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Showing posts from June 11, 2011

Former West Indies seamer Kentish dies at 94

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Esmond Kentish , who was the oldest living West Indies cricketer, has died at the age of 94. Kentish, a seamer who also played for Jamaica and Oxford University, represented West Indies in two Tests. He made his debut in 1948 and played his second Test six years later, collecting a five-for at Sabina Park against England to help the hosts win. However, he wasn't picked again for the national side. In a first-class career spanning 10 years, he played 27 games, taking 78 wickets at 26.71. "Esmond was a perfect gentleman who was admired by all for the manner in which he conducted himself as a cricketer and a professional man," WICB president Julian Hunte said. Following his retirement, Kentish was West Indies' team manager in 1973 and 1975. He became the first black general manager of the Bank of Jamaica and was conferred the Order of Distinction for services to the bank. He was also a life member of the Jamaica Cricket Association. Kentish is survived by his two daught

West Indies collapse again, losing five for 20

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So what's new? West Indies have collapsed yet again after competing well for 15 overs, losing five wickets for 20 runs in 10 overs after Lendl Simmons and Ramanresh Sarwan provided them a decent platform. It all began - at 65 for 1 in the 15th over - with a mix of ordinary running, good fielding and some misfortune, but didn't seem like stopping anytime soon. Amit Mishra kept tormenting the West Indies batsmen who seem like they won't be able to read his variations if he wrote them down on paper. There was everything, the small legbreak, the big legbreak, the straighter one, and the googly. Simmons was once again the bright spot for West Indies. Even though they lost Kirk Edwards for nought to a good Munaf Patel outswinger, Simmons targeted the same bowler to get the innings underway, hitting him for a four and a six in the sixth over. Sarwan, too, made a positive start to depart from his ways of late, hitting Mishra's second delivery for a straight six. Sarwan's r

Latif's future with Afghanistan still unclear

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Uncertainty continues to surround  Rashid Latif 's position as Afghanistan coach, after an Afghanistan Cricket Board (ACB) official said his contract would not be renewed. Latif, however, says he has not been contacted yet about any decision. Following the 3-0 series defeat to Pakistan 'A' last month Latif had  said  he was disappointed with the attitude and effort put in by some of the players, who he believed did not perform to the best of their abilities because they wanted to see former coach Kabir Khan back in the post. Now, according to a report in the Pakistan newspaper The News  the ACB has decided against renewing Latif's contract. "We believe he has failed to fulfill our expectations and that has prompted us to look at other options," ACB chief executive Naseemullah Danish told the newspaper. "We all respect Latif, but the recent drubbing at the hands of Pakistan A forced us to ponder over our future. We need someone who is mentally tough and d

Pakistan mull Zimbabwe as host for SL series

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Pakistan are considering Zimbabwe as a potential 'host' for the home series against Sri Lanka later this year. The two sides are due to play a full Test and limited-overs series in October, scheduled in the FTP officially as a 'home' series for Pakistan. The PCB intensified efforts to find a venue for the series over the last few months and Sri Lanka itself is an option that has been considered, one Sri Lanka is probably happiest with. In 2009-10, Pakistan played a 'home' series against New Zealand in New Zealand, though financially the trip wasn't a success. The PCB also  asked  Sri Lanka Cricket in May, "for their views" on the prospect of playing the series in Pakistan - at the insistence of the Pakistan government. However, that offer was swiftly  rebuffed . Soon after the PCB had made their request, a major terrorist attack occurred in Karachi at a naval base, which was eventually held under siege overnight, near the National Stadium. The UAE

Major overhaul for Futures League

One of the most widely cited contributors to Australian cricket's sharply declining fortunes over the past few summers, the Futures League, will be drastically overhauled for next season. At the same time Simon Katich  was raging against  the compromises and inconsistencies he saw in Cricket Australia's management and selection structures, the board signed off on a plan to tear up most of the measures introduced to the Futures League - formerly the second XI competition - in 2009. Age restrictions limiting the number of players over the age of 23 to three per team will be relaxed to allow six players over 23, while matches will be returned to four days' length rather than three. Restrictions on the number of overs in each innings - 96 in the first innings, 48 in the second - have also been thrown out. The changes were recommended to the CA board by the playing conditions sub-committee, which included Mark Taylor, Matthew Hayden, Greg Chappell, Shane Warne, players' uni

