Archive for 2012/06/13

This is a major shift for Google.

In the past, arguments about Google’s search results have usually come from website operators who were upset that their sites weren’t highly ranked in results: if you had a jewellery store in East London, you wanted it to be at the top of the listings returned on a search for “east london jewellers.”

Google’s response to website owners who found their pages ranked well down in the “ooooo”s was to tell them that Google’s ranking algorithm had been designed to analyse every page on the web to determine its relevance, and if you want higher rankings, you should “make great, relevant content”. Google’s algorithm will detect your content’s newfound greatness and adjust your ranking accordingly.

Google’s official communiques tell the world that SEO isn’t necessary – so long as you “make great content”, you’ll get higher rankings. The implication is that Google has discovered a mathematical model of relevance, a way of measuring some objective criteria that allows a computer to score and compare the relevance of different web-pages.

But there is no such mathematics. Relevance is a subjective attribute. The satisfaction you experience in regards to a search-results page is generated by your mind, and it reflects the internal state of your neurons just as much as it reflects the external reality of the results.

A magazine’s editor-in-chief looks at her table of contents as it is being formed through the month, moving things around, commissioning new items, deleting things and shifting others to greater prominence.

The judgments she makes are aesthetic ones. They reflect her distinctive expertise and vision for the publication, a vision and expertise that is honed from month to month by feedback from readers and colleagues, sales figures, public review, and pageviews in the online edition. Magazines rise and fall based on their e-i-cs, and a change in leadership can utterly transform the experience of reading the magazine.

Google has, to date, always refused to frame itself in those terms. The pagerank algorithm isn’t like an editor arguing aesthetics around a boardroom table as the issue is put to bed. The pagerank algorithm is a window on the wall of Plato’s cave, whence the objective, empirical world of Relevance may be seen and retrieved.

Much more:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/technology/2012/jun/12/google-searchengines

Opening Remarks by Bill Rosenblatt, Program Chair

The interface between the copyright system and digital technology continues to be fraught with challenges as well as opportunities.  The ground is shifting from encryption-based DRM to technologies for identifying content and tracking its use rather than controlling it, while DRM is maintaining its presence in innovative business models.

Developments in the field come fast and furious; it’s hard to keep track.  This talk will provide an overview of the copyright and technology landscape and examine trends into the future.  Newcomers will gain a solid grounding in the field, while industry insiders will glean perspectives and insights from a consultant and author who has been on the front lines of the industry for the past 15 years.

More:
http://copyrightandtechnologylondon.eventbrite.co.uk/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57452517-93/amazon-to-add-mgm-movies-to-video-streaming-queue/

http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57452620-93/dot-mayhem-the-domain-landgrab-by-the-numbers/

More:

http://www.infowars.com/chart-shows-the-bilderberg-groups-connection-to-everything-in-the-world/

http://www.infowars.com/greek-bank-run-update-up-to-1-billion-a-day-now/

http://www.rt.com/news/greece-immigrants-neo-nazis-raids-730/

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/microsoft/microsofts-skype-for-windows-now-with-conversation-ads/12922

Sit Sine Labe Decus

By  on 6.11.12 @ 6:33AM

A U.S. ally’s stunning tolerance of pedophilia.

Say “Holland” or “The Netherlands” and we think of tulips, good cheese, and an upright, hard-working population engaged in international trade for centuries. Most Dutch match that description, but more than a few are engaged in a thoroughly despicable activity: a child sex and pornography ring.

The uncovering of the ring by law enforcement agencies has led in recent days to 33 arrests worldwide, including 13 in the Netherlands (and eight in the U.S). One Dutch citizen is accused of sexual assaults on 67 children.

According to the State Department’s 2011 report on trafficking in persons, “the Netherlands is primarily a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking.”

Dutch prosecutors asked for a ban on a pedophile group named “Martijn” which advocates consensual sex between adults and children. In a court hearing in the city of Assen, they contended, “Its banning and dissolution are necessary to avoid a dangerous situation for society.” They said the group created “a sub-culture in which sexual relations between adults and children are tolerated and even glorified.”

