White House: No, We Weren't Hacked by the ChiComs

I guess we're supposed to believe them since they'd never lie to us, right?

The White House says no official U.S. government email accounts were accessed during what Google alleges was Chinese hacking of its email systems.

Obama spokesman Jay Carney says the FBI is investigating Google's allegations, but had no comment on whether China was involved. Google says personal Gmail accounts of several hundred people, including senior U.S. government officials, military personnel and political activists, were exposed.

In all likelihood they wouldn't want to admit it if, as stated, Google says government, military and political activists were hacked.

I doubt they have to hack any left-wing activists since they'd all probably be glad to give it up for the ChiComs.

If we are to believe them, then obviously our government officials all have secure systems, huh? Which makes the weak theory floated by the left that Anthony Weiner was "hacked" by some random "prankster" now null and void.

I've been rather busy today. Has the left concocted any more ridiculous excuses for Weiner today?

Google Satellite Spots Junk in the Trunk

I remember the days when it was reasonable to assume you could walk out onto your own driveway buck-naked, hop into the trunk of your car, and not have to worry much that the endeavor would be captured on the internet for posterity.

Ah, those were innocent times.

A GERMAN man has become the butt of internet jokes after a Google Street View camera snapped him climbing into the boot of a car — while completely naked.

The baffling picture shows a nude man manoeuvring himself into the boot of a Mercedes which is parked on the driveway of a house in Mannheim, south-west Germany.

A dog can be seen lying on the driveway surrounded by the contents of the sports car's boot.

It is unknown whether the man is sporting a pair of tight, skin-coloured shorts but a number of theories have been raised about the bizarre situation.

One internet user told technology website CNET he thought it was just "an illusion" with the man wearing shorts and fixing the brake light on the Mercedes while the dog was just basking in the sun.

The story behind the surreal situation is unknown and Google has removed the image from its Street View website, which only went live in Germany at the beginning of the month.

h/t: Erika Andersen. Cross-posted here.

Teabaggers Tied to Attacks on Google

Oh, sorry, I meant to say the Chi-Coms. I've got to stop jumping to conclusions and ruining my credibility.

A series of online attacks on Google and dozens of other American corporations have been traced to computers at two educational institutions in China, including one with close ties to the Chinese military, say people involved in the investigation.

They also said the attacks, aimed at stealing trade secrets and computer codes and capturing e-mail of Chinese human rights activists, may have begun as early as April, months earlier than previously believed. Google announced on Jan. 12 that it and other companies had been subjected to sophisticated attacks that probably came from China.

Computer security experts, including investigators from the National Security Agency, have been working since then to pinpoint the source of the attacks. Until recently, the trail had led only to servers in Taiwan.

If supported by further investigation, the findings raise as many questions as they answer, including the possibility that some of the attacks came from China but not necessarily from the Chinese government, or even from Chinese sources.

Tracing the attacks further back, to an elite Chinese university and a vocational school, is a breakthrough in a difficult task. Evidence acquired by a United States military contractor that faced the same attacks as Google has even led investigators to suspect a link to a specific computer science class, taught by a Ukrainian professor at the vocational school.

The revelations were shared by the contractor at a meeting of computer security specialists.

The Chinese schools involved are Shanghai Jiaotong University and the Lanxiang Vocational School, according to several people with knowledge of the investigation who asked for anonymity because they were not authorized to discuss the inquiry.

Jiaotong has one of China’s top computer science programs. Just a few weeks ago its students won an international computer programming competition organized by I.B.M. — the “Battle of the Brains” — beating out Stanford and other top-flight universities.

Lanxiang, in east China’s Shandong Province, is a huge vocational school that was established with military support and trains some computer scientists for the military. The school’s computer network is operated by a company with close ties to Baidu, the dominant search engine in China and a competitor of Google.

Eh, they're probably just upset with the lack of affordable healthcare or something.

Blog Removes Offending Michelle Obama Image

I found it odd how Google couldn't remove it themselves, but hey, they're the tech savvy people behind the world's largest search engine, so they know more than we do.

