Archive for 2012/08/09

Dutch Freedom Party Takes It To The Next Level. Launches www.stopEUprofiteers.com

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Again, Dutch government officials are not denouncing this campaign. On the contrary, the other political parties that make up the current caretaker cabinet – VVD and CDA - are known for their anti-EU stance on various issues.

Join our protest against the profiteering eurocrats

The extremely shocking television broadcast Terzake (Canvas TV, Belgium) of Tuesday July 24, 2012, revealed how Eurocrats fill their pockets with high salaries and perks. Including generous allowances and representation costs a European Commissioner earns a whopping €27.318 per month. A resigned European Commissioner earns a retirement allowance of €8,200 per month during three years. Without ever having had to pay one single pension premium, a retired European Commissioner gets a pension of €4.717 per month.

Newly-appointed young EU civil servants receive €4.676 net per month. Their net salary is higher that their gross salary thanks to all the generous perks.

A Member of the European Parliament gets a total of €13.500 per month. It is very shocking that a large number of MEPs earn additional incomes (€100.000 in the example given in the broadcast) in all sorts of extra jobs, while there may even be serious conflicts of interest.

The Party for freedom says: Not a cent of our tax money to Brussels as long as this perverse profiteering continues!

http://www.stopeuprofiteers.com/

Today Is Settlement Day: Google to pay $22.5 million to settle FTC charges over tracking cookies in Apple’s Safari browser

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Google, Online advertising, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Google has agreed to pay a $22.5 million penalty to settle its dispute with the FTC, over the company’s role in bypassing browser settings in Apple’s Safari web browser. Although it stated that it wouldn’t use tracking cookies or targeted ads in the web browser, a loophole was discovered, violating a previous privacy settlement between the FTC and Google. According to the commission, the company exploited an exception in the browser’s default settings, adding a temporary cookie that could temporarily open up access to all cookies from the DoubleClick domain. While the exploit was patched by Google, for a limited time, it was able to track Safari users that had explicitly opted out.

http://www.engadget.com/2012/08/09/google-to-pay-22-5-million-ftc-cookies/

and:

Google exploited an exception to the browser’s default setting to place a temporary cookie from the DoubleClick domain.  Because of the particular operation of the Safari browser, that initial temporary cookie opened the door to all cookies from the DoubleClick domain, including the Google advertising tracking cookie that Google had represented would be blocked from Safari browsers.

The FTC charged that Google’s misrepresentations violated a settlement it reached with the agency in October 2011, which barred Google from – among other things – misrepresenting the extent to which consumers can exercise control over the collection of their information.  The earlier settlement resolved FTC charges that Google used deceptive tactics and violated its privacy promises when it launched its social network, Google Buzz.

Much more:

http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2012/08/google.shtm

Mat Honan’s Post-Hack Paranoia Equals That Of Those Who Have Fallen Victim To Digital Pirates

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

Gadget Lab’s senior technology journalist is experiencing a bit of the digital violation that content creators have been suffering for decades.

News article & video:
http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2012/08/mat-honan-video/

See also:

How an indie director watched video pirates hijack her work: “It didn’t take me long to realize that this wasn’t about sharing. It was about people making money. And it wasn’t just pirates who were making money. The ads were often being served by Google, adBrite, or other American companies, and, weirdly, the ads themselves were often for legitimate companies, like Deutsche Bank affiliates and even Netflix”
http://vrritti.com/2012/07/14/how-an-indie-director-watched-video-pirates-hijack-her-work-it-didnt-take-me-long-to-realize-that-this-wasnt-about-sharing-it-was-about-people-making-money-and-it-wasnt-just-pirates-who-wer/

 

The IFPI and Interpol say they worked together with the Attorney General of Mexico and Ukrainian police to shutter Demonoid

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Copyright, Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

The IFPI said their complaints have finally delivered results.

“Demonoid was a leading global player in digital music piracy which acted as unfair competition to the more than 500 licensed digital music services that offer great value music to consumers while respecting the rights of artists, songwriters and record companies,” the IFPI’s anti-piracy director Jeremy Banks said in a statement.

“The operation to close Demonoid was a great example of international cooperation to tackle a service that was facilitating the illegal distribution of music on a vast scale. I would like to thank all those officers involved in this operation to close a business that was built on the abuse of other people’s rights.”

