Articles and analysis

By Great North News staff reporter

It's a bad day for Gary McKinnon who today lost his battle in the European Court of Human Rights and faces extradition to the US in the next fortnight after allegedly hacking into dozens of US military computers looking for proof of extraterrestrial intelligence, or at least a CIA cover-up.

It is reported that he broke into the Pentagon's system from his London flat and left a message saying 'your security is crap.'

US officials allege that McKinnon caused around £354,000 worth of damage and severely threatened national security, rendering 200 computers unusable at a US navy weapons station immediately after 9/11. If extradited, he faces up to 70 years in prison and his lawyers have warned that he could even be given the death penalty. It is said that, using the codename Solo, McKinnon hacked into 97 US military and NASA computers.

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By Fred Burton and Scott Stewart

Summer has arrived, bringing with it rumors of attacks against the U.S. homeland. Currently, we are hearing unconfirmed word of plans in place for jihadists to be dispatched from Pakistan to conduct coordinated suicide attacks against soft targets in as many as 10 U.S. cities.

This year, the rumors seem to be emerging a little later and with a little less fanfare than last year, when we saw a number of highly publicized warnings, such as that from Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff and a National Intelligence Estimate saying al Qaeda was gaining strength.

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By Great North News Services staff reporter

A new Defence White Paper was commissioned in February this year, "a vital planning document that will form the foundation of our future Defence capabilities", according to Defence Minister Fitzgibbon.

"We owe it to the Australian people to get this planning right. The White Paper will help the government make fully-informed and cost-effective decisions about the military capabilities we need to defend Australia and to promote our interests," he said.

A series of accompanying reviews (Companion Reviews) will be conducted across a range of defence areas to underpin the new White Paper. They will be a key input to developing defence business and budget priorities from now until 2030.

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