Anyway, I had seen the offensive image before but never in a million years thought of using it. Any casual reader of this blog knows I enjoy goofing on Michelle Obama as much as anyone, but even we have a minimum of standards and would never be so malicious.

An offensive image of first lady Michelle Obama that had topped Google Image search results appears to have been removed.

The image of President Obama's wife, which had been ostensibly photo-edited to resemble a monkey, was hosted by a blog called "Hot Girls."

When Google users typed "Michelle Obama" into the search box, depending on their Web browsers' settings, the first image to surface in Google Image's search engine could have been the offensive image.

But today the image no longer appears among the search results or on the blog. Instead, on the page that previously hosted the image, the blog's manager posted an apology in English, beneath Chinese text.

"I am very sorry for this article, andthat [sic] this is the program automatically issued a document from the article. Do not the subject of race and politics make the discussion too radical and sincere hope that the world is very peaceful," said the message, which is oddly dated Oct. 21, 2009.

Originally spotted by Search Engine Roundtable, after a Google user reported it to a Google Web search help forum, the offensive image was apparently first hosted by the Web site buzzoverm.blogspot.com.

Google last week removed the image saying the site hosting the image

Previously, to explain why the offensive image topped Google Image's search results, the Mountain View, Calif.-based company posted a message in the advertising space above the image which read, "Sometimes our search results can be offensive. We agree. Read more."

When you clicked on the corresponding link an even lengthier message appeared.

"Sometimes Google search results from the Internet can include disturbing content, even from innocuous queries. We assure you that the views expressed by such sites are not in any way endorsed by Google," said a message from "The Google Team." was serving malware to visitors. But, the photo later turned up again on the "Hot Girls" blog.

More background here.

Horrors! Google Destroying the Planet

Some people have way too much time on their hands. Now some pinheads want you to feel guilty for running a Google search. All in the name of perpetuating the global warming hoax.

Performing two Google searches from a desktop computer can generate about the same amount of carbon dioxide as boiling a kettle for a cup of tea, according to new research.

While millions of people tap into Google without considering the environment, a typical search generates about 7g of CO2 Boiling a kettle generates about 15g. “Google operates huge data centres around the world that consume a great deal of power,” said Alex Wissner-Gross, a Harvard University physicist whose research on the environmental impact of computing is due out soon. “A Google search has a definite environmental impact.”

Google is secretive about its energy consumption and carbon footprint. It also refuses to divulge the locations of its data centres. However, with more than 200m internet searches estimated globally daily, the electricity consumption and greenhouse gas emissions caused by computers and the internet is provoking concern. A recent report by Gartner, the industry analysts, said the global IT industry generated as much greenhouse gas as the world’s airlines - about 2% of global CO2 emissions. “Data centres are among the most energy-intensive facilities imaginable,” said Evan Mills, a scientist at the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California. Banks of servers storing billions of web pages require power.

Though Google says it is in the forefront of green computing, its search engine generates high levels of CO2 because of the way it operates. When you type in a Google search for, say, “energy saving tips”, your request doesn’t go to just one server. It goes to several competing against each other.

It may even be sent to servers thousands of miles apart. Google’s infrastructure sends you data from whichever produces the answer fastest. The system minimises delays but raises energy consumption. Google has servers in the US, Europe, Japan and China.

Just for fun I allowed this blog post to simmer for about 20 minutes, hoping to generate even more CO2.

Plus, as an added bonus, since Blogspot is owned by Google, this makes for multiple eco-offenses.

A separate estimate from John Buckley, managing director of carbonfootprint.com, a British environmental consultancy, puts the CO2 emissions of a Google search at between 1g and 10g, depending on whether you have to start your PC or not. Simply running a PC generates between 40g and 80g per hour, he says. of CO2 Chris Goodall, author of Ten Technologies to Save the Planet, estimates the carbon emissions of a Google search at 7g to 10g (assuming 15 minutes’ computer use).

China Targets Google

It's all about the porn, allegedly.