John Newton head of INTERPOL’s Trafficking in Illicit Goods Sub-Directorate said that international cooperation is key to ensuring that “organized criminals” are stopped.

“In this instance police forces on different sides of the world worked together with INTERPOL and the music industry to successfully disrupt the distribution chain for illicit digital music products,” he said.

More:
http://torrentfreak.com/demonoid-raid-credited-to-ifpi-multiple-arrests-in-mexico-reported-120809/

BSkyB deals Ofcom a blow in battle over telly sports prices

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Public Policy, Stats / reports

“The tribunal is of the view that Ofcom has, to a significant extent, misinterpreted the evidence of these negotiations, which does not support Ofcom’s conclusion. We have found a significant number of Ofcom’s pivotal findings of fact in the Statement to be inconsistent with the evidence,” concluded the tribunal.

“Sky did, on the whole, engage constructively,” the ruling adds. “Sky has no theological objection to wholesale supply of its premium channels, and is, in principle, willing to do so where self-retail is not open to it.”

A commercial decision requires two to tango, and the tribunal points out that Sky’s rivals, who wanted the sports, broke off negotiations in the knowledge they could appeal to a sympathetic regulator. This is called “regulatory gaming”.

More:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/09/sky_sports_ok/

US Court: ‘Embedding videos does not result in copyright infringements’, but Judge Posner may have been unaware about something

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

In a U.S. lawsuit on the embedding and bookmarking of videos between myVidster and Flava Works, Judge Richard Posner of the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeal has issued a remarkable ruling. The Court ruled that embedding a video on a website is not the same as ‘transmitting or communicating’ it to others. If the video streaming platform myVidster does nothing more then giving web surfers addresses where they can find the entertainment, they do not actually engage in any copyright infringing activities themselves, according to the Court.

This ruling is very interesting and takes a clear stand on video-embedding and streaming in regard to copyright. However, it should be noted that modern streaming technology often caches a video while streaming, saving it on the users computer as long as the browser window is open and thereby enabling the user to re-watch the video as often as he wants. Judge Posner did not elaborate on this form of ‘copying’.

In the Netherlands, embedding videos from other websites has been regarded as a ‘new form of publishing’ since 2009, and is now a service website-hosters have to pay for. Whether this recent development in the U.S. proves to be an isolated case, or created substantive precedent remains to be seen.

Much more:
http://www.futureofcopyright.com/home/blog-post/2012/08/09/us-court-embedding-videos-does-not-result-in-copyright-infringements.html

When History Is Being Forgotten: One Amsterdam Tram Employee Drives An Empty Tram 8. Another Driver Says Jews Are Making Money From The Anne Frank House (While Leaving His Speaker System On)

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reports

Tram drivers in Amsterdam are being instructed NOT to use number 8 for their tram lines as trams carrying that number were used during the Second World War by the German occupier to transport Jews to the Hollandsche Schouwburg, the location they were deported from in 1942 and 1943.

The Anne Frank House located on the Prinsengracht canal in Amsterdam, the Netherlands, is a museum dedicated to Jewish wartime diarist Anne Frank, who hid from Nazi persecution with her family and four other people in hidden rooms at the rear of the building. As well as the preservation of the hiding place — known in Dutch as the Achterhuis — and an exhibition on the life and times of Anne Frank, the museum acts as an exhibition space to highlight all forms of persecution and discrimination. It opened on 3 May 1960 with the aid of public subscription, three years after a foundation was established to protect the property from developers who wanted to demolish the block.

The public transport company GVB has identified the culprits and will have discussions with those responsible for these events.

Dutch language news article:
http://www.nu.nl/binnenland/2880455/amsterdamse-trambestuurder-rijdt-met-omstreden-lijn-8.html

Pedophilia Allegations Targeting Secretary-General Joris Demmink of Dutch Justice Ministry Hit International News Headlines

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Again, Sit Sine Labe Decus

Former State Department Official Calls for Secretary-General of Dutch Justice Ministry to Be Barred from United States; Urges U.S. Official Investigation of Pedophilia Accusations
http://uspolitics.einnews.com/pr_news/105048257/former-state-department-official-calls-for-secretary-general-of-dutch-justice-ministry-to-be-barred-from-united-states-urges-u-s-official

