p2pnet World Headlines: June 29, 2010
Germany Asks Apple About iPhone’s Data-Gathering New York Times
The justice minister of Germany expressed concern on Monday over Apple’s practice of compiling data on users of its new iPhone, making the company the latest technology giant to fall afoul of the country’s strict privacy laws. The latest version of the company’s smartphone, the iPhone 4, went on sale in Germany on Thursday. Under German law, the mere act of collecting personal data without an individual’s permission, whether it be geographic location or Web traffic, is illegal. The justice minister, Sabine Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger, asked Apple to tell state data protection officials about the kind of data the company was gathering on individual iPhone users in Germany. The company is also being asked to outline how long the data is being stored and for what purpose. ‘Apple has the obligation to properly implement the transparency so often promised by Steve Jobs,’ Ms. Leutheusser-Schnarrenberger said in an interview with the magazine Der Spiegel.
Toronto Police to review G20 response Globe and Mail
Facing criticism over G20 tactics, the Toronto Police Service will review ‘all aspects’ of summit policing, Chief Bill Blair announced on Tuesday. The review, which will be conducted by the force’s Summit Management After Action Review Team, will provide an ‘assessment of the strengths and weaknesses in the G20 plans, and their execution,’ the force said in a news release.’We feel it’s extremely important, with an event of this unprecedented size and complexity, to ensure that we examine everything we did and how we did it. This will ensure that our procedures are tested thoroughly, and that we identify any areas that may require further examination,’ Chief Blair said in the statement. Following a series of violent skirmishes and a record number of arrests, more than 1,000 people marched through the streets of downtown Toronto on Monday evening to protest police methods during the weekend summit. [Nothing like closing the gate when the horse has gone.]
Blatter says FIFA to reopen debate on technology AssociatedPress
With pressure for video replay mounting after two blatant missed calls at the World Cup, FIFA president Sepp Blatter said soccer’s governing body will reopen the issue after the tournament. Blatter said Tuesday that FIFA deplores “when you see the evidence of refereeing mistakes.” It would be “a nonsense” not to consider changes, he said. The referee at England’s second-round match with Germany on Sunday missed a clear English goal that would have tied the score 2-2. Germany went on to win 4-1. Hours later, a referee awarded a goal to Argentina on a play in which goal-scorer Carlos Tevez was obviously offside. Argentina went on to beat Mexico 3-1. Blatter, who attended both matches, said he had apologized to English and Mexican soccer officials. “After having witnessed such a situation,” Blatter said, referring to England’s non-goal against Germany, “we have to open again this file, definitely.”
Profile: Russia’s SVR intelligence agency BBC
Russia’s External Intelligence Service (SVR) is the current incarnation of one of the world’s oldest and most extensive espionage agencies, known for decades as the KGB. It officially celebrates its 90th birthday in 2010, tracing its lineage back to the Soviet Union’s NKVD Foreign Department, set up on 20 December 1920. The KGB (Committee of State Security) moniker surfaced in the 1950s, when it was officially known as the KGB’s First Main Directorate, to distinguish it from the domestic secret police. The SVR’s closeness to the Kremlin is underlined by the fact that its current director, Mikhail Fradkov, and one of his predecessors, Yevgeny Primakov, both served as prime ministers of Russia. But it is the current Russian Prime Minister, Vladimir Putin, who is undoubtedly the service’s best-known graduate, having served as an agent in East Germany in the 1980s.
Russia Says US Spy Allegations ‘Groundless’ VOA News
Russia’s Foreign Ministry says allegations of a Russian spy ring in the United States are “groundless” and “unseemly.” A statement released by Russia’s Foreign Ministry voiced regret that the arrests of 10 alleged spies in the United States came as President Barack Obama had moved to “reset” relations with Moscow. The FBI has arrested 10 people who allegedly spied for Russia for up to a decade – posing as civilians while trying to infiltrate U.S. policy making circles. An 11th defendant, a man accused of delivering money to the agents, remains at large. Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov told reporters earlier he hopes to receive an explanation for the arrests. Lavrov mocked the timing of the event. The U.S. Justice Department publicized the results of the long investigation just days after Mr. Obama hosted Russian President Dmitri Medvedev at the White House.