China launched a major crackdown on Internet pornography Monday targeting popular online portals and major search engines such as Google.

Seven government agencies will work together on the campaign to "purify the Internet's cultural environment and protect the healthy development of minors," according to an announcement on the government's official Chinese-language Web site, china.com.cn.

Pornography is banned in China, though the government's Internet police struggle to block Web sites based abroad.

The government announcement said Google and Baidu, China's two most heavily used search engines, had failed to take "efficient" measures after receiving notices from the country's Internet watchdog that they were providing links to pornographic material.

The statement also named popular Web portals Sina and Sohu, as well as a number of video sharing sites and online bulletin boards, that it said contain problematic photos, blogs and postings.

It said violators will be severely punished, but did not give details or say how long the campaign will last.

A Google spokeswoman in China, Cui Jin, defended the site's operations, saying it does not contain any pornographic content.

They may as well just ban email, the Internet and computers entirely if they think they're going to rid themselves of online pornography.

Good luck with that.

A Cure For Drunken E-Mailing

Sober e-mails. Why did this take so long?

Google has adapted its free email service to help those letting loose after a few evening cocktails or succumbing to lovelorn moments from firing off messages they might regret in the morning.

Mail Goggles software comes to life after dark and on weekends, when altered states of mind are more probable, and requires that five simple math problems be answered correctly in less than a minute in order to send a Gmail missive.

"Sometimes I send messages I shouldn't send," Gmail engineer Jon Perlow wrote Monday in a website posting announcing the optional new feature.

"Like the time I told that girl I had a crush on her over text message. Or the time I sent that late night email to my ex-girlfriend that we should get back together."

Gmail users can adjust their email settings to activate the Goggles feature and dictate the times it is active.

Now if they could just do something about those drunk dialers.

Thanks to Hot Air for the link.

Sick Google Search of the Day

Granted, they day is still relatively young and a lot of Google hits can whiz by when one isn't checking referrals.

Since we may now be in the death throes of the left, their desperation becomes more evident.

Check out this search string: bristol palin forced to get pregnant

Yup. Her mother is so bloodthirsty and dastardly, she'd force her daughter to get pregnant.

What kind of sick twisted people even think this stuff up?

Oh, liberals do.

Never mind.

Hmm: Georgia a Blank Country on Google Maps

View Larger Map

Seems a bit Stalinist, no? Maybe they're waiting for Russia to rename the cities.

This is the view as of 8:10 am on August 12. Always subject to change, of course.

Glenn Reynolds links. Thanks!

Jonah Goldberg links at The Corner. Thanks! Welcome, NRO readers.

Update: As some readers have noted in the comments, it appears Georgia is not the only country that comes up blank on Google maps, so it seems this just happens to be coincidental. Note Armenia and Azerbaijan, for example. Still, it would be interesting to know why this is and whether it's related to security issues and/or requests by those countries to not be mapped in detail.

Day Care for Google Employees

First off I am sure a lot of people think that Google employees need full time adult supervision, but in this case it is the company provided day care for the children of Google employees. However in reading the article I was left to ask, just how damn much money does Google pay it's employees?

Under price changes to be phased in over the next five quarters, parents of a preschooler can expect to pay $1,116 a month by October of this year and $1,710 by October 2009. Furman said the prices, while eye-popping in many regions, are competitive with top-notch day care pricing in San Francisco.

You have got to love liberals with all of their high priced touchy feely stuff. How many other people find this statement disturbing?

He denied reports the company is seeking to adhere to a specific philosophy of child-raising and said multiple approaches would be offered.

Silly old me. I always thought it was the parents responsibility to raise their kids, not the company they worked for. Doesn't it make you feel all warm and fuzzy they they say multiple approaches will be offered. I would really love to see the menu of kid rearing entrees. Can you mix and match your child rearing options?
I wonder what these people are going to do when Google loses market share and people finally wake up and burst Google's bubble. I wonder if the employees in their Chinese office has the same options, or in keeping with the spirit of Google's contract with the communist regime, is that information also not returned on search of the web?
The New York Times, never known for citing their sources, and therefore leaves us to believe that they make this stuff up, just like they do with their stories involving top secret information that they just have to spill there guts about, has this quote in a story about this.