Congress Recognizes The Egregious Suppression Of Global Justice Regarding Child Trafficking
http://www.sacbee.com/2012/08/06/4699013/congress-recognizes-the-egregious.html
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/congress-recognizes-the-policy-implications-of-child-trafficking-stemming-from-the-netherlands-2012-08-08

“The Dutch legal system should not give any room to this position [i.e., that pedophilia is a legally protected form of self-expression.]“ This enlightened result was by no means a foregone conclusion. That is because the secretary-general of the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice — its highest-ranking civil servant — is a certain Joris Demmink. And Demmink stands accused of child rape. Two Turkish citizens have brought suit against Demmink for allegedly having sexually assaulted them in the 1990s in Turkey when they were 14 and 12 years old, and, the suit claims, “numerous” other Turkish boys. A third alleged victim has since come forward. Certainly, defendants are innocent until proven guilty but it is intolerable that the very officials responsible for combating child sex trafficking stand accused of having engaged in it.
http://www.upi.com/Top_News/Analysis/Outside-View/2012/07/12/Outside-View-The-struggle-against-child-sex-trafficking/UPI-10191342093152/

US-Kongress sieht politische Implikationen des aus den Niederlanden stammenden Kinderhandels
http://www.live-pr.com/us-kongress-sieht-politische-implikationen-des-r1049646125.htm
http://www.vwd.de/vwd/markt.htm?u=0&k=0&sektion=news&awert=ir_business_wire&newsid=34232412&offset=0

Il Congresso riconosce le implicazioni politiche del mercato dei bambini che hanno origine nei Paesi Bassi
Richiesta che l’Unione Europea indaghi
http://www.ansa.it/web/notizie/rubriche/economia/bw/2012-08-09_109816821.html

El Congreso reconoce las implicaciones políticas de la trata de niños que tienen su origen en Holanda
http://www.eleconomista.es/empresas-finanzas/noticias/4175348/08/12/El-Congreso-reconoce-las-implicaciones-politicas-de-la-trata-de-ninos-que-tienen-su-origen-en-Holanda.html

Le Congrès reconnaît les implications, en matière de politiques, de la traite des enfants qui a pour origine les Pays-Bas
http://bourse.lci.fr/bourse-en-ligne.hts?urlAction=bourse-en-ligne.hts&idnews=BNW120808_00006567&numligne=0&date=120809&source=BNW

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

Congress Recognizes The Policy Implications Of Child Trafficking Stemming From The Netherlands

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reports

(Washington, DC ) – August 8, 2012 Shared Hope International, The Rebecca Project and Johns Hopkins Protection Project are pleased to announce that the U.S. Congress has taken action regarding the lack of action of the European Union in investigating child sex trafficking in the pedophilia charges against Joris Demmink, a high ranking government official in The Netherlands, and requested this matter be broached at the next Interparliamentary meeting.

Congressmen Joseph Pitts (R-PA), Frank Wolfe (R-VA), and Christopher Smith (R-NJ) state in a letter just delivered to EU Chairman Christian Ehler:

“We write to you out of concern for the integrity of the European Union’s ongoing efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. As combating these crimes remains a top EU priority, we are alarmed by recent assertions of the Dutch Ministry of Security and Justice relating to the prosecution of the group ‘Martijn’ and allegations of child sex abuse against the ministry’s secretary-general, Mr. Joris Demmink.

As you may be aware, Mr.Joris Demmink has been accused of child rape. It is asserted that Mr. Demmink traveled to Turkey in the late 1990’s to carry out the abuse and rape of numerous victims, and furthermore, it has been asserted that Mr. Demmink used the power of his position to obstruct efforts to file complaints against him, and used investigations as a way to deter his accusers.

Mr. Demmink is accused of what could be considered child sex tourism, a form of human trafficking. Given the nature of the allegations against Mr. Demmik and his influence within the Ministry of Security and Justice, we are concerned that the Ministry may not be able to properly execute The Netherlands’ responsibilities under the EU Decision 2004/68/JHA, the Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children…“

Shared Hope International and The Rebecca Project are working to bring awareness to the global need to take seriously the threat presented to the world’s children by perpetrators of child sex trafficking, and bring justice to the victims of Joris Demmink. Mr. Demminkhas eluded investigation, raising grave questions about the seriousness with which governments are combating human trafficking and protecting child victims of sexual exploitation in their country and those where their citizens may travel as child sex tourists.