Major overhaul for Futures League

One of the most widely cited contributors to Australian cricket's sharply declining fortunes over the past few summers, the Futures League, will be drastically overhauled for next season. At the same time Simon Katich  was raging against  the compromises and inconsistencies he saw in Cricket Australia's management and selection structures, the board signed off on a plan to tear up most of the measures introduced to the Futures League - formerly the second XI competition - in 2009. Age restrictions limiting the number of players over the age of 23 to three per team will be relaxed to allow six players over 23, while matches will be returned to four days' length rather than three. Restrictions on the number of overs in each innings - 96 in the first innings, 48 in the second - have also been thrown out. The changes were recommended to the CA board by the playing conditions sub-committee, which included Mark Taylor, Matthew Hayden, Greg Chappell, Shane Warne, players' uni

Middlesex bring Sussex back to earth

Middlesex ended Sussex's unbeaten start to the Friends Life t20 with a five-wicket win at Hove. The visitors reached their target of 164 with a ball to spare with Scott Newman's 39 not out guiding them home. Middlesex began the final over needing eight to win but Rana Naved ran out John Simpson off the first ball. His next delivery was a wide and Newman and Ryan McLaren kept their nerve to secure their first win in the South Group. Newman was dropped three times, firstly when Mike Yardy failed to hang on to a diving effort to his right and twice in the same Monty Panesar over by Rana on the mid-wicket boundary. Middlesex had been put on course by a second-wicket stand of 70 from 47 balls between Australian Chris Rogers and Steven Crook.They came together in the fourth over after Paul Stirling was caught off a top-edge to give left-armer Chris Liddle the first of his two wickets. Rogers and Crook found the gaps expertly to take their side to 101 for 1 when Panesar dragged Susse

Guptill steers Derbyshire to victory

New Zealand opener Martin Guptill found his form at the right time to fire Derbyshire to a five-run Friends Life t20 victory over Durham at Derby. Guptill hit 60 off 43 balls and Wayne Madsen made his first half-century in the competition as the Falcons scored 183 for three to set up an opening win in the North Group. Gordan Muchall led Durham's chase with 62, but after Derbyshire's spinners removed the dangerous Paul Collingwood and Ian Blackwell cheaply, the Dynamos came up short on 178 for five. Guptill looked in good touch from the start as he dispatched the second and third balls of the innings from Graham Onions to the mid-wicket boundary. The Durham seamers tended to pitch too short and Guptill and Wes Durston took advantage until Gareth Breese stemmed the flow with his off-spin. But Guptill still reached his maiden 50 for Derbyshire off 35 balls before launching Ian Blackwell over mid-wicket for six. The opening pair put on 88 in 11 overs, but when Durston tried to rev

Pietersen debut curtailed by rain

Rain denied a crowd of 8,000 the chance to see Kevin Pietersen in batting action as Surrey's Friends Life t20 clash with Glamorgan was abandoned at the midway stage. Pietersen made his competition debut for Surrey, but the crowd had to settle for seeing him field as the visitors, captained by Alviro Petersen, reached a total of 167 for 7. The Glamorgan skipper made 13 before being bowled by Dirk Nannes, who bowled four tight overs, while Jade Dernbach also impressed with the ball for Surrey as he took three for 30. Both sides collected one point for the no-result, and the consolation for Surrey and Glamorgan - if not for the spectators - is that they remain firmly in contention for top-four finishes in the South Group. Thunder and lightning greeted the end of Glamorgan's 20 overs, and the Oval groundstaff were soon hauling on covers while torrential rain fell over south London. For a while, when the weather temporarily cleared, there was hope that play might be able to re-star

