Google caught doing evil again

Teh Beeb in Britain posted this online on 31st October 2012:
"A jury in Australia has found Google liable for damages after a complaint that its search results had linked a local man to gangland crime. Milorad Trkulja had alleged that the US firm's image and web results had caused harm to his reputation. The 62-year-old had said the site had refused to remove the material when asked. He had previously won a related case against Yahoo. Google has not commented on the verdict and might still appeal. The judge is expected to set the level of damages owed within a fortnight."

One thing Seachangers and Treechangers don't miss

Traffic Lights at xkcd.com

As the meeja world turns?

“THAT quacking sound you can hear in the distance is Tony Abbott. The Opposition Leader is slowly but surely turning into a sitting duck, a stationary target for government and media pot shots.

The other bird sound you can make out, whenever Abbott says or does something silly, is the crow's cry that Graham Kennedy mimicked years ago on television and that got him into so much trouble. Textspeak boils it down to three letters, WTF.

Pretty soon, if he doesn't rewire the pathway from his brain to his mouth and change his strategy, the cocks will start crowing loudly too, as they always do when a leader is in trouble, and especially when the polls begin to narrow as they are doing.”{Niki Savva writing in The Australian on 25^th October 2012}

How Australians used online social media in October 2012

 

Essential Report 23 October 2012:

 

Use of online media

 

 

52% say they use Google at least daily and 46% use Facebook at least daily.

Google is used more by – aged 18-24 (74% daily), aged 25-34 (63%), Greens voters (65%), income $1,600+ pw (61%).

Facebook is used more by – women (53% daily), aged 18-24 (82%), aged 25-34 (60%), Greens voters (55%).

Newspaper websites are used more by – aged 25-34 (28% daily), Lib/Nat voters (25%), income $1,600+ pw (30%).

Other news websites are used more by – men (42% at least several times a week), aged 25-34 (48%)

Blogs are used more by – aged 25-34 (38% at least once a week), Greens voters (45%), income $1,600+ pw (28%).

Campaign websites are used more by – aged 25-34 (31% at least once a week), Greens voters (40%).

Twitter is used more by – aged 18-24 (24% at least once a week), aged 25-34 (29%), Greens voters (26%).

 

Dumbing Down The News: Google decides tourism promotions with a biblical theme are important news

 

This nonsense was displayed by Google News on 28 October 2012:

 

A date with biblical history

 

The Dead Sea is the stuff of biblical legend and mystery. In the book of Genesis, Moses explains the Dead Sea was formed when God told Lot and his family to flee the area. They were told not to look back. Lot's wife couldn't resist, and when she did look back, she was turned into a pillar of salt - and the Dead Sea was born.

 

A ride from the airport to Dead Sea Spa Hotel

 

Setting sail in the Dead Sea

 

“You know Jordan is a country rich with biblical history, Dead Sea which is mentioned a lot in the bible is where I am taking you people. You will be residing in a hotel which is constructed along its shores, another place you should not miss to see is Mt Nebo which is famously known in the world history because it is the place where Moses died and his remains where buried there.”

 

We checked in to the Spa Club Hotel

Administrative Decisions Tribunal decision will allow the community to see true cost of logging the NSW's native forests

 

The Daily Examiner 29 October 2012:

 

An Administrative Decisions Tribunal decision in late September will allow the community to see "the true cost of logging the state's native forests for the first time", according to the Nature Conservation Council of NSW (NCC), the state's peak environment organisation.
The NCC had appealed against a Forests NSW decision refusing to give information about wood supply agreements in the state's north.
In its judgment the tribunal stated "there is a clear public interest in an agency that is dealing with public assets being accountable for the manner in which it contracts to sell those assets."
For years we have been told by governments and bean counters about the importance of the "user pays" principle. This undoubtedly means the costs of an operation should be covered by those reaping the benefits of the operation.
There are both administrative and infrastructure costs to the public purse in providing logging companies with access to the community's forests.
While logging companies have been paying royalties for the trees they have harvested, their payments have not covered these costs. Indeed Forests NSW has been running at a loss for years, particularly with regard to its native forests operations.
Given various state governments' concerns about expenditure and recouping costs, it is astounding that State Forests has for so long been able to operate at a loss. Perhaps the fact that wood supply agreements have been kept secret has helped delay any move to remedy this situation.
North Coast Environment Council (NCEC) president Susie Russell stated, "For too long the high price of the environment and the community is paying to see the state's native forests being cut down has been kept secret. This decision will now contribute to more sustainable management of our native forests."
A 2009 auditor-general's report into native logging found that if existing pricing arrangements were rolled over without being subject to careful and fair review the community would incur economic loss. Hopefully, now that the existing arrangements can be made public, there will be an increased incentive for the government to ensure that the community's timber resources will be appropriately priced.

Leonie Blain

Clarence Valley Conservation Coalition

 

So why did Grafton have to lose its gaol and the Clarence Valley economy take a hit when the O'Farrell Government's budget was in surplus by June 2012?

NSW Auditor-General’s Report to Parliament, 31 October 2012:
 

The 2011-12 Budget Result was a $680 million surplus, $1.4 billion better than expected.....

The Budget Result was $1.0 billion better than predicted in the 2012-13 Budget Papers published in June 2012.....

Total revenues and expenses for the whole-of-government were $71.3 billion and $69.6 billion respectively, resulting in a Net Operating Balance of $1.7 billion surplus....

The State had around $10.0 billion of cash and cash equivalents at 30 June 2012 ($11.8 billion). Most of the decrease was due to the transfer of $3.8 billion cash to the State’s superannuation investments. This cash was the proceeds from last year’s electricity transactions.

Total revenues, including revenue from taxation, grants and subsidies, sales of goods and services, interest, dividends and income tax equivalents, all increased in the year ending 30 June 2012. The State is fat with Commonwealth grants and subsidies, currently has over $300 billion in assets, mostly property, plant and equipment and still has a AAA international credit rating.
 

So why was it so urgent to suddenly close Grafton Gaol in June-July 2012 and put at least 100 local people out of work at short notice?

 

Ah, of course - O'Farrell & Co could get their sums right for the Parliamentary Contributory Superannuation Fund but couldn't add up when it came to the General Government Sector and decided to cry poor.

Since the announcement that the NSW Government now has a budgetary surplus, there have been two conflicting political untruths uttered:

When asked if restoring the Grafton jail to its former capacity was a possibility in light of the surplus, [NSW Deputy Premier] Mr Stoner said 'it was all in the mix.'

"It (the surplus) is not there. The underlying position of NSW remains in deficit," [NSW Treasurer] Mr Baird told reporters in Sydney on Wednesday.

UPDATE:

A third conflicting political untruth has been put forward by the NSW North Coast Nationals; Member for Clarence Chris Gulaptis said the billion-dollar surplus was merely the result of dodgy accounting on the part of the Federal Government.
"This billion-dollar surplus is just extra revenue the Commonwealth has brought forward," said Mr Gulaptis. "It is just a combination of stimulus funding and the Federal Government bolstering their position."