A Polish teenager allegedly turned the tram system in the city of Lodz into his own personal train set, triggering chaos and derailing four vehicles in the process. Twelve people were injured in one of the incidents.
The 14-year-old modified a TV remote control so that it could be used to change track points, The Telegraph reports. Local police said the youngster trespassed in tram depots to gather information needed to build the device. The teenager told police that he modified track setting for a prank.
“He studied the trams and the tracks for a long time and then built a device that looked like a TV remote control and used it to manoeuvre the trams and the tracks,” said Miroslaw Micor, a spokesman for Lodz police.
“He had converted the television control into a device capable of controlling all the junctions on the line and wrote in the pages of a school exercise book where the best junctions were to move trams around and what signals to change.
“He treated it like any other schoolboy might a giant train set, but it was lucky nobody was killed. Four trams were derailed, and others had to make emergency stops that left passengers hurt. He clearly did not think about the consequences of his actions,” Micor added.
Transport command and control systems are commonly designed by engineers with little exposure or knowledge about security using commodity electronics and a little native wit. The apparent ease with which Lodz’s tram network was hacked, even by these low standards, is still a bit of an eye opener.
Problems with the signalling system on Lodz’s tram network became apparent on Tuesday when a driver attempting to steer his vehicle to the right was involuntarily taken to the left. As a result the rear wagon of the train jumped the rails and collided with another passing tram. Transport staff immediately suspected outside interference.
The youth, described by his teachers as an electronics buff and exemplary student, faces charges at a special juvenile court of endangering public safety.
Ours is back with their highly-anticipated third album. The new album is set to be released on March 15, 2008. It was produced by Rick Rubin and will be called ‘Mercy (Dancing for the Death of an Imaginary Enemy)‘. You can listen to three of the new songs on their My Space page here.
Ours will be opening for Marilyn Manson on their tour that’s kicking off January 19th in Orlando, FL. Here’s a full list of tour dates.
Here’s Ours performing one of my favorite songs…”I’m a Monster”
In November it was confirmed that Lily Allen had a heart murmur. Word on the street is she cut back on all the bad stuff she was doing and lost about 20 pounds.
In December it was announced that Lily is pregnant with Ed Simons’ (of the Chemical Brothers) baby. Apparently, she turned down an offer to launch a line of maternity clothing, because she felt like her early pregnancy sent out the wrong message to young girls.
In February Lily is going to be on the cover of Marie Claire UK. Here are some pix. Apparently she’s left her “chav” look behind, and is going for a more polished look. I think she’s gorgeous.
I saw Juno this week. I really liked this movie. It really flowed from beginning to end, in a way you wouldn’t expect from a movie that’s about teenage pregnancy. The characters seem like real people and they’re very likable. Juno finds out she’s pregnant, she tries to get an abortion, but can’t go through with it. She knows that she’s ill-equipped so she decides to find the best parents possible for the baby. This movie starts out like its going to be a silly comedy and ends beautifully, perfectly.
I was enchanted by the simple songs of Kimya Dawson throughout the whole movie.