Rafiq stars in tight Yorkshire win

Yorkshire's batting line-up held off a Lancashire fightback to secure a tense two-wicket victory in their Friends Life t20 match at Old Trafford. Chasing 123 to gain some revenge for their defeat in the County Championship match last month, Yorkshire reached their target with just two balls to spare but needed some inventive strokeplay from Azeem Rafiq to help them on their way. The offspinner hit two paddle shots to the boundary as the visitors scored the 10 runs they needed off the final over bowled by Tom Smith Earlier in the innings, the Lancashire seamer had claimed the wickets of both openers to reduce the visitors to 34 for 2, and it needed a 37-run third-wicket stand between Adam Lyth and Antony McGrath to put Andrew Gale's side back on course for their second win in just over 24 hours. But the loss of three wickets in nine balls derailed Yorkshire's response once more as seamer Luke Procter got rid of both McGrath for 28 and Gerard Brophy first ball. Although they

Worcestershire post first win

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Worcestershire registered their first Friends Life t20 win of the season following another batting failure by Northamptonshire at New Road. For the third time in four matches the Steelbacks failed to reach 150, and after their latest struggle to 134 for 9, they inevitably paid the price as the Royals strolled home by seven wickets. After Vikram Solanki's departure in Jack Brooks' second over, Moeen Ali and Alexei Kervezee put on 85 in 11 overs for the hosts despite batting through bad light and rain. Moeen picked up six boundaries in a 45-ball half-century and when Kervezee smashed a six and a four in James Middlebrook's final over, the target was down to 41 from 36 deliveries. There was only a minor a blip when Johan Botha took wickets in successive balls. David Murphy stumped Moeen for 53 off a leg-side wide and Shakib Al Hasan was given out lbw before Gareth Andrew managed to survive the South African's hat-trick attempt. In the end the Royals had two overs to spare

Rain ends Nottinghamshire's winning streak

Nottinghamshire's perfect record in the Friends Life t20 came to a soggy end when their clash with Leicestershire was abandoned after a thunderstorm at Grace Road. The Outlaws posted 164 for 8 after being put into bat with David Hussey hitting 32 off 16 balls to go past fellow Australian Brad Hodge's world record total of 3,690 runs in Twenty20 cricket. But with the Foxes at 21 without loss after 2.4 overs of their reply, heavy rain followed by thunder and lightning brought an end to proceedings leaving the teams with one point each. It meant an end to Nottinghamshire's three-game winning run to start the competition while the Foxes were also robbed of the chance to end their 10-game winless run at Grace Road. The last time the Foxes won a Twenty20 match at home was against Yorkshire in June 2009. With the pitch tinged with green Foxes' captain Matthew Hoggard put the Outlaws into bat and left-arm seamer Harry Gurney had them rocking with two wickets in his second over

Hampshire maintain perfect record

Hampshire Royals made it five wins from five in the Friends Life t20 with a nine-run victory over winless Gloucestershire Gladiators at Archdeacon Meadow. Neil McKenzie led the Royals to 165 for 4 with an unbeaten 89 from 53 balls, while left-arm spinner Ed Young took 2 for 14 in his four overs. Home captain Alex Gidman top scored with 43 not out in the Gladiators' reply of 156 for 6, and there were useful contributions from Hamish Marshall (33) and Kane Williamson (28), but they still fell short of their target. After being put into bat, the Royals lost the wickets of Michael Lumb, run out by Marshall's direct hit, and James Vince, bowled by Muttiah Muralitharan, in struggling to 10 for 2 in the third over. James Adams and McKenzie revived the innings with a partnership of 51 in six overs, which ended when the former, on 22, reverse-swept Young to Ian Saxelby at short third man. Sean Ervine struck Williamson for six over midwicket during a stand of 56 in eight overs with McKe

Points split after Taunton washout

Somerset's Friends Life t20 game against Kent at Taunton was abandoned without a ball bowled. Umpires Trevor Jesty and Richard Illingworth made the decision after a 6.45pm pitch inspection. The heavy rain which had fallen during the afternoon had stopped, but the outfield was deemed too wet to play on.