You can download PDF version here.

http://arrestdemmink.com/index.asp?idmenu=4&title=News&idsubmenu=112#.UCOYCE1lSBo

See also:

The Pedophia Case of JORIS DEMMINK a High Level Dutch Ministry of Justice Official 
http://www.rebeccaproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=110&Itemid=240

and

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

Letter from Representatives Pitts, Wolf, and Smith to the EU Chairman of the Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue Steering Committee Regarding Joris Demmink

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Chairman Christian Ehler

Transatlantic Legislators’ Dialogue Steering Committee

Dear Mr. Christian Ehler,

We write to you out of concern for the integrity of the European Union’s ongoing efforts to combat the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography. As combating these crimes remains a top EU priority, we are alarmed by recent assertions of the Dutch ministry of Security and Justice relating to the prosecution of the group “Martijn” and allegations of child sex abuse against the ministry’s secretary-general, Mr. Joris Demmink.

As you may be aware, Mr. Joris Demmink has been accused of child rape. It is asserted that Mr. Demmink traveled to Turkey in the 1990s to carry out the abuse and rape of numerous victims, and furthermore, it has been asserted that Mr. Demmink used the power of his position to obstruct efforts to file complaints against him, and used investigations as a way to deter his accusers.

Furthermore, during a criminal case last year, the Ministry of Security and Justice, under Demmink, contended that the promulgation of pedophilia and child pornography is legally protected under Dutch law, as demonstrated by the activities of “Martijn,” an association dedicated to legalizing sexual relations between adults and children. Although a civil court has decided to outlaw the group and ordered it dissolved, the ministry’s contention on that matter raises serious concerns for the institutional integrity of the ministry.

Mr. Demmink is accused of what could be considered child sex tourism, a form of human trafficking. Given the nature of the allegations against Mr. Demmink and his influence within the Ministry of Security and Justice, we are concerned that the Ministry may not be able to properly execute the Netherlands’s responsibilities under the EU Decision 2004/68/JHA, the Framework Decision on combating the sexual exploitation of children and child pornography, as well as other bilateral cooperations to combat sex trafficking. Further, if allegations against Mr. Demmink are true, we are concerned that with the open borders immigration policy of the EU, the Netherlands may be susceptible to becoming a “weak-link” in the chain of EU anti-sex trafficking efforts, as the secretary’s position could possibly compromise the ministry’s work in this regard.

Combating sex trafficking at the international level remains a top priority of our government just as it does the European Union. Recognizing this mutual priority, and shared concern, we believe this issue should be raised at the next EP/US Interparliamentary meeting. Furthermore, we ask that you convey our concerns to the European Parliament Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs, in order that the European Parliament as a whole can take appropriate measures to address this situation while also being mindful of the potential risks involved when a single individual can potentially undermine broader anti-trafficking efforts.

Complaints of sex trafficking and sexual abuse of children must be granted our highest level of attention. As the New Transatlantic Agenda calls for a determination to fight international crime, we thank you for your attention to this important matter and unfortunate circumstance.

We look forward to working with the European Union in finding further areas of cooperation, and we appreciate your response to our requests.

Sincerely,

Joseph R. Pitts
Member of Congress,

Frank R. Wolf
Member of Congress,

Christopher H. Smith
Member of Congress

You can download scanned PDF version of this letter here.

http://arrestdemmink.com/index.asp?idmenu=4&title=News&idsubmenu=113#.UCOXm01lSBo

See also:

The Pedophia Case of JORIS DEMMINK a High Level Dutch Ministry of Justice Official 
http://www.rebeccaproject.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=blogcategory&id=110&Itemid=240

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

The firm formerly known as Blackwater has agreed to fork over $7.5 million to the Justice Department to avoid going to court on 17 criminal charges

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2012/08/blackwater-prosecution/

Dutch Government Apologizes And Has Immediately Disabled All Cookies On The Websites It Operates

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Blocking, Education / Awareness, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Dutch language news article:
http://webwereld.nl/nieuws/111422/rijksoverheid-zet-alle-cookies-uit.html

Previously:

Dutch Government Itself Says It Doesn’t Need To Abide By Its Own Cookie Law Because It Is Not A Commercial Entity
http://vrritti.com/2012/08/09/dutch-government-itself-says-it-doesnt-need-to-abide-by-its-own-cookie-law-because-it-is-not-a-commercial-entity/

Judge Orders Oron To Settle $34.8m Copyright Suit, Dismisses Case. Wants It All To Be A Bad Dream

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, New Business Models, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

Enforcement vs Economic Interests. Please keep calm and walk on. There’s nothing to see here. “There never was any child porn on Oron’s site” and “Oron is protected by the DMCA safe harbor”

A U.S District Court has ordered the Oron.com cyberlocker to settle its copyright infringement dispute with adult studio Liberty Media. The file-hosting site claimed that settlement negotiations had never been finalized but yesterday the court decided otherwise. Oron will now have to pay Liberty Media at least $550,000 with additional attorney’s fees to be decided at a later date. In the meantime, Oron’s service remains down.

That settlement is detailed in court papers as follows:

1. Oron pays Liberty Media $550,000.
. . .
8. Once payment is received by both parties, both proceedings in NV and HK will be
dismissed with prejudice, and in the event that Oron breaks any part of the deal, the
claims may be reinstated via arbitration after a 30 day “notice and cure” period.
. . .
12. Liberty agree to announce publicly that after a careful review of the facts they
believe Oron is protected by the DMCA safe harbor and that a review of the actual files
shows that there never was any child porn on Oron’s site.
. . .
14. Liberty will immediately, once the terms of the agreement are agreed to issue a
letter asking that the HK bank accounts be unfrozen allowing the payment to the
Randazza Trust and then to [former Oron webhosting provider] Leaseweb as well as send a letter to Leaseweb asking them to allow Oron ten (10) days to pay as the settlement of the matter is imminent.

There are at least 19 points to the settlement agreement so as can be seen from the numbering scheme on the items above a significant number are missing from court papers. As previously revealed, Oron were prepared to hand over the identities of its allegedly copyright infringing customers to Liberty and help the studio take legal action against them.

Much more:
http://torrentfreak.com/judge-orders-oron-to-settle-34-8m-copyright-suit-dismisses-case-120808/

See also:
http://vrritti.com/?s=oron.com&submit=Search

Microsoft and NYPD install big data crime-fighting system

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

Microsoft and the New York Police Department have teamed up to an information gathering system that is designed to identify and shut down criminal activity on the streets of the Big Apple.

Dubbed the Domain Awareness System (DAS), the sftware links up police databases, CCTV camera footage, reports from over 3,000 radiation sensors, license plate detectors and public data streams into a crime recognition engine that can be used to support officers on the street.

During the press launch, the system was shown identifying a suspect package and displaying the location on the main police response screen, along with a transcript of the 911 call reporting it and a list of nearby officers. The operator then identified all video cameras in the area and began replaying video of the area to see when the package was left on the sidewalk.

Much more:
http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/09/microsoft_domain_awareness_system/

Tokyo Stock Exchange falters as IT problems return

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Network Security, Stats / reports

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2012/08/09/tokyo_stock_exchange_outage/

It’s A Newsworthy Fact That Dutch Law Enforcement Pays Less Visits To Hosting Provider Leaseweb Nowadays

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Copyright, Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

Which is what Dutch security magazine Security.nl is reporting. After the shutdown of 143 Bredolab botnet servers and the Robert Mikelsons case, it has become quiet at the Dutch hosting provider.

According to Leaseweb Security Officer Alex de Joode this quietness has also come about because the responsibility for dealing with cyber issues at Leaseweb has been transferred from the Dutch National Police to the regional authorities in a place called Kennemerland.

Leaseweb has also made progress in dealing with cybercrime issues across the board. Some of those are dealt with internally or with help of forensic and security companies rather than law enforcement authorities.

Leaseweb used to host parts of the MegaUpload infrastructure in the past and more recently it became known that it hosted pedo-file sharing service Oron.com.

