Second Update: Stratfor has sent out this updated message. It may be too little too late. If they didn't encrypt the card data and left full credit card numbers and pins on their servers, it sure doesn't seem like they would be in compliance with PCI Data Security Standards. There will undoubtedly be lawsuits over this. Stratfor can hire the best security firm on the planet now, but its poor judgment is going to cost it subscribers and business and its reputation is going to take a serious hit.

Third Update: There's bickering going on. Sabu responds to a tweeter who says no one else in Anonymous besides #AnonymousIRC and #Anonymous Sabu knew about the hack:

We did the hack under #antisec which is an operation within anonymous. Unsure who made you a leader, but we are decentralized

[More...]

Christmas Eve has arrived. This year at the TL house, we're celebrating with dinner and movies. "Love Actually" is my favorite for this time of year, even though I've probably seen it 10 times.

Whether you're cooking, watching movies, relaxing or celebrating with friends and family, we wish you a Very Happy Holiday Eve.

Darlene Love on Letterman is a Christmas Tradition. I really like this 2005 version.

If you're tracking Santa, he just arrived in Uzbekistan.

What's getting you in the mood for Christmas?

The tradition of making Christmas as pleasant as possible for the inmates at the Pitkin County jail continues. Deputy Sheriff and jail administrator Don Bird says the inmates will not only get their special Christmas day meals, but also wake up to little presents outside their cell door.

[P]roviding good food and a couple of small gifts for those who are incarcerated goes a long way toward helping morale at what can be an exceptionally hard time of the year.

“Nobody’s getting anything pricey,” Bird said. “It’s just something that somebody can get on Christmas so [when] they get up in the morning, there’s something outside their door.”

[More...]

Wait, what? That's right- SATURDAY NFL Open Thread. My investment touts:

Redskins (-7) (3 units); Cardinals (+4 1/2) (3 units); Ravens (-12) (4 units); Chiefs (-3) (3 units); and the J-E-T-S! JETS JETS JETS JETS! (-3) (5 units.) I'm rooting for the G-Men, but the Jets are going to win.

Also too, here's my top investment opportunity in 4 years - Oklahoma State (-3 1/2) over Stanford. LOVE this one. I like the Cowboys by 20.

Finally, Joe Posnanski on Tebow Time:

The Tebow story might be the only story in recent years about which I literally cannot get enough. We live in the Era of Overkill, and most of the wonderful sports stories lose their joy just a few hours into their news cycle. The story (and Tebow himself) have been hyped, re-hyped, soaked, drained, lauded, scorned, celebrated, mocked, on and on and on, to the point where it’s clear that we’re not even talking about Tebow anymore. We’re talking about so many other fascinating things — faith, teamwork, convention, talent, history, will and so on. We’re probably talking about ourselves.

Happy Holidays and Seasons Greetings!

The ACLU has the Criminal Justice Year in Review.

EFF reviews 2011 as "The Year Secrecy Jumped the Shark."

Former DEA agent (now author and security consultant) Robert Mazur, who laundered millions for the cartels on behalf of the agency, smacks down Congressman Darryl Issa's misguided call for a DEA money-laundering probe. (He also delivers a few punches to Union Bank in San Diego, which was in Issa's district, as well as Wachovia.) [More...]

The Civil Rights Division of the Justice Department has rejected South Carolina's Voter ID law on the grounds that it discriminates against minorities.

The law, passed in May and signed by Gov. Nikki Haley ®, requires voters to show a driver’s license or one of several other forms of photo identification.

....The rejection leaves the state with the option of trying to get the law approved by a federal court or passing another law and submitting it to the Justice Department.

It's good to see the Justice Department stepping up to the plate.

We've got blue skies and sunshine today. Time to head outdoors and get all those last minute errands run.

If you missed the X-Factor last night, Melanie Amaro won the $5 million Sony record contract and has producers lining up. The other two finalists needn't worry, Simon Cowell says contracts are also likely to be offered to Josh Krajik, Chris Rene (and Astro.) Ratings were high last night, the show will be back for a second season. I hope it's without Nicole Scherzinger.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

The Justice Department, concluding that there is no legal basis to place greater restrictions on the purchase of guns by lawful immigrants as opposed to citizens, is dropping a policy that did just that.

Here's the letter the ATF has sent out to federal gun licensees.

The Department of Justice (the Department) has recently concluded that, as a matter of law, applying a more stringent State residency requirement for aliens legally present in the U.S. than for U.S. citizens is incompatible with the language of the GCA. As a result, ATF will be revising the regulations in 27 C.F.R. Part 478 to conform to the Department’s conclusions by removing the separate 90-day residency requirement for aliens. Once the regulations have been revised, both U.S. citizens and aliens legally present in the U.S. will be subject to the same requirements for State residency

The Guardian and CNN have good recaps of Bradley Manning's hearing this week.

David Coombs, Manning's lead defense counsel, seemed for focus on two major issues - the Army's lack of response to Manning's emotional and behavior problems as well lack of security in the SCIF where Manning worked in Iraq.

The judge/hearing officer is to make his recommendation to the special Court Martial Convening Authority. by Jan. 16 as to whether Manning should face a full courts-martial proceeding. If convicted of the charges, Manning faces a potential life sentence.

There's nothing better than homemade green chile and a good bottle of wine on a cold winter's night.

That's what we're doing here, and watching the finale of the X-Factor.

Here's an open thread, all topics welcome.

We got 9 inches of snow last night, and it's still piling up. 12 to 16 inches are expected before the storm is done-- much more outside of Denver. It's a great day to work from home.

As usual, viewers from our local Channel 7 news have submitted some great photos.

[Hat tip to Skippy for making this graphic several snow seasons ago.]

This is an open thread, all topics welcome.