Sri Lanka top order punishes Essex

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The Sri Lankans had a satisfying opening day against Essex as centuries from two top-order batsmen left them in a strong position. The man likely to take the place of injured captain Tillakaratne Dilshan in the third Test, Lahiru Thirimanne, and the out-of-form former captain, Kumar Sangakkara, both made hundreds on a rain-hit day to make it a day of toil for the Essex bowlers. It was not Sangakkara who led the side but Thilan Samaraweera, who chose to bat. The rain which has dogged much of the tour followed Sri Lanka to Chelmsford, and only 14 overs were possible before lunch, with three stoppages of play. Tharanga Paranavitana, who has made plenty of runs on the tour, and Thirimanne began brightly putting on 53 before showers forced an early lunch. Paranavitana nicked to the wicketkeeper soon after the break to give left-arm medium-pacer Tymal Mills his first wicket in first-class cricket, and that proved to be the only breakthrough for Essex till about half an hour before stumps as

Can West Indies learn from India?

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West Indies with Chris Gayle are competitive at times. West Indies without Gayle have seemed as flat as a flawed artist who lost whatever little inspiration he had. The familiar script has played out: there have been few partnerships of substance, the precious few have been broken at the wrong time, and the house has collapsed in a heap. The bowlers have not been getting enough breakthroughs, when they have managed to, they haven't been able to sustain any pressure. Like a closed loop, West Indies continue to stumble from one failure to another. Men placed in seemingly hopeless situations have no choice but to cling on to hope, and that is what Darren Sammy has been doing. After every loss, he puts on a brave face and undertakes an honest search for positives. When the execution is flawed, he talks about intent being there. He wants Ramnaresh Sarwan to play the role of a finisher; Sarwan's strike-rate has remained stuck in the early 60s. Not that West Indies haven't had th

New and matured Saif Ali Khan in MW

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'Saif Ali Khan New and Matured' says the cover of Man's World magazine this month. Dressed in Nehru jacket, the star truly looks like an elegant 'nawab' on the cover. Saif is on a high, career wise as he is acting in and even producing some of the biggest projects of this year. However, his dream project is a film based on his father's life. Says Saif, "It would be an interesting sports based film on overcoming a handicap. My father played all his test cricket with one eye. The only hitch is, we can't think of anyone cool enough to play his role." In the magazine, Saif also speaks about his take on cars and bikes, his favourite cricketer, his preference between older and younger women, his comfort food, his last meal on earth and his pick between Rajinikanth and Amitabh Bachchan! All in all, an issue that's worth collecting! 

Shahid Kapoor to play Muslim character in Kunal Kohli's next

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For the first time in his career, Shahid Kapoor is playing a Muslim character in Kunal Kohli's film. It's a character named Javed, who is supposed to be from an educated cultured progressive and pragmatic Muslim family. And who better equipped to give Shahid tips on Islamic genteelness than his mother Neelima Azim? Having imbibed infinite wisdom in acting from his father, the distinguished Pankaj Kapoor, Shahid is gravitating towards his talented mother for advice. Says a source, "Shahid has been largely influenced by his father in his growing up years and has often sought his father's advice on how to approach roles. Now when he's playing a Muslim for the first time, it's time for him to seek inspiration from his mother's side of the family." Shahid had spent his childhood in a flat in Delhi with his mother where he would often be visited by his Nanaji (maternal grandfather) Anwar Azim, a renowned author and thinker. Says a sourc

Is Sunny really playing a cop in Ghayal Returns?

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First Look teaser of Ghayal Returns has made a smashing impact though one fact that has continued to intrigue ever since it's release has been - 'Is Sunny Deol playing a cop in the film?' Reason being in Ghayal , the character played by Sunny Deol, Ajay Mehra, was arrested for murder towards the climax. "Everyone remembers that Sunny's character commits multiple crimes and virtually captures the streets of Mumbai before killing the villain Balwant Rai (played by Amrish Puri) in full public view. He was also arrested by ACP Joe D'Souza (Om Puri) in the end. It is impossible to believe that he may have been elevated to the position of a cop since these crimes would have led to multiple cases filed against him", says a film buff. However, with the sequel Ghayal Returns proudly pitching him as a cop, one wonders whether this is indeed a sequel in motion or a franchise being put in place? Says director Ashwini Chaudhary, "Rest assured,

Will Delhi Belly bring the required 'change' in Hindi cinema?

