Google grows some

“We have decided we are no longer willing to continue censoring our results on Google.cn”

A new approach to China
1/12/2010 03:00:00 PM
Like many other well-known organizations, we face cyber attacks of varying degrees on a regular basis. In mid-December, we detected a highly sophisticated and targeted attack on our corporate infrastructure originating from China that resulted in the theft of intellectual property from Google. However, it soon became clear that what at first appeared to be solely a security incident–albeit a significant one–was something quite different.

First, this attack was not just on Google. As part of our investigation we have discovered that at least twenty other large companies from a wide range of businesses–including the Internet, finance, technology, media and chemical sectors–have been similarly targeted. We are currently in the process of notifying those companies, and we are also working with the relevant U.S. authorities.

Second, we have evidence to suggest that a primary goal of the attackers was accessing the Gmail accounts of Chinese human rights activists. Based on our investigation to date we believe their attack did not achieve that objective. Only two Gmail accounts appear to have been accessed, and that activity was limited to account information (such as the date the account was created) and subject line, rather than the content of emails themselves.

It gets worse… Continue reading →

Cosmos

I post this as a response to some of the wonderful imagery of the cosmos contained in Chowbok’s post on death:

Beyond the planets — the blackness is not an empty void — but a sea of trillions and trillions of cosmic particles bouncing and playing their special dance across the expanse of time. Lit by dust, a photonic orchestra plays for us, we, the congealed mass of proton and electron wonders that inhabit this universe must surely be struck by the extraordinary symmetry of the whole incredible thing!

“We are made of star stuff,” Sagan said. Our bodies contain the very elements of the stars.

I say ‘Wow.’ Continue reading →

How bloody awful

Bob Drogin in the LA Times wrote a ghastly true crime story about the [alleged] murder of a scientist who suffered from panic attacks and paranoia.

Sartory-LATimes

Whatever the opposite of edifying is, this story is that. Nasty.

It’s bad to know such cold people walk the streets.

Read it here, if you want. (You have been warned.): http://bit.ly/5t8Epo

This week’s panic

With the benefit of a little TIME... <br />(image:cmsanche-blog.blogspot.com)

With the benefit of a little time... (image:cmsanche-blog.blogspot.com)

Reading an article in the latest Audi magazine in a chocolate factory cafe yesterday, I came across a quote from Audi chairman Rupert Stadler talking about his time working for the firm as head of Finance & HR in Spain:

“And that was during the crisis of the 90s.”

Reading it, I wasn’t sure exactly which crisis he meant.
In this part of the world the Asian Crisis broke hearts and sparked fire sales in the early 1990s as currency exchange rates crashed, consumption plummeted and money needed to be repatriated urgently.

One of my authors, Tony Steindle documented the hard edged experiences some property buyers, developers and sellers faced at the time in our book How to Survive and Prosper in a Falling Property Market.

But the thought Herr Stadler’s casual of-course-you-know-what-I-mean comment provoked in me was this:

When it’s time to look back, I wonder how I will see the hardships or challenges which fixate and pre-occupy me now — some of which would almost qualify for the ‘crisis’ monicker at times?

How will today’s ‘crisis’ and stresses be seen with the benefit of time? Continue reading →

W. Eugene Smith

The legacy of W. Eugene Smith…

W. Eugene Smith learned the hard way that photography could be too easy, a matter of making expert images of interesting subjects. He set himself to learn the truth – about himself as well as his subjects. In the process, he produced a series of photographic essays, for LIFE and other publications, whose passionate involvement set a standard for what photography can be. Gene Smith was a loner, a driving and driven man, who bucked the system of which he was a part. Some say he sacrificed his career, and himself, on an altar of self-destructive idealism. When he died at the age of 59 in 1978, he had $18 in the bank. But his name had become synonymous with integrity. His work was his memorial.

Why, then, a memorial fund in his name? Those who knew Smith knew also that he needed friends at critical times. Many photographers today are working against the fashions and economics of modern publishing. The Fund was established in 1979 to seek out and encourage these independent voices. In the first twenty nine years of competition, from many thousands of proposals, the Fund selected 298 finalists who were seeking help in finishing major projects. Each was worthy of a grant.

