A computer hacker or computer hackers stole thousands of credit card numbers after managing to breach security at two U.S. grocery store chains owned by Belgium-based Delhaize Group SA, the companies admitted.
Nearly 2,000 cases of fraud have been linked to the breach, but no personal information such as names or addresses was accessed when the hacker broke into the Hannaford Bros. stores in Massachusetts, New England and New York, and Sweetbay customers in Florida, Hannaford claimed in a statement. The question is, how do they know that no other information was accessed.
According to Boston's WBZ radio 4.2 million credit and debit card numbers were stolen. Company officials were not immediately available to confirm the number of stolen card numbers. In other words, officials of the company were not prepared to admit that the is so large. They are working on so-called “damage control”, I am sure.
Hannaford, headquartered in Scarborough, Maine, said that it had become aware of unusual credit card activity on February 27 and began an investigation. It said the data was illegally accessed during the credit card authorization process. And how is this possible? If it is that easy to access such information then, maybe, we better all went back to cash payments and, maybe, checks. This definitely does not make for inspiring confidence in the systems that are in place to safeguard information that companies (and governments) hold on us. Time to put the breaks on this, methinks.
Hannaford Chief Executive Ron Hodge offered an apology for the intrusion. There are 165 Hannaford stores in the U.S. Northeast and 106 Sweetbay supermarkets in Florida.
"We sincerely regret any concern or inconvenience this has caused," Hodge said in a statement. "We have taken aggressive steps to augment our network security capabilities."
The breach is the latest at a big U.S. retailer and comes after U.S. retail group TJX Cos Inc disclosed last year that data from 45.7 million credit and debit cards were stolen by hackers over a period of 18 months, as well as personal information for 451,000 people.
A group of banks later asserted in court documents that the number of consumer accounts were affected was closer to 94 million, a charge Massachusetts-based TJX denied.
But, how can this be? The data we give out is supposed to be so secure. Yes, I am being sarcastic; a trait I am well known for. Our data is simply NOT secure on an such systems that can be accessed from the “outside” so to speak, whether business or government. This is yet another reason for for us all not to trust the governments with our personal data for any kind of national ID card scheme, whether in the UK or in the USA. With all the information in digital for cloning it is all so much easier and NOT harder, as they try to tell us all the time.
Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Sport Relief - Register - But HURRY!!!
Get active and do good at the same time!
Click on the button below to register for the Sport Relief Mile!
Hurry up! It is this Sunday, March 16th. 
Fighting the Banana Wars and other FAIRTRADE Battles - Book Review
Fighting the Banana Wars and other FAIRTRADE Battles
Harriet Lamb, CBE
Foreword by George Alagiah
© Fairtrade Foundation
Published February 2008
Published by Rider, an imprint of Ebury Publishing
ISBN 978-1-84-604083-2
Price: GBP 10.99
This is a most interesting and informative book about the beginning of the Fairtrade movement and the Fairtrade Foundation and about the ongoing battles to this very day; and eye-witness account from someone who has been there from the first hour.
This book is, in my opinion, a must read for anyone remotely interested in this subject and especially for anyone wishing to support and promote Fairtrade.
All royalties from the sale of this book go to the Fairtrade Foundation so, therefore, in buying this book you aid a good cause.
The writing style of this book is so open and easy despite the fact that it is a factual book and is quite full of humor and human warmth. One can nearly hear the voices of the people whose words are reproduced.
I can but recommend this book and must say that I have learned a great deal as to how it all started from just the first pages of the book and as to why and it can but make one incensed as to the way the poor farmers and worked, whether in the banana plantations or the tea gardens, we, and to a degree, especially where Fairtrade is not at work as yet, are still being treated. We still have a very long way to go before all will get a fair price for their produce and their work. The lack of a fair price for their produce could even apply to the farmers in countries such as the UK, seeing that milk is cheaper than bottled water, the latter which so often is but repackaged tap water.
I can but say that I did not realize what struggle has been to get the first Fairtrade bananas, for instance, onto the shelves of stores, and especially supermarket, in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
It is my opinion that we must work to bring Fairtrade also to and into other “industries”, such as rubber, cotton, clothes, carpets, crafts; the list is endless, methinks.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Harriet Lamb, CBE
Foreword by George Alagiah
© Fairtrade Foundation
Published February 2008
Published by Rider, an imprint of Ebury Publishing
ISBN 978-1-84-604083-2
Price: GBP 10.99
This is a most interesting and informative book about the beginning of the Fairtrade movement and the Fairtrade Foundation and about the ongoing battles to this very day; and eye-witness account from someone who has been there from the first hour.
This book is, in my opinion, a must read for anyone remotely interested in this subject and especially for anyone wishing to support and promote Fairtrade.
All royalties from the sale of this book go to the Fairtrade Foundation so, therefore, in buying this book you aid a good cause.
The writing style of this book is so open and easy despite the fact that it is a factual book and is quite full of humor and human warmth. One can nearly hear the voices of the people whose words are reproduced.