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Ok! Enough said about the ' Penchar ' and ' DK Bose '. Time to get hands on the real stuff: Delhi Belly the movie. Yes, as usual you will hear it first on ApnaDesi. Both the above mentioned songs of the upcoming Aamir Khan Production have managed to grab eye balls. The songs are just an icing on the cake. The cake is the film itself. An insider who has seen the film informs, " Delhi Belly is going to be a rage. Forget small budget and all, the film is going to be a cult classic and Aamir Khan Productions will be proud of the results once it releases. Hindi cinema has had many dark comedies but Delhi Belly takes the genre to another level. Delhi Belly is like Lock Stock And Two Smoking Barrels . It's like Snatch , very past paced with wit and abuses all over. By the sound of it, Delhi Belly looks like it's going to take our industry to another high. The source reveals further, "You are right! Delhi Belly will do exactly what Dil Chahta Ha

Sameera Reddy doing some deadly stunts in Tezz

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Sameera Reddy, who was last seen in the raunchy item number in Aakrosh , is all set to kick some butt. The actress will be seen doing some dare-devil action sequences in Priyadarshan's multi-starrer Tezz . Sexy Sam, as she is known as, will be seen riding a bike and performing some deadly stunts in Tezz . She is currently shooting for the film along with Ajay Devgn, Anil Kapoor and Zayed Khan in U.K. In fact while shooting one of the chase sequences, Sam just got carried away with the bike and exceeded the speed limit of the shooting parameter and was soon flagged off by the cops. After a lot of convincing by Sam herself and the rest of the production unit, the cops let her go. Hope Sameera doesn't end up hurting herself doing these deadly action scenes. 

Codemasters Hacked, User Info Compromised

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If you’re a fan of British video game developing, you know exactly what Codemasters is. This is The Codemasters Software Company Limited, aka one of the oldest video game developer companies in the world, having in the last 10 years established themselves in the USA as well with games such as DiRT3. In an email to customers today, Codemasters have noted that they’ve had an unauthorized entry into their codemasters.com webpage that has subsequently made the company have to take the entire site offline. Though they did so in order to stop the intruders from accessing information from user accounts specifically, these hackers have done so anyway. According to our tipsters, this is not the first time this has happened, though this attack is certainly the more important of two in this past month. The attack earlier this month on Codemasters website may or may not have been the same person or group, but accessed only usernames of people signed up for the site, whereas this newest attack has

LED Rave Gloves from EmazingLights

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EmazingLights introduces its new Rave gloves. Apparently there is a new art form called “Gloving” that is evolving around these devices. They look like ordinary cotton gloves with LEDs attached to them. Dancers can perform new moves and colorful effects with them like tutting, digits, rolls, liquid and many others. The LED implanted gloves in the picture below are named “Skittles.” These LED gloves are likely the successors of glow sticks. The gloves can be purchased in pre-made sets like Skittles, Bunny, and Flintstoned; or you can make your own . EmazingLights also sells Rave Masks to compliment their individual LED components and accessories. The Youtube video below highlights some experienced Glovers showing off their skill. Gloves from EmazingLights range in price from $44.99 to $54.99. The batteries last about 10 hours, which is supposed to be a good two events for most users. The failure rate for LEDs is very low (about .01%), so consumers can buy these LED devices with relativ