In one way or another, a finalist must approach Gene Smith’s own high standards. “I am a compassionate cynic,” he wrote, “yet I believe I am one of the most affirmative photographers around. I have tried to let the truth be my prejudice. It has taken much sweat. It has been worth it.”

Read more about the legacy of W Eugene Smith and see examples of his work here.

‘Bounced around like dragonflies’ – Internet addiction & Writing

Garrison Keillor (image: cwu.edu)

Garrison Keillor (image: cwu.edu)

One of my heroes, Garrison Keillor had some more good and insightful things to say about writing, including the benefits of solitude and the malison of the ‘always-connected’ data-overloaded life:

The Internet and Google have their usefulness, God knows. I mean, how would we live without them? But you know, for young people with tremendously retentive minds, there’s too much upstairs. There’s too much data going in. If they didn’t have ADD before, they’ve got it now. They’re just bounced around like dragonflies on a pond.

I don’t mean to sound like an old codger, but I remember when I started out writing for the New Yorker I was living in a farmhouse in central Minnesota, because it was so cheap. It really removed a lot of the pressure of having to sell-sell-sell. I loved it there. I was desperately lonely, but that’s not a bad thing.
I was sitting in a room upstairs at a desk that was a sheet of three-quarter-inch plywood across two used file cabinets, looking at an Underwood typewriter, and typing on yellow paper. It was a contemplative life that had great, deep pleasure. I wouldn’t know how to recover it today.

This, for me, is how the world has changed, that a man sits at a desk in utter silence, and the phone line is simply the phone line. Somebody calls, and you don’t have to answer it. You sit in silence, and hours pass and you tap-tap-tap-tap at a typewriter. I will never, ever recover that life. It’s gone forever. And the college students I know will never know that life.

This is a rich exchange of views from a wonderful voice in all senses of the word … I recommend you read it in full on Tom Peters’ site (link below).

Some insightful comments about what experience teaches about writing/editing: Continue reading →

A Hospital Story

There was a woman who was dying in a hospital; a double organ CBPlate01transplant gone wrong. Six months now her body had wasted away. Eighty pounds in weight now and her entire lifetime allotment of anti-rejection shock-drug therapy used up. After four exploratory surgeries to untangle this and untie that, everybody was at a loss. What was wrong with the woman? No one knew.

The original surgeon who had performed the surgery was fired and the head of the Transplant Center was now on the case. This was a big deal. Not only a human life, but also the very future of this “world class transplant hospital” stood in jeopardy. And nobody knew what had gone wrong – but wrong it had gone all the same.

Finally, one dark winter night the Head Transplant Surgeon decided that the time was at hand – he spoke to the husband. “I’m going to redo the entire operation – top to bottom – back-to-front – inside and out — and I’ll remove a few pesky things like gallbladders, appendixes and such.” The doctor was honest with the husband, “we have no choice. We do not know what is wrong with your wife – only that — she is dying.” Continue reading →

Rising ape or fallen angel? – Terry Pratchett on religion

At the Guardian Book Club, bestselling author Terry Pratchett gives his views on science and religion (click for link)

Bestselling author Terry Pratchett gives his views on science and religion at the Guardian Book Club

A nice answer to a straight question about his belief in god(s)…

‘I’d rather be a rising ape than a fallen angel’

Watch the 8 minute video at guardian.co.uk

free?

Worth what you pay to use it?

Worth exactly what you pay to use it?

Quite a good interview with Andrew The-internet-is-making-us-dumber-and-less-informed Keen:

Andrew Keen talking to Bryan Crump Radio NZ National (mp3 20 mins)

Some of the best lines: “It’s turning the knowledge business into a church” and “I don’t think a knowledge worker should be altruistic … shouldn’t give away their labour for free”…. as well as his comments about meticulous Star Wars entries vs spartan entries on Historical figures and Art.

Following on from our earlier discussion about the ‘Social media revolution’ and the claims of accuracy/originality made for social media, I find Keen’s comments about the ‘echo chamber’ aspect of the internet, along with Nick The Big Switch Carr‘s POV, very telling — all good, thought provoking stuff.

The transformation of our culture from the industrial to the digital age has, as predicted, concretely changed our experience of life — in some cases creating a ‘generation gap’ of startling proportions. I know that sounds hyperbolic, but so be it.

