CIA
expands WMD search to the web
The CIA’s most wanted is no person; it wants knowledge.
In the hot seat over its intelligence boo-boo over Iraqi arms programs,
the agency is offering rewards for specific and verifiable information on
the location of stocks of recently made Iraqi chemical or biological
weapons, missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles or their components. The
notice, posted online Tuesday and called the Iraqi Rewards Program, is a
reaction to criticism of U.S. intelligence agencies for prewar assumptions
that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction, despite none being found
since the invasion. The U.S. leader in tracking down banned weapons in
Iraq, David Kay, stepped down last month and said he was not convinced
that they even existed. The web site also offered rewards for former
leaders of Saddam Hussein’s Baathist regime.
AOL
warns: Buddylinks more like Buddyjinks
Buddylinks is not the way to make friends. The software
infected computers after some AOL Instant Messenger users were flooded
with messages purportedly from friends that linked to an Osama bin Laden
game. Once downloaded, the game installed the piggybacking software.
Buddylinks is not technically a virus because users must accept its terms
of service before installing; however, many skip the fine print. The
sneaky program is cleverly engineered, inspiring confidence when it
appears to be sent from a friend. America Online spokesman Andrew
Weinstein said it is investigating what can be done to prevent the
continued spread. On Wednesday, Buddylinks’ web site posted a message
claiming the program is not a virus. Buddylinks reportedly sprung from a
company called Clickspring, which antivirus companies has labeled as an
adware and spyware distributor.
Scheming
spammers ordered to return $25K
Spammers
who surreptitiously billed online victims $3.99 per minute after drawing
them to their site with a free-gift ploy have agreed to settle deceptive
business charges. The online scammers have returned more than $25,000 and
will allow government oversight of their business activities, according to
the Federal Trade Commission. The FTC charges filed in March 2002 cited
complaints from internet users who received an e-mail saying they were
winners of a Sony PlayStation 2 in a sweepstakes contest sponsored by
Yahoo Inc. Respondents were sent to a phony Yahoo page that told them to
download a program. The program connected them to a pornographic web site
charging them $3.99 a minute through a 1-900 telephone line without their
knowledge.
On
eBay, buy former 'Bachelor' Buerge's ring
A new option for Valentine’s Day shoppers is the
ring former ABC “Bachelor” Aaron Buerge gave ex-fiancée
Helene Eksterowicz on the show’s second season. The Harry Winston
2.78-carat diamond and platinum ring is being auctioned on eBay until Feb.
19. Those with large pockets can make a bid for the ring at the starting
price of $17,500. Eksterowicz, an elementary psychologist, is giving part
of her cut of the deal to an audio library for her school’s
special-education students. Some of Buerge’s share of the profits will
go to the Gillioz Theatre in Springfield, Mo. The winner of the ring will
get more than just a flashy rock; the ring package also includes signed
memorabilia from Buerge’s restaurant, Trolley’s Grille, a signed copy
of Eksterowicz’s new book, “Nobody’s Perfect,” and a
meet-and-greet session with the two in New York City.
S.
Korea bans bum-shaped V-Day chocolate
South Korea prefers its
Valentine’s chocolate in bar shapes, thank you. Yesterday the South
Korean Food and Drug Administration banned St. Valentine’s Day
chocolates resembling suggestive shapes such as genitals, buttocks or
couples making love. Fifteen firms, including an internet shopping site,
were subject to the ban on bawdy bonbons that officials said could
influence candy-consuming youth. The agency said the 15 firms would either
be notified officially that they must cease production of these products
or face a two-month business suspension. South Korea’s tradition of
women giving on St. Valentine’s Day and men returning the favor one
month later certainly won’t be as sweet.
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