Tracking Down Wi-Fi Interference? Slashdot
Almost every evening, between 8:30 and 10:00, my Wi-Fi just dies. This, in itself, could be explained by a crappy Wi-Fi source or some hardware failure, except that I know both of my neighbors are experiencing the same loss of signal at the same time. While the Wi-Fi is down, the LAN is OK, and anything plugged into Cat5 can access the Internet just fine. One possibility comes to mind — perhaps some other neighbor arrives home and turns on their router from 8:30 to 10:00? And something in their signal is hosing our Wi-Fi? I have tried looking around for software to help identify the source of interference, but either the programs are ridiculously expensive for a home user, or else my card (Intel Link 1000 BGN) isn’t supported. (Netstumbler is an example of the latter.) Any suggestions on how I can track this down?”
Microsoft Windows 8 details leak Telegraph
Leaked documents detailing Microsoft’s initial thoughts on the development of Windows 8 have surfaced on the internet. The PowerPoint presentation, apparently aimed at an HP executive and dated April 2010, suggested that facial recognition for log in and compatibility with a range of new computers and tablets could be a key part of the forthcoming product.
Man loses finger at McDonalds drive-through The Local
A guest at a McDonald’s restaurant in Mora in central Sweden had part of his finger severed when the hatch at the drive-through counter was closed on him on Sunday evening. “A drunk man approached the restaurant after closing. He was aggressive and unpleasant,” said Petra Whitehead at McDonald’s Sweden to The Local on Tuesday. According to the police report a 22-year-old man drove in to the restaurant late Sunday evening and a member of McDonald’s staff slammed the hatch closed on his hand, severing his dangling digit.”I don’t know the extent of the damage to his hand. But it is a police matter now and they will investigate,” Whitehead told The Local. “The manager of our restaurant called an ambulance,” she confirmed. The 22-year-old, who according to the Aftonbladet daily has successfully been reunited with his finger tip, has reported the restaurant employee for assault causing actual bodily harm.
More action needed to combat railway suicides Dutch News
More needs to be done to prevent people committing suicide by jumping in front of trains, caretaker transport minister Camiel Eurlings said on Tuesday. Last year, 197 people killed themselves on the railways and 22 people attempted to do so, in line with the trend in previous years. ‘The target of a permanent improvement is not being met,’ Eurlings said in a letter to parliament.
More privacy headaches for Google? Smart Company
It’s a little hard to get heard over Julia Gillard this week. I’m really rather shocked that no one is talking about Google unintentionally breaking its own terms and conditions relating to Privacy. When you sign up to Google Analytics it states this in the T&C’s: ”
7. PRIVACY. You will not (and will not allow any third party to) use the Service to track or collect personally identifiable information of Internet users, nor will You (or will You allow any third party to) associate any data gathered from Your website(s) (or such third parties’ website(s)) with any personally identifying information from any source as part of Your use (or such third parties’ use) of the Service. You will have and abide by an appropriate privacy policy and will comply with all applicable laws relating to the collection of information from visitors to Your websites. You must post a privacy policy and that policy must provide notice of your use of a cookie that collects anonymous traffic data.” Note all the stuff about “personally identifiable information of internet users”.
Mum’s outrage over picture of naked son on Google Street View Manchester Evening news
A mum has told of her horror after Google published a photograph of her young son naked on the internet. Claire Rowlands, 25, was stunned to see the image of little Louis Mears playing on a sunny day in his gran’s garden in Walkden. Louis, three, had been snapped by Google’s controversial ‘camera car’, as it took pictures of every road in Britain for the search engine’s Street View service. The company had blurred out the registration plate of a car on the drive of the house – but the image of Louis, who was wearing nothing but his shoes, was uncensored. In another image, taken seconds later, Louis’s face was clearly identifiable, but his modesty was preserved by a fence. Shocked Claire, who lives on the same road as her mother, said she had no idea the pictures had been taken and accused Google of invading her son’s privacy. She said:’I just felt sick to my stomach when I saw the naked picture of Louis on the internet. I’m angry, disgusted and upset about it – they should be checking every image before it goes up. ‘They should be extra careful on warm days because this is what children do – he was just playing in the garden and we didn’t expect in a million years he’d have his picture taken and put on the internet for anyone to see. ‘It’s such a clear image, I see it as an indecent photograph – my concern is that paedophiles could see it and there’s no way I ever wanted my son to be seen naked all over the world.”
