Seagate outs second-gen Momentus XT: a 750GB hybrid laptop drive for $189

Seagate outs second-gen Momentus XT: a 750GB hybrid laptop drive for $189 originally appeared on Engadget on Tue, 29 Nov 2011 00:01:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Source: http://www.engadget.com/2011/11/29/seagate-outs-second-gen-momentus-xt-a-750gb-hybrid-laptop-drive/

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Romney knocks Gingrich as 'lifelong politician' (AP)

MIAMI ? Mitt Romney aggressively criticized rival Newt Gingrich on Tuesday, calling the former House speaker a "lifelong politician" and questioning Gingrich's ability to fix the country's struggling economy.

Romney, speaking a day after Gingrich criticized him during a campaign stop in South Carolina, told Fox News that Gingrich wasn't as likely to beat President Barack Obama in a general election.

"I think to get President Obama out of office, you're going to have to bring something to the race that's different than what he brings. He's a lifelong politician," Romney said of Gingrich. "I think you have to have the credibility of understanding how the economy works. And I do."

Throughout the campaign, Romney has emphasized his business experience over his political tenure as governor of Massachusetts.

"I think I stand, by far, the best shot of replacing President Obama among the Republicans in the field," Romney said Monday.

Romney has rarely had such harsh words for any of his many Republican rivals, largely choosing instead to attack Obama, stay above the primary fray and frame himself instead as the likely nominee. His pointed criticism illustrates how seriously he is taking Gingrich's recent rise as the main conservative alternative to Romney in the race.

Gingrich had harsh criticism for Romney on Monday. In South Carolina, he called himself "a lot more conservative than Mitt Romney and a lot more electable than anybody else."

"It's wrong to go around and adopt radically different positions based on your need of any one election, then people will have to ask themselves, `What will you tell me next time?'" Gingrich said in a slap at Romney's history of changing positions on issues.

Romney defended himself against that charge in his Tuesday interview with Fox. "Your list is just not accurate," Romney said when asked by anchor Bret Baier about changing his stances on climate change, abortion, gay rights and immigration. "So, one, we're going to have to be better informed about my views on issues."

Romney relied instead on a character argument to defend his record. "You can look at a person who has devoted his life to his family, to his faith, to his country," he said, a line he used in a presidential debate.

That, too, is a subtle criticism of Gingrich: the former House speaker had an extramarital affair and has been married three times.

The primary, so far, has seen a series of conservatives ? Rep. Michele Bachmann, Texas Gov. Rick Perry and businessman Herman Cain ? jump ahead in polls only to fade after mistakes or, in Cain's case, allegations of sexual harassment and an extramarital affair.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/gop/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_on_el_pr/us_romney_gingrich

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