I can but recommend this book and must say that I have learned a great deal as to how it all started from just the first pages of the book and as to why and it can but make one incensed as to the way the poor farmers and worked, whether in the banana plantations or the tea gardens, we, and to a degree, especially where Fairtrade is not at work as yet, are still being treated. We still have a very long way to go before all will get a fair price for their produce and their work. The lack of a fair price for their produce could even apply to the farmers in countries such as the UK, seeing that milk is cheaper than bottled water, the latter which so often is but repackaged tap water.
I can but say that I did not realize what struggle has been to get the first Fairtrade bananas, for instance, onto the shelves of stores, and especially supermarket, in the UK and elsewhere in Europe.
It is my opinion that we must work to bring Fairtrade also to and into other “industries”, such as rubber, cotton, clothes, carpets, crafts; the list is endless, methinks.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Terrorist Attack on Yeshiva in Jerusalem
While, I am sure, we all condemn, as we indeed must, the terrorist attack and murder of the rabbinical students at the Yeshiva in Jerusalem the other day one must, nevertheless, wonder how it can be that the government of the United States of America and and that of the United Kingdom ONLY every condemn attacks by Palestinians on Jews but never, it would appear, the other way round.
Those two countries, with Germany in addition, only ever come out in the defense of the Zionist state of Israel and its citizens and nothing is said of 100s, including children, being murdered by IDF actions against the civilian population of Gaza, for example. Nor are the targeted assassinations of Hamas officials, who, after all, won the election in Gaza, with even the observers from Western nations stating that the elections were fair, open and free, and often, during those assassinations innocent bystanders are killed or even the wrong people all together, again, often including children.
But, no condemnation from the states that immediately are very vociferous when it is Jews that are killed. Nothing is ever said against the Jewish terror, and terror it is, against the Palestinians of Gaza and elsewhere, and the blockade of Gaza, with people being forced to live off aid, having no electricity, etc.
Is it any wonder that the rest hates the West, and with West we here, obviously, predominately mean the USA and Great Britain? It certainly is not.
As in my previous article I call upon the readers of this journal to join me, and others I hope, in a boycott of Israeli companies, products and produce.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Those two countries, with Germany in addition, only ever come out in the defense of the Zionist state of Israel and its citizens and nothing is said of 100s, including children, being murdered by IDF actions against the civilian population of Gaza, for example. Nor are the targeted assassinations of Hamas officials, who, after all, won the election in Gaza, with even the observers from Western nations stating that the elections were fair, open and free, and often, during those assassinations innocent bystanders are killed or even the wrong people all together, again, often including children.
But, no condemnation from the states that immediately are very vociferous when it is Jews that are killed. Nothing is ever said against the Jewish terror, and terror it is, against the Palestinians of Gaza and elsewhere, and the blockade of Gaza, with people being forced to live off aid, having no electricity, etc.
Is it any wonder that the rest hates the West, and with West we here, obviously, predominately mean the USA and Great Britain? It certainly is not.
As in my previous article I call upon the readers of this journal to join me, and others I hope, in a boycott of Israeli companies, products and produce.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Mozzo Coffee – Product Review
This is a very smooth coffee, in my opinion, the grind of which is, theoretically, intended and designed for use with caffetieres. However, it does work equally well with filter machines that use the metal foil filters, the so-called “Gold filters”. Whether there would be a problem with filter machines using paper filters I cannot say. Then again, I would recommend anyone still using paper filters to get one of the metal foil inserts for their machines. Much better for the environment and for the pocket.Pros:
A very good smooth coffee that I really enjoyed.
Cons:
None found
Verdict:
Very good and can definitely recommend.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
Ubuntu Cola – Product Review
Ubuntu seems to become a rather favorite term for a number of things right now, from a computer operating system to now a cola drink. Both are good in their own rights, but the computer program is not what we shall be looking at here, however. The Cola, on the other hand, is.I had the opportunity to, for the first time, I must admit, try this Cola drink at the launch of Fairtrade Fortnight on Sunday, February 24, 20087 at London's South Bank, and I must say that I was pleasantly surprised as to its taste.
Generally, I no longer drink Cola or Cola-like drinks simply because of the “after bite”, for lack of a better word, from the over-carbonation that often takes your breath away, literally.
Ubuntu Cola appears to have a great deal less carbon dioxide in it than do most other Colas and therefore, in my opinion, has a much more pleasant taste and goes down far more smoothly than others.
The one thing that still will not make me come back to drinking Colas, even Ubuntu Cola, though, is the fact that Ubuntu Cola too, like all other Colas, list phosphoric acid in its ingredients. Personally I do not like the idea of drinking, if I can help it, any substance that is used to clean metals, for instance, as phosphoric acid is.
Pros:
Very pleasant taste due to lower amount of carbon dioxide used.
Cons:
Like all Colas, it contains phosphoric acid.
If you do like Cola, however, and don't, unlike me, mind the phosphoric acid which, as said, is an ingredient in all Colas, as far as I can see and also in Dr. Pepper, then Ubuntu Cola is the one I would recommend to you. I will chose it should I decide that, for some reason, I do want to drink a Cola, that is for certain.
© Michael Smith (Veshengro), March 2008
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