Confidential Pakistani document reveals plans for stricter control of the internet and freedom of expression APC
Since May 20, Pakistan has experienced a wave of strict internet content control with thousands of web pages blocked following a Facebook campaign inviting users to ‘Draw Muhammad’. The Facebook campaign pushed Pakistani authorities to actively engage in blocking and filtering internet content, leaving Pakistani citizens powerless against the online blanket ban. Further plans by the government to continue to filter any content it considers ‘objectionable’ have been revealed in a confidential document obtained by APC member Bytes for All. ‘These new guidelines will give Pakistan’s government the power to cripple Pakistani citizens’ access to information and freedom of expression over the internet,’ say internet rights activists. New policy guidelines give Pakistani authorities ‘carte blanche’ over internet content The confidential document was submitted by the Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) to the Lahore High Court on June 15 2010 at the court’s recent hearing on the Facebook case.
… and identi.ca
June, 2010
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June 29th, 2010 at 12:32 pm
I wonder if “mum” tried to do this quietly first before going to the press, as going to the press guarantees her son’s image will be seen by any and all curious to know if the story is true, especially paedo’s.
June 29th, 2010 at 1:41 pm
I think Google just distributed child pornography… that’s illegal, isn’t it?
June 29th, 2010 at 2:19 pm
‘mum’ has a serious lack of brains, but then again IME, 25 year olds ALL do.
Seems to me, she wants a pay out from Google. After all, how many street views would have taken place had she not raised this publicly? Now the number will be much much higher, due to wide spread publicity. This cow sees a cash cow.
as for it being ‘kiddie porn’, no, the clear intent was not to photograph the child. Intent is paramount here as evidenced by the procedure that Google uses for ‘Street View’. The clarity of the ‘offending’ photo also precludes any pornographic element.
June 29th, 2010 at 2:30 pm
Woman Sued For Slamming Company Online
http://cbs2chicago.com/consumer/angies.list.defamation.2.1777933.html
In September, Helen Maslona called a local concrete company to get an estimate for a new gangway and back patio for her Southwest side three-flat. She talked to the company’s owner. He refused.
“He said, ‘No, I’m not, I can’t,’” Maslona said. She said he told her he does no work in her area, five miles from the firm’s headquarters.
That surprised her, she said, “because on Angie’s List, he said he does work in the area. ”
Maslona went back to Angie’s List and briefly reported what she had been told. Then she gave the firm, called All Fields of Concrete Construction, the worst consumer grade of all – an F.
Now the owner, Michael Fitzgerald, is suing, claiming the woman “willingly and maliciously tried and succeeded in damaging my company’s reputation.”
He is asking for $10,000 and court costs.
–
Seems to me the concrete company did itself more harm that that woman ever could by filing this frivolous defamation lawsuit. heh net-justice.
June 29th, 2010 at 2:36 pm
A naked child playing in a yard is hardly strange and is quite common.
A terrorist company like google however going around snapping peoples private communications, and private moments in order to build a giant tell-tale database is strange however.
Should people expect an American company standing in their UK yard snooping their communications and UK private lives? Is their home not their castle?
According to google, your home is not your own private castle. If they could, they would run airport type Xray scanners through each house and person while scanning hard-drives.
The woman should sue.
June 29th, 2010 at 2:52 pm
http://www.cinemablend.com/features/Uwe-Boll-Money-For-Nothing-209.html
“The Awful Truth Behind The Worst Director In The World
Can’t See The Wood For Those Pesky Trees?
Hollywood often complains about box office slumps. They blame piracy, they blame DVD sales, they blame anyone and anything but themselves. You see Hollywood’s a bit like North Korea, if they ever admitted that the regime they run was flawed and oppressive the people at the top of the tower would come crashing down. So, like any good regime, they choose to blame their failures on the peasants for either not submitting a big enough offering or stealing from the state. The savvier public, however, blame an endless onslaught of mediocre, hollow projects that are touted as remakes, sequels, prequels, re-imaginings, reinventions or video game adaptations. To me that’s just a whole lot of different ways for marketing people to say “lazy recycled crap” but I digress. ”
very interesting article about the german tax-scammer Uwe Boll.
June 29th, 2010 at 4:36 pm
MP files motion against Google
http://www.pcpro.co.uk/news/359077/mp-files-motion-against-google
A Tory MP has tabled an early day motion asking for parliament to speak out about Google’s collection of Wi-Fi data.
[...]
Six other MPs have signed Conservative MP Robert Halfon’s motion, which expresses concern that “Google allegedly mapped every single wireless internet connection in Britain, including many millions in private homes, for commercial purposes.”
He added the “firm may have failed to disclose that it was building a massive database of wi-fi networks across the UK without people’s consent.”
He also expressed concern that companies were trawling social networks to find negative comments about them and called “on the coalition Government to balance innovation on the internet against individuals’ right to privacy and the new threat of a surveillance society.”