Dutch language news article:
http://www.security.nl/artikel/42572/1/LeaseWeb%3A_minder_contact_met_politie_na_Robert_M..html

Wikileaks has been under DDoS attack for the last five days

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Network Security, Stats / reports

http://www.zdnet.com/wikileaks-has-been-under-ddos-attack-for-the-last-five-days-7000002213/

Anonymous attacks Ukrainian government after Demonoid bust

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reports

http://www.zdnet.com/anonymous-attacks-ukrainian-government-after-demonoid-bust-7000002348/

NASA taps Amazon Web Services for rover video infrastructure

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports

http://www.zdnet.com/nasa-taps-amazon-web-services-for-rover-video-infrastructure-7000002355/

Dutch Government Itself Says It Doesn’t Need To Abide By Its Own Cookie Law Because It Is Not A Commercial Entity

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Legislation, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

Nice try but Dutch telecom regulator OPTA has a different view about that. Meanwhile, the websites of the Dutch government are not in compliance with the law

Dutch language news article:
http://www.nu.nl/internet/2879108/overheid-weigert-voldoen-cookiewet.html

India can monitor BlackBerry without codes: report

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports, Tech Evolution

http://news.yahoo.com/india-monitor-blackberry-without-codes-report-133137466–finance.html

Pfizer settles foreign bribery charges to the tune of $60 Million

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reports

http://www.infowars.com/pfizer-settles-foreign-bribery-charges-to-the-tune-of-60-million/

The Secretive International Olympic Committee Is Set To Earn A Record $8 Billion

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reports

http://www.infowars.com/the-secretive-international-olympic-committee-is-set-to-earn-a-record-8-billion/

Google Search Results Can Pull From Your Gmail Now. That One Better Not Be Buggy

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Enforcement, Google, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

Your email is basically a huge repository for information that you need. That’s where you store travel itineraries, party details, package tracking numbers, phone numbers, and countless other important bits of data. If you enable the trial, Google will pull relevant information from your emails and display it alongside your search results. Researching an upcoming trip, for example? Your airline confirmation email will pop up in a right-hand pane.

More:
http://gizmodo.com/5932994/google-search-results-can-pull-from-your-gmail-now

The DoD really should have done something to ensure that the troops could watch the Olympics live

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Public Policy, Stats / reports

http://gizmodo.com/5932957/how-us-troops-abroad-got-screwed-out-of-olympics-coverage

Guy Orders TV from Amazon, Gets Giant Assault Rifle Instead

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Stats / reports

Assault rifles are completely illegal in Washington, but that didn’t stop the accidental delivery. Transporting a weapon into DC is also completely illegal. Apparently, the third party Amazon seller who shipped out the 37-inch, 7.62 X 51 mm NATO caliber rifle intended it to hit a gun dealer in Pennsylvania. Not some guy in DC.

More:
http://gizmodo.com/5933021/guy-gets-giant-assault-rifle-from-amazon-instead-of-tv

McAfee Is Going to Blur Your Facebook Pictures And Make Them Impossible to Download

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Tech Evolution

But easy to photograph with a smartphone?

http://gizmodo.com/5933108/mcafee-is-going-to-blur-your-facebook-pictures-and-make-them-impossible-to-download

How a Fake Erotic Fiction eBook Hit the Top 5 of iTunes

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Stats / reports

Why would they do this? Because Brushwood realized that the top ten books in iTunes were all erotic fiction novels (erotic fiction novels are killing the charts because of the success of the Fifty Shades of Grey trilogy) and figured they could prove how ridiculous the general public, sex books and the best selling system all is. According to Young:

“It all started with Scam School Book 2—Brian’s magic book. He found out as he was pushing that book that the top ten in iTunes was all erotic fiction. Even to the point where established authors, like Janet Evanovich, couldn’t break into the top five of the iBooks store-because of all the erotic fiction that was capitalizing on Shades of Grey. And he thought-we could do that!”

More:
http://gizmodo.com/5933169/how-a-fake-crowdsourced-erotic-ebook-hit-the-top-5-of-itunes

Burner wants to help you temporarily obfuscate your phone number

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports

App turns your digits into a disposable number, for a small fee, of course.

More:
http://arstechnica.com/business/2012/08/burner-wants-to-help-you-temporarily-obfuscate-your-phone-number/

Anonymous anti-MPAA video donor: “We don’t want to attract unnecessary attention in our lives”. Only to the lives of others

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reports

A video accusing the American government of selling out to Hollywood has made a splash after being featured on the front page of the Pirate Bay, where it has garnered over 10 million views. Anti-Hollywood sentiment is nothing new, especially on The Pirate Bay, but what sets this video apart is its top-notch—one might even say Hollywood-caliber—production values.