At a T.G.I.F. in June, the Google co-founder Sergey Brin said he had no sympathy for the parents, and that he was tired of “Googlers” who felt entitled to perks like “bottled water and M&Ms,” according to several people in the meeting. (A Google spokesman denies that Mr. Brin made that comment.) On Monday, Google began the first phase of its new day care plan, letting go of the outside day care firm it had been using.

Google to Launch Wikipedia Rival

The primary difference contrasting this new site will be the lack of anonymity and the inability to edit another user's work.

Of course, it could still be subject to editorial bias, but that's nothing new.

Google is launching a rival to Wikipedia, the world’s most popular online reference work.

The new Google website, dubbed “knol”, will be free to read and will invite “people who know a particular subject to write an authoritative article about it”, Udi Manber, a Google engineer, said on an official company blog.

Mr Manber added that “Google will not serve as an editor in any way and will not bless any content. All editorial responsibilities and control will rest with the authors.”

Google will play a role in deciding which individual entries – or knols ("units of knowledge") – appear at the head of the results on the Google search engine, which is likely to be the most important access route to the new site.

In a major departure from the non-profit Wikipedia's editorial model, authors will not be able to contribute anonymously to knol and will not be able to edit each others’ work.

“We believe that knowing who wrote what will significantly help users make better use of web content,” Google said.

In knol, unlike Wikipedia, there will be no collaboration between authors who may not know other in the physical world. Whereas in Wikipedia, readers find only one entry on, say, the First World War, in knol, each author will submit a separate, competing piece.

Google is building in aspects of social networking sites. “People will be able to submit comments, questions, edits, additional content, and so on. Anyone will be able to rate a knol or write a review of it,” it says.

However, the knol site – currently in a test phase – appears to have been designed to stamp out the mischief-making that has blighted Wikipedia, the online encyclopaedia that, "anybody can edit".

Anti-torture Blogger Back on YouTube

Last week YouTube closed the account of Egyptian anti-torture activist Wael Abbas.

Now it appears he may be able to post again at the video site.

The video-sharing Web site YouTube has restored the account of a prominent Egyptian anti-torture activist, and said on Monday he may repost graphic images of purported rights abuses if he puts them in proper context.

Wael Abbas said last week that YouTube had suspended his account and that around 100 images he had posted, including clips of police brutality, purported voting irregularities and anti-government demonstrations were no longer accessible.

YouTube, owned by search engine giant Google Inc, said in a statement that it was committed to preserving its site as an "important platform for expression of all kinds" while ensuring that it remains a safe environment for users.

"Our general policy against graphic violence led to the removal of videos documenting alleged human rights abuses because the context was not apparent," the statement said.

"Having reviewed the case, we have restored the account of Egyptian blogger Wael Abbas. And if he chooses to upload the video again with sufficient context so that users can understand his important message, we will of course leave it on the site."

Considering YouTube is filthy with pro-jihadi propaganda, this represents a small step toward sanity. Now if they only cleaned up some of the garbage on their site.

Oy! Google Blocks JewTube

I can understand Google's interest here, but think the idea of JewTube is pretty amusing.

Google has blocked a bid to trademark the name "JewTube" because it sounds too similar to the Web giant's video-sharing site, YouTube.

New York City-based NetParty, which organizes Jewish singles' events, dropped its application with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office last week after Google complained to NetParty.

NetParty last December began displaying videos of its famous Matzo Ball bash under the name JewTube on its new Web site called LetMyPeopleGo.com.

Jeff Strank of NetParty told the blog jewlicious.com that the trademark would have been for a "very limited purpose" and that organizers had no intention "of creating a broader Jewish-oriented video-sharing site."

If you're so inclined, you can find JewTube here and there's also a UK version featuring MC Rebbe The Rapping Rabbi.