June 29th, 2010 at 5:09 pm
Harper bill would give U.S. power to boot travellers going from Canada to Mexico (or Cuba, or Jamaica, or Europe etc)
http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Harper+bill+would+give+power+boot+travellers+going+from+Canada+Mexico/3214893/story.html
Opposition rails against bill giving U.S. say over Canadian air travellers.
The Harper government has quietly presented a bill in the House of Commons that would give U.S. officials final say over who may board aircraft in Canada if they are to fly over the U.S. en route to a third country.
“Canadian sovereignty has gone right out the window,” Liberal Transport critic Joe Volpe told the Montreal Gazette in a recent telephone interview. “You are going to be subject to American law.”
June 29th, 2010 at 5:46 pm
“I think Google just distributed child pornography… that’s illegal, isn’t it?”
Nudity doesn’t automatically equal porn, except in the minds of uber-uptight Americans.
“A naked child playing in a yard is hardly strange and is quite common.”
If it’s so common, what’s the problem?
“According to google, your home is not your own private castle.”
Walk out on your front lawn naked and see how well your “private castle” protects you from being arrested for public nudity. Note that you can be arrested for *PUBLIC* nudity while standing on your *PRIVATE* property, if it’s in full view of the public.
“The woman should sue.”
Google should sue the woman for wasting their time. She let her kid play outside naked, they happened to snap a picture of him and when informed of it, they blurred the offending image.
Did the woman go around and blue the memories of everyone who drove past the house and saw her son naked? Did she blur all the memories of the neighbors who looked out the window and saw her son naked?
Here’s a tip; If you don’t want people to see your son naked, teach him to wear shorts!
June 29th, 2010 at 5:50 pm
Uncle Sam wants your data
http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/Canada+says+Uncle+wants+your+data/3214360/story.html
PM under fire for new Bill. Washington would control who boards Canadian flights over U.S.
If Bill C-42 passes, passengers leaving Montreal on a flight to Cuba or France, for example, while flying over the U.S., would have their name, birthdate and gender subject to screening by U.S. Homeland Security, which involves running that information through various government databases
[...]
Volpe noted that Bill C-42 does not refer specifically to the United States, adding that “with a stroke of the pen” the government is agreeing to provide data on Canadian passengers to any foreign government.
“They just opened the door to everybody without even so much as, ‘Hello, why are you doing this?’
“They can harass our airlines, harass our passengers, anything they want to.”
They forgot to state there will be a new database that will target any and all Canadian travelers.
Going to a Canadian favortite vacation spot in Cuba? You will be on the US hitlist for going to a country they deem to be a terrorist nation.
Civil liberties? Database searches? Compiling which Canadians goes to US terrorist countries?
Oh you have dual-citizenship? Oh my.
June 29th, 2010 at 9:05 pm
College students face penalties for sharing music files
http://www.poughkeepsiejournal.com/article/20100629/NEWS01/6290320/College-students-face-penalties-for-sharing-music-files
June 29th, 2010 at 9:42 pm
From the link the RW above pasted:
“Students at some Hudson Valley colleges who illegally share digital, copyrighted music could end up doing community service, shut off from Internet use — or thrown out of school — as a penalty.”
I agree. It’s unamerican of them to share.
June 29th, 2010 at 10:31 pm
Gang of “protesters” at G20 whip out illegal weapons and threaten other protesters. Surprise, they’re (presumably) cops!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aeG_t9abaSU
Is it a crime to defend yourself or make a citizen’s arrest against an undercover cop?
And is it legal for (no uniform/no badge) cops to dispatch a person for not obeying a command because she doesn’t understand English?
June 29th, 2010 at 10:58 pm
“Is it a crime to defend yourself or make a citizen’s arrest against an undercover cop?”
Apparently in Quebec it was when the protesters nailed the cops causing the problems (which the cops admitted to since they were caught on camera). Which in all likely hood was the same in Toronto.
BTW, the media is now reporting that Toronto changed it’s name to “Torontanamo”.
June 29th, 2010 at 11:17 pm
@RW
Under section 494 of the Criminal Code of Canada, if you see an indictable offense, you can arrest them, even a police officer. It clearly states “A person” can arrest “any person”, NOT “with the exception of… ” or “only ordinary civilians”.
But don’t screw that up, you better be damn sure the person is threatening, which is covered under Section 216.4a,b,c of the Criminal Code of Canada (punishable by 2 to 5 yrs in prison – threats against your life or property – which clearly the Black Bloc do).