Epic Games Website and Forums Hacked

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Epic games, the developer of Gears of War , recently notified its forum members that its website and official forums had been hacked . With all the news about security breaches, it might be simpler to start announcing who has NOT been hacked. Not as serious as the attacks on Sony and Codemasters, the attackers were only able to obtain users email addresses and encrypted passwords. Fortunately no credit card numbers are stored on their sites, so none were obtained during the breach. The encrypted passwords did not grant the attackers access to anyone’s account. The only useable information they got were email addresses, which in this case are the usernames. The passwords could only be obtained by additional brute force attacks. As a precaution, you probably want to reset your password if you used it on any other site. Epic already reset the passwords for all users on the forum. No mention was made about the identity of the attackers , and no one has claimed responsibility at this time

Spotify Inks Universal Music Deal, Really Close Now To U.S. Launch

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There may soon be even more competition in the cloud music streaming arena as Spotify has just signed on Universal Music Group, bringing it one more label closer to a U.S. launch. Spotify has already signed EMI and Sony Music , leaving now just Warner Music to coaxed on board. The service has been incredibly popular in Europe with an almost cult following, but it’s uncertain if that will translate to success across the Atlantic. Spotify offers an “Open” free music streaming service with two tiers of paid “Unlimited” and “Premium” options. The free level of service gives you access to millions of songs but hits you with advertising. Stepping up to Unlimited and Premium subscriptions obviously eliminates advertising and then adds on additional features. Monthly subscription fees are expected to be around $10. However, there are already similar music streaming services in the U.S. such as Rdio and Slacker, although they have only modest followings. Add to that Apple’s iTunes with iCloud

iOS 5 Reveals 1080p Video Export, Confirms 8 Megapixel Camera For iPhone 5

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During this week’s WWDC 2011 keynote, Apple’s iOS 5 was unveiled along with the release of a beta version and SDK for developers. And after scrutinizing the new iOS SDK, developers have discovered that the media framework strings have added a new 1080p video export preset. This means that iOS 5 devices will support the recording, playback, and export of 1080p video. In a file called AVAssetExportPresetNames.strings, there are multiple lines that show a 1920×1080 movie preset. This means that devices such as the iPhone 4, iPad 1 and 2, and fourth-gen iPod touch will soon be able to decode and encode 1080p content. Apps like YouTube and iMovie will also be able to export full HD 1080p videos. Currently, with iOS 4, devices can only record, playback, and export content up to 720p. This boost in image quality also further supports rumors that the next iPhone 5 will feature an 8-megapixel camera capable of capturing full HD video.

Apple Bashes Amazon’s Appstore As Inferior, Points Out Android Security Problems

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Apple and Amazon have been sparring over the “App Store” trademark since March when Amazon’s Appstore launched to sell Android apps. Apple sued Amazon for trademark infringement while Amazon countered that the name “app store” was too generic. Apple had submitted a trademark application for “App Store” with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office back in 2008. But that application has been pending since Microsoft filed for opposition. Both Microsoft and Amazon are countering that the name is too generic to be registered. In response, Apple has filed with the court this week to once again demand a preliminary injunction barring Amazon from using the name. This time their filing included a section that read: “Amazon mischaracterizes Apple’s tarnishment claim. Apple has not asserted that the Android operating system is inferior. Rather, Apple has asserted that Amazon’s service is inferior and will tarnish Apple’s mark. [...] Among other things, Amazon is making software available that bypas

LulzSec Takes Down Terrorist site Aljahad.com

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LulzSec has taken its sights off Sony for a moment and directed its efforts at aljahad.com, a purported terrorist site. We don’t know the official definition of what constitutes a terrorist site, but after checking out aljahad.com it could certainly fit the bill. The Lulz Boat took credit for nuking the site, and added the taunt “ujelly.” Even though aljahad.com was only temporarily brought down, Props to the Lulz team. It isn’t often we see hackers spun positively in the news. The ujelly taunt is web-speak for “you jealous.” It was directed at another hacker group that uses the handle @th3j35t3r. We are not going to get involved in any hacker rivalry, but it makes us wonder how many of these attacks against terrorists go unreported. We don’t think Sony should take this as a reason to get too comfortable just yet; there may be plenty of domestic attacks on the way. Nothing special announced for Sony just yet, the current LulzSec chatter seems to be directed at porn sites and their su