p2pnet World Headlines â Sept 16, 2009
[Canadian government Perverts want to look at you & your kids private parts] CATSA orders invasive body scanners for Canadian airports PrivacyLawyer
According to the Edmonton Sun, the Canadian Air Transport Security Authority is ordering seven whole body scanners for use in airports. The scanners are controversial because they result in a virtual strip search so that the operator is able to make out the details of the passenger`s body and supposedly anything that the person may be hiding under his or her clothes. The passenger`s bits and pieces are clearly visible, and the manufacturer has special software that can be installed to blur the passenger`s genital region (on the screen, not in real life). But CATSA has declined to order or install the blurring software, saying that if the nether region are blurred, it would be possible for bad guys to hide stuff in that area. [Comment: Additional info on the government perverts here: http://www.edmontonsun.com/news/canada/2009/09/11/10834091-sun.html Will they be jailed for having kiddie porn on their computers? How long is the Canadian government keeping you & your child's private parts on their hard-drives?]
[Toronto Star] Torstar not looking to user-pay system to get revenue from online content Canoe
One of Canada`s largest newspaper publishers, says it is better off making its content widely available online instead of making users pay for access.
Dogs Sniff Out Inmates` Illegal Cell Phones In NJ The Street
On Tuesday, state Attorney General Anne Milgram announced charges against 35 inmates indicted for cell phone possession, a crime that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $15,000 fine. Under current law, the FCC can only allow federal agencies — not state or local authorities — to jam cell phone signals. Phone industry representatives object, saying that jamming signals could interfere with legitimate service and 911 calls. But states aren`t waiting. Many have started testing electronic cell phone detection technology and several, like Virginia and New Jersey, have started to use specially trained dogs to sniff out the phones.
Dell to pay $4 million in fraud case CNet
A year after the state of New York won its case against Dell and Dell Financial Services, the company will now pay up. The PC maker will fork over $4 million to settle a case initially filed in 2007, New York`s Office of the Attorney General said Tuesday. The initial suit brought by Attorney General Andrew Cuomo accused Dell of fraud, false advertising, and deceptive business practices, including offering misleading financing, and failing to honor rebates, warranties, and service contracts.
Mis-sold mobile crackdown starts BBC
Measures to crack down on the mis-selling of mobile phone contracts have been brought into force by the communications regulator Ofcom. Firms face simpler rules which could lead to them being fined up to 10% of turnover if they mis-sell. A voluntary code of conduct failed to reduce complaints.
T-Mobile drops plan to charge for paper bills CBC
T-Mobile USA has dropped a plan to begin charging customers $1.50 US per month to get a paper copy of their bill in the mail. The wireless phone carrier recently informed its 33 million customers that the fee would go into effect this past Saturday and would apply to anyone who didn`t sign up for a paperless billing plan, in which bills can only be viewed on the internet. In Canada, charges for paper bills have recently become common practice for wireless providers. After an outcry from customers and threats of legal action in the United States, however, T-Mobile changed its mind.
Plague death records published BBC
Details of those who died from the bubonic plague in London will be among more than 18 million parish records to be published on the internet. Dating back to 1539, these records will offer the only way to trace the birth, marriage or burial of a person living before 1837, ancestry.co.uk has said.
Girl, 3, made to smoke cigarette: Man in court after stunt is filmed on mobile Daily Miror
A girl of three was given a lit cigarette and filmed smoking it, a court heard yesterday. Laughing and joking, Graeme Conroy handed the cigarette to the child and encouraged her to inhale so it could be captured on a mobile. Conroy had persuaded another child, aged 14, to film it on the phone for fun, the court heard. But the video was later discovered and a neighbour confronted Conroy, who was then arrested.
Music industry ready for climbdown on internet piracy demands TimesOnline
The music industry is preparing to back down from its demands that people caught downloading songs illegally be disconnected from the internet after a revolt by leading musicians. UK Music, the body that represents the British music scene, will release a statement today clarifying its stance on file-sharing. It has been forced to drop any mention of cutting off internet connections, to ensure unity across the industry.
Police told to destroy DNA samples of the innocent [But told to ignore ruling] Independent
Ministers should instruct police forces to cease recording the DNA of innocent people immediately, the Equality and Human Rights Commission said yesterday. Ten months ago human rights judges called for an end to the policy of storing samples from nearly a million people arrested but never convicted of any offence, saying it breached their privacy. But it emerged last month that officers were told to ignore the ruling, continue adding new samples and to resist requests to have them deleted until the law was changed.
Microsoft Bing adds visual search BBC
Microsoft said “images play a large part in the decision making process” Software giant Microsoft has introduced “visual search” to its Bing search engine to try to further set itself apart from market leader Google. The new feature will allow users to browse results using pictures instead of text. Visual search will initially concentrate on four main areas: travel, health, leisure and shopping.
Web Censoring Widens Across Southeast Asia Wall Street Journal
Attempts to censor the Internet are spreading to Southeast Asia as governments turn to coercion and intimidation to rein in online criticism. Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam lack the kind of technology and financial resources that China and some other large countries use to police the Internet. The Southeast Asian nations are using other methods — also seen in China — to tamp down criticism, including arresting some bloggers and individuals posting contentious views online. That is distressing free-speech advocates who had hoped that Southeast Asia — until recently a region where Internet use was relatively unfettered — would become a model of open debate in the developing world as its economies modernize.
First they ignore you, then they laugh at you, then they fight you, then you win ~ Mahatma Gandhi
September, 2009
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September 16th, 2009 at 10:02 pm
About the old English death records… they used to be collated at the end of the year and printed in newspapers of the time. I remember reading an article about it years ago… one of the causes of death was listed as “Planet”…
Somehow I don’t think these records are going to be all that accurate. The diagnoses of ailments was rudimentary. (Man that sounds like Millard Fillmore.)
September 16th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
If you like that kind of thing, you may like this as well:
Records cast light on Jack the Ripper’s victims
http://cnews.canoe.ca/CNEWS/Features/2009/09/15/10916696-ap.html
On Tuesday an online genealogy company published census information that casts light on the lives of the women murdered by the Victorian serial killer.