The challenge for wikipedia — and most other online communities — is broadening the base of contributors so that external ‘agendas’ don’t dominate or drive the site … and the young techno-centric inmates aren’t the only ones running the asylum. That said, sometimes there’s a need for (ahem) a knight in shining armour to tell the truth and keep telling it — despite the malodour this might create. Continue reading →

Good move: recognize inevitability

On a hiding to nothing

Sometimes a party to a lawsuit has to recognize they’re holding a losing hand, and put an end to the dispute. Certainly, in my experience, it can take a while for reality to sink in to your opponent’s cranium.

A long dispute means both parties are wrong, said Voltaire, which is a challenge to both sides.

For some egos, they resist it, ignore it, fight it… until…

Banks to pay billions owed

NZPA via Stuff 22:00 23/12/2009

LATEST: Four major banks have settled their long-running disputes with the Inland Revenue Department.

The Commissioner of Inland Revenue, Robert Russell, and the Solicitor-General, David Collins QC, said they are pleased long-running tax disputes have been settled.

The BNZ, Westpac, ASB Bank, and ANZ National have agreed to settle cases with Inland Revenue by accepting liability for a combined sum that exceeds $2.2 billion.

The settlement, believed to be the largest commercial settlement in New Zealand’s history, follows IRD’s success in the High Court this year in two cases involving a particular type of transaction known as “structured finance”. As late as this month Westpac, BNZ and ANZ National said they would take IRD to the Supreme Court in a bid to hang on to about $8 million in unclaimed funds the IRD said belongs to the Crown.

The High Court and Court of Appeal have both found against the banks in hearings over the past three years.

Yeah, OK. The banks could have kept appealing on dragging it out, but IRD had too much to lose to let them off the hook. The stakes were too high. Congrats to the tax man. (We have a recession to pay for, huh?) Continue reading →

Free Trial Scam!

A friend of mine got caught in this ‘free trial’ scam.

Never thought I would EVER get scammed online….but DID! RealFreeSamples – a link on Facebook got me good..have cancelled my credit card but am out by $450..so annoyed at myself…. That means the fine print says they’ll keep sending you shipments until you jump through all sorts of hoops to cancel. The company behind it is Just Think media in Canada – the guy sells Dazzlewhite, Acaiburn, PureLifeCream… grrrrrrr

Who cares how good the product is (or isn’t) if the spruikers and con artists who push it resort to tricks like this to rip people off? Continue reading →

The French Resistance and Google

I must say I like the absence of inevitability the French demonstrate towards the mega-Google.

Their ‘keep your hands off our culture’ approach, (despite Euro Disney and the laughable but well-patronised McDonalds and Disney store on the Champs Elysees) is refreshing and worthwhile.

The hopeless shrug of the shoulders so many meet Google’s apparent dominance with is not the only logical response… as the following TWO recent blows for ‘freedom’ or ‘independence’ illustrate…

Viva la France!

Paris Court Convicts Google in Copyright Case

By MAX COLCHESTER And JESSICA E. VASCELLARO Wall St Journal

PARIS—A French court found Google Inc. guilty of copyright infringement for scanning books and publishing extracts online without a French publisher’s consent, a ruling that could hinder the U.S search company’s ongoing drive to create a giant global online library. Continue reading →

Cor!

Er, golly!  (image: Lily Sussman)

Er, golly! (image: Lily Sussman)

Anyone who ever felt intimidated by a border crossing can be thankful they didn’t get this treatment.

Lily Sussman’s story interests me for two reasons beyond the Midnight Express/travel horror story aspects.

1) Wow! The hard drive still works!

2) Look at the discussion on Lily Sussman’s blog about the Israel/Occupied Palestine issue. It gets heated pretty quick. Looking at it through the ‘source of conflict‘ goggles we discussed here, well, it makes me think. Continue reading →

A novel explanation of copyright and IP

© kiwiright from nu4mz on Vimeo.

Worth watching and mostly good.

But a specious argument (starts about 1.50) reveals a mindset:

Do you know if you walk around town with a camera you’d be filming a lot of trademarked signs, You might have to get a permit for that. You might have to pay a licence fee for that.

Oh really? Continue reading →

I hope this site was helpful

A search string someone used recently to find their way to ThePaepae.com:

“How many times should I turn a blind eye to dodgy practices before I blow the whistle?”

Great question! I hope you found something on this site that was helpful.