In what at first glance seems to be a peculiarly contrary position, the Dutch Ministry of Justice has opposed the requested ban, claiming that the “Martijn” group’s activities were not illegal under Dutch law. Its attorney claims protection under “freedom of expression.”

With the indulgence of the Ministry of Justice, it’s little wonder that pedophiles in the Netherlands seem to find it relatively easy to “express themselves.” Why is this so? The indulgence is not new. In Fall 1998, an investigation by the Netherlands’ State Secretary of Justice into an Amsterdam brothel linked senior politicians and justice officials to the sexual abuse of young boys. One of the perpetrators identified in that investigation by a young male victim was Joris Demmink, the current Secretary General of the Ministry of Justice — the same government body that opposes banning “Martijn,” the child sex promotion group.

In the mid 1990s while in Turkey, Demmink sexually assaulted numerous boys between the ages of 12 and 16, according to Adèle van der Plas, Dutch attorney for two of the victims. The victims of his attacks have come forward and demanded prosecution. She says that one victim was 12 at the time he was brought by a police officer to Demmink’s chambers, where he was repeatedly sexually assaulted by Demmink. Another boy was 14 at the time he was brought to Demmink and assaulted. Recently, a third child victim, a Turkish boy, has come forward.

Van de Plas says, “It’s an outrage that Demmink has not been held to account for his crimes against children. Demmink’s perversion of Dutch justice to protect himself is an offense to any standard of basic decency. I hope our friends in other countries become aware of what’s happening and raise their voices in protest.

“We cannot allow Demmink’s offenses to be quietly hidden away. We must demand his public accountability in a court of law.”

The allegations against Demmink raise serious issues, not only for the Netherlands, but for allied countries including the United States. How much credibility can joint anti-child sex trafficking activities have if a key enforcement official may be implicated in such activities and, at the same time, is in a position to block inquiries of the allegations against him?

Why has he not brought to court to face justice both as to his own behavior and his apparent ability to protect groups such as “Martijn”?

U.S. officials need to ask some sharp questions. The offices at the Departments of State and Justice that are concerned with child trafficking, as well as corresponding committees in Congress, need to look into this. The Netherlands is a long-time ally, but the Dutch government needs to know that it must no longer turn a blind eye to this international children sex ring — apparently centered on it shores. This means the accusations against Demmink must be subjected to full public scrutiny.

Mr. Hannaford is a member of the Committee on the Present Danger. 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Peter Hannaford was closely associated with the late President Ronald Reagan for a number of years. His latest book is Reagan’s Roots: The People and Places That Shaped His Character.

http://spectator.org/archives/2012/06/11/dutch-child-sex-ring-wheres-th

Previously:
http://vrritti.com/?s=demmink&submit=Search

and

http://vrritti.com/?s=mikelsons&submit=Search

http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/06/hands-on-with-imp-the-wi-fi-card-that-wants-to-power-your-internet-of-things/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/13/law_and_corporate_cloud/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/13/torvalds_millennium_technology_prize/

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/cloud/cloud-secrecy-will-it-cause-a-system-meltdown/118

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/btl/forrester-53-of-employees-use-their-own-devices-for-work/79886

http://www.zdnet.com/blog/security/state-sponsored-attackers-using-ie-zero-day-to-hijack-gmail-accounts/12462

http://www.rt.com/news/vatican-mafia-laundering-money-716/

Previously:

Former ‘God’s Banker’ could blitz Vatican with cache of secret documents
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/11/former-gods-banker-could-blitz-vatican-with-cache-of-secret-documents/

http://www.ispreview.co.uk/index.php/2012/06/bt-offers-reward-to-catch-scottish-subsea-fibre-optic-cable-thieves.html

Infowars began exposing a series of leaked documents marked “strictly confidential” and “not for publication” exposing details from inside past Bilderberg meetings– namely the Wiesbaden, Germany conference that took place during March 1966.

Our on-air coverage exposed the Bilderberg-centered globalists’ deep-seated hatred for nationalism and, of course, their long-term vision to steer the world towards global government. In 1966, these larger goals hinged around two key agenda items, as set by Bilderberg’s founder and then chairman, Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands. As the documents below make clear, the first item dealt with reorganizing NATO, while the second dealt with coordinating world economic development, particularly between the industrial world and the developing world.

