Towleroad

Obama's Cyber-War on Iran

Who needs bombs when you have insidious computer "worms" to knock out Iran's nuclear facilities?

The NYT reports on the unintended leak of U.S. efforts to attack Iran's nuclear capability with a cyber-"worm", and the President's order to escalate:

“Should we shut this thing down?” Mr. Obama asked, according to members of the president’s national security team who were in the room.

Told it was unclear how much the Iranians knew about the code, and offered evidence that it was still causing havoc, Mr. Obama decided that the cyberattacks should proceed. In the following weeks, the Natanz plant was hit by a newer version of the computer worm, and then another after that. The last of that series of attacks, a few weeks after Stuxnet was detected around the world, temporarily took out nearly 1,000 of the 5,000 centrifuges Iran had spinning at the time to purify uranium.

This account of the American and Israeli effort to undermine the Iranian nuclear program is based on interviews over the past 18 months with current and former American, European and Israeli officials involved in the program, as well as a range of outside experts. None would allow their names to be used because the effort remains highly classified, and parts of it continue to this day.

Magic Mike's 'Raining Men' Strip Tease, Village People One-Sheet: VIDEO

The Magic Mike publicity machine is going into full-throttle with the debut of the film's Village People-esque one-sheet and a new teaser clip which debuted on MTV's Movie Awards Sneak Peek last night of the main characters stripping to "It's Raining Men".

Check out the one-sheet and the clip, AFTER THE JUMP...

Get More: Movie Trailers, Movies Blog

'Rhinestone Rhino' Unveiled in Birmingham UK's Gay Village

I've posted about this project occasionally over the past year. The massive sparkling rhinoceros being approved by the Birmingham, England City Council to revitalize the city center and gay village is now a reality, the Birmingham Mail reports:

Three artists were commissioned to design and create the rhino: Emma Butler, Vikki Litton and Robbie Coleman. Emma said they started making the statue in February. It was made out of a polystyerene mould, carved into a rhino shape and then coated in fibreglass. Its “bling” was created out of 80 pieces of smashed mirror and dozens of fake diamonds.

“We’re immensely proud of it and feel like proud parents but know that it now belongs to the community,” she said.

She said they had also given the rhino - which is neither male or female but gender neutral - a “heart”. This is a memory stick put inside the statue containing music, photos, videos and stories from the city’s lesbian and gay community.

The rhino has been an until-now largely abandoned gay rights symbol.

From the website Lambda.org:

The purple rhino made its first appearance in December 1974. It was created by two Boston gay rights activists: one source names Bernie Toal and Tom Morganti, another says it was Bernie Toal and Daniel Thaxton. The entire campaign was intended to bring gay issues further into public view. The rhino started being displayed in subways in Boston, but since the creators didn't qualify for a public service advertising rate, the campaign soon became too expensive for the activists to handle. The ads disappeared, and the rhino never caught on anywhere else.

As Toal put it, "The rhino is a much maligned and misunderstood animal and, in actuality, a gentle creature." But when a rhinoceros is angered, it fights ferociously. At the time, this seemed a fitting symbol for the gay rights movement. Lavender was used because it was a widely recognized gay pride color and the heart was added to represent love and the "common humanity of all people." The purple rhinoceros was never copyrighted and is public domain.

A Smoke-Free Gay Military Marriage Proposal: VIDEO

Whether or not this is real, it's definitely evidence that the folks at anti-smoking campaign CRUSH have a firm grip on what's going viral these days.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

(via afterelton)

Massive Iceberg Flips Near Boat in Argentina: VIDEO

Here's the latest viral iceberg video, in which ecotourists appear remarkably calm while a massive piece of ice swings from under the ocean with potentially boat-eliminating force in Argentina's Los Glaciares National Park. Writes the videographer:

This Iceberg was "calved" by Argentina's Uppsala glacier. While we were passing by it with a catamaran, the huge berg lost a part of itself (look at the right side sinking) and then flipped over with a huge roar. In the process of melting this happens all the time, but it is seldom that it is captured on video WHEN it happens...

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...

Bill Clinton Says Obama Will Win, Calls Romney's Bain Career 'Sterling': VIDEO

Bill Clinton appeared on CNN's Piers Morgan Tonight broke from Democrats and the Obama campaign, which have both been attacking Romney's record at Bain Capital, and called that record "sterling" while speaking assuredly of an Obama win in November:

On Thursday, Clinton said Romney's record at Bain was less important than his ideas for the country.

"I think the real issue ought to be, what has Governor Romney advocated in the campaign that he will do as president?" Clinton said. "What has President Obama done and what does he propose to do? How do these things stack up against each other?"

Clinton said there was no question Romney was capable of performing the "essential functions of the office."

"The man who has been governor and had a sterling business career crosses the qualification threshold," Clinton said.

Watch, AFTER THE JUMP...