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The group Anonymous has threatened to take down the Internet on Saturday to protest anti-piracy proposals that they consider online censorship. Here, a masked protester demonstrates against one such measure last month in Zagreb, Croatia, last month.

The group Anonymous has threatened to take down the Internet on Saturday to protest anti-piracy proposals that they consider online censorship. Here, a masked protester demonstrates against one such measure last month in Zagreb, Croatia, last month.

The mysterious group of hackers who go by the name "Anonymous" have threatened to take down the Internet on Saturday. Or not.

The confusion comes from the very nature of the group, which is amorphous and has no identifiable leadership. Several weeks ago, a group identifying itself as Anonymous announced "Operation Global Blackout," the effect of which would be to bring Web surfing to a halt.

Cybersecurity experts doubt the operation would have more than a limited effect, given the layers of protection built into the Internet architecture.

The Anonymous group itself, meanwhile, appeared divided over the plan. A Twitter account normally associated with Anonymous included several statements on Friday denying any effort to shut down the Internet.

"For the billionth time: #Anonymous will not shut down the Internet on 31 March," said one.

"What is this #OperationGlobalBlackout nonsense?" said another. "Stop asking us about it!"

The contradictions highlighted the difficulty of assessing whether a hacking threat should be attributed to Anonymous or to hackers merely posing as Anonymous

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'Anonymous' Hacking Group Threatens The Internet

Eric Michael Gillett, Marilyn Maye, Terese Genecco Among 2012 MAC Award Winners

By Michael Gioia 30 Mar 2012

The 26th Annual MAC Awards, hosted by Jason Graae, were presented by the Manhattan Association of Cabarets & Clubs March 29 at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill.

The 2012 ceremony, dedicated to The Year of the Songwriter, honored and paid tribute to five songwriters: Ervin Drake and David Friedman, who received MAC's Lifetime Achievement Awards; and Francesca Blumenthal, John Bucchino and Julie Gold, who received MAC's Board of Director Awards. Additionally, the HansonAward was presented to Rosemary Loar.

The annual MAC Awards honor achievement in cabaret, comedy and jazz in Manhattan. Lennie Watts directed the evening, which was produced by Julie Miller.

The 2012 MAC Award nominees follow (winners' names are bolded with an asterisk):

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Kim Grogg, One-Hit Wonder Woman Don't Tell Mama

*Janice Hall, Grand Illusions: The Music of Marlene Dietrich Urban Stages

Sigali Hamberger, A Toast to Ava Gardner Metropolitan Room

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Eric Michael Gillett, Marilyn Maye, Terese Genecco Among 2012 MAC Award Winners

Russias Ministry of the Interior plans to set up special centers to assess hate-mongering and extremism in mass media, including online publications, YouTube, and Facebook pages, Interior Minister Rashid Nurgaliyev said on Friday, according to Ria Novosti.

Nurgaliyev wants to open a center in each Russian district. Two already operate in Moscow and St. Petersburg. "We are working on creating special interregional centers with expertise in electronic media, printed, audio and video features to check them for any indications of extremism," he told Gazeta. The monitoring will be done by bureaucrats who are part of the presidential administration.

The initiative is the latest in the governments crackdown on extremism on the Internet. And while politicians and activists alike believe it needs to be dealt with, this measure seems to have touched a nerve with everyone. So much so that even those expected to implement it have washed their hands of it.

I'm afraid it may create the total surveillance of the Russian segment of the internet," Pavel Chikov, a lawyer and head of Agora human rights watchdog, told Gazeta. He said the initiative would lead to political censorship and an increase of criminal cases against bloggers on "invented accusations connected to extremism," something Russia has been accused of before.

Duma members were also skeptical, saying it was unclear how plenipotentiaries, who are political institutions, were supposed to help fight extremism.The plenipotentiaries themselves seem surprised, too. "This idea is definitely not ours. This is important, but the Ministry of the Interior and the Federal Supervision Agency for Information Technologies and Communications already do this expertise," a Far Eastern representative said.

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Russia's Interior Minister Pushes For Extreme Internet Censorship Measures

In arecent FCC filing from Liberty Media, the company revealed it is seeking "de facto control" of SiriusXM, despite not owning the majority of stock in the satcaster. Seeking Alpha reports that in the FCC application, which was filed on March 20, Liberty Media asks for consent of the transfer of control of SiriusXM's assets and of the company itself from its shareholders.

Siriusreplied ina letter to the FCC dated March 22, saying, "Sirius XM disagrees that the expiration of certain provisions in the 2009 investment agreement changes control of Sirius XM and intends to file a formal response seeking dismissal or denial of the applications."

Seeking Alpha interprets Liberty's application to be a potential "hostile takeover" of the satcaster, adding that Liberty may be interpreting a potential loophole in a 2009 agreement with SiriusXM to mean that when its agreement expired on March 6, it allowed for the transfer of the satcaster to Liberty. However, Seeking Alpha notes that the FCC would need to approve such a transfer, which "could take years to resolve." The move could also be interpreted as a play to affect the stock price for Sirius and allow Liberty to buy up more shares of the satcaster.

Liberty Media has owned approximately 40 percent of SiriusXM since infusing the company with cash in a 2009 agreement.

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Liberty Media Filing Seeks Control Of SiriusXM

View Photo Gallery:Tim Tebow + New York Jets = Excitement.

If there was one takeaway from Tim Tebows Monday press conference, officially introducing him as a member of the New York Jets, it was this: Tim Tebow is excited to be a New York Jet.

He said it is numerous times and used the word excited more than 40.

On Thursday night, Tebow offered a reminder, in case youd forgotten.

Now, the more important question, which should tide you over while you wait for Tebow Jets jerseys to be re-introduced to the New York market: Are you excited to see Tim Tebow suit up for the Jets next season? And what role do you think hell play?

Follow us:MattBrooksWP|@CindyBoren

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Tim Tebow is excited to be a Jet — in case there was any doubt