More:
http://www.infowars.com/exclusive-bilderberg-1966-data-dump-the-war-on-nationalism-exposed/

The Dutch newspaper decided to publish TV guide information without asking permission from broadcasters

Dutch language news article:
http://www.nu.nl/media/2834357/rechter-steekt-stokje-tv-gids-telegraaf.html

See also:

Dutch broadcasters sue newspaper for publishing TV guide
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/11/dutch-broadcasters-sue-newspaper-for-publishing-tv-guide/

The hacker has been arrested. The Dutch Public Prosecutor’s Office is currently figuring out just what the hacker intended to do with that data. He also hacked into the systems of Europe Container Terminals.

Dutch language news article:
http://www.nu.nl/internet/2834269/hacker-stal-miljoen-rekeningnummers-ing.html

.MOVIE

Applicants:

  1. Charleston Road Registry Inc. US/NA 1-1140-55599
  2. dot Movie Limited GI/EUR 1-1180-29599
  3. Webdeus Inc.
    http://www.radixregistry.com AE/AP 1-1290-2671
  4. NU DOT CO LLC US/NA 1-1296-23277
  5. Amazon EU S.à r.l.
    http://www.amazon.com/ LU/EUR 1-1316-44615
  6. New Frostbite, LLC US/NA 1-1570-42842
  7. Motion Picture Domain Registry Pty Ltd AU/AP 1-1803-2593
  8. Dish DBS Corporation
    http://www.dish.com US/NA 1-1920-39242

The full list of submissions for new internet address endings has been published by the global organisation co-ordinating the expansion.

Requests to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) include .porn, .ninja, and .ferrari.

The BBC was among the applicants, applying for .bbc as an alternative to .co.uk and .com.

Several top-level domains have been applied for by more than one party, including .sex, .home and .diy.

Both the US drugmaker Merck & Co and its German rival Merck KGaA appear to have applied for the .merck ending, which may trigger an auction process.

However the .uk manager, Nominet, looks likely to secure .wales and .cymru after no-one filed identical claims.

Likewise the Dot Scot Registry was the only organisation to apply for .scot and the League of Arab States the only body to claim .arab.

More:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-18428324

On June 13 2012 the body that manages the development of the internet, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), will reveal details of the biggest change to the structure of the internet since its creation.

ICANN will reveal some of the near 2,000 possible new Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) companies and interested parties want to register. Top Level Domains are the two to three characters at the end of each website address, such as .com, .co, .xxx, and .co.uk. With the new gTLDs ICANN will expand this list of about 300 existing domain name extensions to allow almost any word or collection of characters to become a website address.

More:
http://sociable.co/business/icanns-gtld-big-reveal-will-shape-the-internet-for-years-to-come/

Given its record, and with so little accountability, how can any of us trust Google — or other Internet giants like Facebook, which now faces its own privacy and anti-trust concerns? Who gave these new media companies the right to invade our privacy without our permission or knowledge and then secretly store the data until they can figure out how to profit from it in the future?

No one, obviously … and as a direct result of their arrogant behavior, both Google and Facebook now face the possibility of eventual showdowns with regulators, the biggest to hit Silicon Valley since the US government went after Microsoft more than a decade ago. Their constant privacy controversies have also caused politicians to begin taking notice.

http://www.wired.com/business/2012/06/opinion-google-is-evil/

One SSD can handle about 40,000 reads or writes a second, whereas the average hardware gives you about 180. And it runs at about one watt as opposed to 15 watts, which means you spend far less on power. “Do the math on how much you can save”. In short, you need fewer servers to do the same amount of work.

Much more:
http://www.wired.com/wiredenterprise/2012/06/flash-data-centers/

The latter accused DepositFiles of engaging in and facilitating mass-copyright infringement and demanded a minimum of $5m in damages.

As one of the largest files-sharing sites on the Internet, DepositFiles is visited by millions of users per day.

After the Megaupload shutdown the cyberlocker appeared to be one of the top alternatives. Aside from attracting new users, the site also grabbed the attention of Hollywood with the MPAA describing it as one of prime targets that should be dealt with next.

This is exactly what adult magazine publisher Perfect 10 has tried to do over the past months.