On Wednesday, Ars spoke to one of the producers, who identified himself as “Andrew,” via Skype. He told us he’s a financial professional outside the United States. He created the video with a friend who also works “on the stock exchange.”

Believing a video would attract a wider audience than a text-based website, they hired a director and a sound professional to produce a 3-minute video. “Andrew” told us the whole video cost about $5000 to produce, and that he and his friend funded the project out of their own pockets. “We really don’t have much to do with the Internet industry as a whole,” he told us.

If this video is a hit, it could be the first in a series of videos focused on “online freedom and copyright.” The next one might be tied to the American elections in November.

Why the secrecy? “You see what’s happening with people who are involved in this kind of stuff,” “Andrew” told us. “Especially when you’re directly attacking against political figures. We don’t want to attract unnecessary attention in our lives.”

He said he was motivated by the sight of people being “getting arrested left and right in different countries for various copyright infringement ‘offenses.’” He said that copyright issues “affect pretty much anybody.”

More:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/anonymous-donors-bring-hollywood-production-values-to-anti-mpaa-video/

WikiLeaks, Demonoid, and security site felled by crude (but potent) attacks

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Network Security, Stats / reports

http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/08/wikileaks-demonoid-security-site-felled-by-dos-attacks/

Dotcom lawyer: NZ police stopped pregnant wife from calling a doctor (MegaUpload)

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, Public Policy, Stats / reports

A pregnant Mona Dotcom was prevented from quickly seeking medical attention after the police seized the family’s cell phones and vehicles during the dramatic January raid on the mansion she shared with her husband, Kim Dotcom.

At least that’s how Dotcom defense lawyer Paul Davison told the story in a Thursday court hearing in New Zealand. The New Zealand High Court is holding hearings to help it decide what to do about the raid, which it has already ruled illegal.

More:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/dotcom-lawyer-nz-police-stopped-pregnant-wife-from-calling-a-doctor/

Judge William Alsup’s new order is forcing Google and Oracle to name their paid advocates

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Education / Awareness, Google, Litigation, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reports

If the order stands, Google and Oracle will have to name names by August 17.

More:

http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/with-anti-shill-order-googleoracle-judge-enters-uncharted-territory/

Rather than acting as a neutral arbitrator between major content companies and independent organizations, YouTube’s system favors the larger rightsholders

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Blocking, Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Filtering, Google, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Online advertising, Stats / reports

“My biggest concern is that for every guy like me who will contest this stuff, there are many more people who don’t,” Seidman told us. “If it goes unanswered, the revenue flows away from the content creator to a corporate entity.”

Seidman said that Content ID’s dispute-resolution process leaves a lot to be desired. If Seidman disputes another media organization’s claim, the other organization has up to a month to respond. “That’s a long time for a news agency,” he told us. In the meantime, the original owner of the video is blocked from earning any revenue.

The Content ID system was created because major content owners insisted that the notice-and-takedown regime established by the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) didn’t go far enough in protecting their rights. YouTube chose to go beyond the letter of the law, creating a system that was supposed to automatically detect infringing videos and either block them or let the rightful owner claim the revenue.

But in accommodating the demands of large copyright holders, YouTube has inadvertently reminded us all of the crucial point that flagging copyright infringement isn’t nearly as simple as it is often portrayed by rightsholders. Even scanning videos for exact content matches that exceed certain thresholds (in order to preserve at least some fair uses) actually fails in all sorts of interesting ways.

Much more:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/how-youtube-lets-content-companies-claim-nasa-mars-videos/

New video shows raid on Dotcom home. Video includes comments by Dotcom himself (MegaUpload)

Posted: 2012/08/09 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Illegal File Sharing, Public Policy, Stats / reports

With New Zealand authorities trying to overturn a ruling that a raid of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom’s mansion was illegal, new footage has surfaced showing police storming the home with helicopters, semiautomatic weapons, and attack dogs, despite the fact that police admitted Dotcom posed a “low risk.”

More:
http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/2012/08/helicopters-guns-attack-dogs-new-video-shows-raid-on-dotcom-home/

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