Bold, but legal? They did nothing to the websites they dropped, they simply will no longer return them as part of their search results. No doubt some legitimate sites are now cut off too, but then you get what you pay for...
http://www.engadget.com/2011/07/10/google-pulls-co-cc-subdomains-from-search-brings-our-global-mal/
Google pulls co.cc subdomains from search, brings our global malware nightmare to an end
Google's been on a creative tear lately, rolling out new products and revamping older ones. But there's a reason the phrase "search giant" is synonymous with Big G, and it's always working to return better results. Sometimes that means tweaking its algorithm to prevent SEO-gaming; other times it means dropping over 11 million sites from search results, as the company just did in blocking the .co.cc subdomain. Google classifies it as a "freehost" -- it belongs to a Korean company that provides free or cheap domains, often bulk-registered -- and after automated scanning revealed a high percentage of malware-hosting sites, decided to scrub the entire lot from its results. Of course, this is something like using a nuclear weapon against cockroaches: it causes a lot of collateral damage, while your real target scurries to its next hideout. Still, we wish Google well in its bravely quixotic mission.
“No problem. We'll just make Europe “off limits”
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/027739.html
July 10, 2011
EPIC: European Parliament Takes Stance Against Airport Body Scanners
Follow up to previous postings on whole body scanning at airports, via EPIC: The European Parliament has adopted a resolution that sets out strict safeguards for airport body scanners. The resolution requires that Member States only "deploy technology which is the least harmful for human health" and establish substantial privacy protection. The resolution prohibits the use of body scanners that use ionizing radiation. New guidelines also state that airport body scanners "must not have the capabilities to store or save data." EPIC currently is pursuing a lawsuit to suspend the use of body scanners in the United States, citing several federal laws and the US Constitution. EPIC has called the US airport body scanner program "invasive, ineffective, and unlawful." For more information, see EPIC: EPIC v. DHS (Suspension of Body Scanner Program) and EPIC: Whole Body Imaging Technology."
This caught my eye because I sometimes feel “advocates” treat “the environment” more like a religion than a science. But here they seem to treat it like “Intelligent Design” – Okay, we'll mention it, now go away.
http://www.bespacific.com/mt/archives/027733.html
July 10, 2011
A National First: Maryland Students Must Be 'Green' to Graduate'
Education Week: "Maryland has become the first state in the country to require students to be "environmentally literate" in order to graduate from high school. The June 2011 vote by the Maryland board of education requires that students get a "comprehensive, multi-disciplinary environmental education" before receiving a diploma. Districts will have to develop plans for coursework that meets state standards in environmental literacy and have their plans approved by the state superintendent of schools. They will also have to develop ways to assess students' mastery of the material in order to determine if they are eligible for graduation. The action today follows a decision by the board last summer to require that students get a bigger dose of environmental literacy than they had been getting in typical science classes. There was some confusion, however, about whether that action actually made environmental literacy a graduation requirement. Today's vote was intended to clear up that confusion and make the requirement official."
(Related) Note: Advocates. Squeeze it into existing courses. Don't measure the students understanding. Is that education?
Environment to be added to state curriculum
September 21, 2010
… The Chesapeake Bay Foundation, which had advocated for making environmental studies a part of the curriculum, had hoped for stronger requirements than what was passed by the board, but the nonprofit advocacy group said the board's action was a "partial victory."
Under the new regulation, high school students will not need to take any additional courses, but environmental education will be added into existing courses, such as biology. Every five years, school districts will have to report to the state on whether they have environmental subject matter in courses that every student must take.
"The onus needs to be on the school system, not on the students" to prove that courses have been taken, said Donna Hill Staton, a board member.
For my Computer Forensics and Ethical Hacking students
How Digital Detectives Deciphered Stuxnet, the Most Menacing Malware in History
This can't be true, can it? If new technologies caused accidents, wouldn't the number (rate) of accidents shoot up each time a technology was introduced? (Perhaps someone should explain that 25% is not a “vast majority”)
Cell phones and texting cause most road accidents
New research offered up by non-profit organisation the Governors Highway Safety Association (GHSA) has revealed that mobile device use while behind the steering wheel is responsible for the vast majority of accidents on U.S. roads.
With the seriousness of such incidents ranging from light injury through to fatality, the report said cell phones and other mobile electronic devices amount for up to 25 percent of all vehicular crashes.
… The GHSA study collated its results by scrutinising more than 350 related scientific papers published since the turn of the millennium.
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