Much more:
http://torrentfreak.com/depositfiles-settles-multi-million-dollar-piracy-lawsuit-120613/

The ISP is now refusing to comply with court-ordered subpoenas, arguing that they are intended to “shake down” subscribers by coercing them to pay settlements. Copyright holders have responded furiously to Comcast’s new stance, claiming that the ISP is denying copyright holders the opportunity to protect their works.

Much more:
http://torrentfreak.com/comcast-protests-shake-down-of-alleged-bittorrent-pirates-120612/

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/12/aws_australian_peers/

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which is responsible for ensuring that web technology is based on an agreed set of technical standards, has been working on developing a new ‘do not track’ (DNT) control system for operation within web browser settings. It has said that the controls should not to be set by default. Instead, internet users would have to provide their “explicit consent” to activate them.

Jonathan Mayer of Stanford University, who has been working on the new standard, said that W3C had worked on a “compromise proposal” which would prohibit online publishers using cookies to track their users’ online activity once those users had enabled the DNT option. However, “affiliate information sharing” about users can continue even once DNT controls have been activated, Mayer said.

More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/13/do_not_track_not_the_default_w3c/

Megan Richards, acting deputy director general of Information Society and Media and also part of the Converged Networks and Services directorate, said it wouldn’t necessarily be a problem if European data was held in data centres in the US.

“Theoretically, it shouldn’t matter where data is held as long as our rules apply,” Richards told The Reg at the Cloud Computing World Forum in London. “The legislation in the US is not so different from the legislation we have in the EU.”

More:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/06/13/ec_cloud_data_anywhere/

The continued exploitation of these accounts in some of the industry’s most notorious data breaches is a significant factor in the growing recognition of the “privileged connection.” Businesses need to continue to be vigilant in securing and managing these high value targets.

Much more:
http://www.cyber-ark.com/pdf/2012-Cyber-Ark-Trust-Security-Password-Report.pdf

Brandify combs key online sites and social networks, offering recommendations about how small companies can improve their brand in cyberspace.

More:
http://www.zdnet.com/blog/small-business-matters/microsoft-helps-smbs-manage-their-online-reputation/2676

http://www.infowars.com/regulators-approve-political-donations-via-text-message/

Skout, a fast-growing and free flirting app for iOS, has come under fire recently, after it was discovered that a third child was raped by a man posing as a teenager in the app’s separate section for 13- to 17-year-olds.

More:
http://gizmodo.com/5917947/flirting-app-under-fire-after-three-children-are-raped

The controversy, which sent the site into a “global mute” that stopped users from communicating, was sparked by a news broadcast in the U.K.’s Channel 4 News about “shocking lapses in moderation of a hugely popular online game used by young teenagers, including interactions of an explicit sexual nature.”

The incident has caused one of Habbo’s top investors, European VC firm Balderton Capital, to pull its support. A spokesperson for the firm told The Kernel that the firm heard this information a week ago and that it “profoundly shocked” them, prompting the firm to end its relationship with Habbo’s owner, Sulake, a Finnish company.

More:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57452032-93/habbo-silenced-after-accusations-of-improper-behavior/

The case involves the pursuit of an alleged identity thief by Chase Bank. Chase is accusing Nicole Fortunato of using her mother’s identity to apply for a credit card and then spending the sum of $1,243 on it.

Chase first went after her mother, garnishing her paychecks. However, Lorri Fortunato tried to explain that she wasn’t exactly in touch with her daughter. She seems to have found that it was more effective to explain that to Chase through a lawsuit.

Chase couldn’t find a good address for Nicole. So someone at the bank experienced a modern “Aha” and thought they could find the daughter on Facebook.

Having petitioned the court, the bank seems to have been bounced.

Indeed, U.S. District Judge John Keenan offered that he found service on Facebook to be “unorthodox.” Actually, many people find it entirely non-existent. But I think he meant serving papers via the social network.

The judge didn’t feel there was precedent, at least in the U.S. Earlier this year, a U.K. judge declared himself quite happy for Facebook to be the medium of legally bad news.

More:
http://news.cnet.com/8301-17852_3-57452037-71/facebook-isnt-the-place-to-serve-legal-papers-says-judge/