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17 Mar 2011 13:37

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World: International team makes biggest online pedophilia bust

  • 640 the number of suspects identified so far, in what international law enforcement is calling the biggest bust of a pedophile group in history
  • 230 the number of children that international law enforcement have positively identified as having been abused by the group source
  • » Hats off to the good guys! Authorities believe that the online assemblage of pedophiles had about 70,000 users at its peak. The team that engineered this bust, led by U.K. investigators, took months to advance as the proprietor of the website had sophisticated security measures in place to avoid detection (although if you’re looking to keep your monstrosities clandestine, “The Internet BoyLove Directory” seems like a rather bold title). The Netherlands-based server that was hosting the website is now cooperating with authorities, making it likely that the ringleader of all this will face the justice his crimes have richly earned.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

21 Feb 2011 15:29

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World: China begins tightening internet controls to thwart protests

  • China An enormous geopolitical power, boasting one of the world’s skyrocketing manufacturing economies. Complicating the diplomatic picture, by virtue of being the largest single holder of American debt, China is a tenuous ally of the U.S. government.
  • also China A repressive state that crushes domestic dissent, and supports mass-murdering totalitarianism in North Korea, is now gearing up its vaunted system of internet censorship to put down hopes of a revolution movement. Geopolitics are so rarely moral issues. source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

16 Feb 2011 15:28

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Biz: Bookstore chain Borders, as currently constituted, goes belly-up

  • $1 billion in debt for the now-bankrupt bookstore chain source
  • » Sign of the times: In its Chapter 11 bankruptcy, the famed chain of bookstores will be forced to close 30 percent of its 600 stores, having been left somewhat behind by the changing nature of the book world (damn you, internet). Many analysts feel a tad downtrodden by the news. “This is the biggest bankruptcy in the history of the book business,” said Albert Greco, senior researcher at the Institute for Publishing Research. “This is really a depressing day.”
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

03 Feb 2011 13:38

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World: Egypt’s economy hit hard by internet shutdown

  • six
    days     amount of time the internet was offline during Egypt’s huge protests
  • $90
    million     in losses the forced lock-down cost Egypt’s economy source
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink

02 Feb 2011 08:39

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World: Egypt’s internet returns: Welcome back, everybody!

  • This is what the return of the Internet looks like. A leap. That leap, of course, looks like a victory. To the Egyptians who now have thousands of e-mails to check and thousands of tweets to pore over – we salute you. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

01 Feb 2011 22:05

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Tech: Worst party idea ever: Let’s celebrate “World IPv6 Day,” internet!

  • 06/08 the date of “World IPv6 Day,” when  the interwebs test a move from IPv4 to IPv6, as IPv4 space runs out
  • 0.05% of the interwebs may be negatively affected by the switch that day (half a million people!) source
  • » Our big quibble? If you’re going to make a big deal about switching the infrastructure of the Internet, why do it on that day when there’s an obvious date with instant branding possibilities? If they had done this on April 6 instead of June 8, it would be way easier to promote. But let’s face it. Nerds don’t think about stupid things like promotion. (By the way, go here if you wanna test your readiness.)
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

31 Jan 2011 14:23

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World: Nazril Irham, Indonesian pop star, jailed for sex tape

  • 3.5 years in prison for Nazril Irham over internet sex tape source
  • » Remind us not to bring the camcorder to Indonesia: Most everybody enjoys an amorous pleasure now and again, it’s only natural. What most of us don’t face, though, is having our private sexual pleasures made public, and then being thrown into prison for it. Such is the fate of Indonesian pop star Nazril “Ariel” Irham, who was jailed for three and a half years starting Monday, thanks to a sex-tape (made with his girlfriend) that found its way onto the internet. Irham denies he’s the man on the tape, while police say that his friend took the video off Irham’s computer and uploaded it without his knowledge. In any event, thanks to a 2008 anti-porn law, this dangerous deviant will be off the streets and pop charts of Indonesia. THANK. GOD.
Posted by Chris Tognotti • 0 Comments • Permalink
 

27 Jan 2011 23:22

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World: Internet, text messaging severed in Egypt, most likely by government

  • NO Internet in Egypt; it’s been shut down source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 0 Comments • Permalink

15 Jan 2011 22:02

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World: New Tunisia leader’s first act: Opening up the Interwebs

As a follow-up to our last Tunisia post, it’s good to note that new leader Fouad Mebazaa has unblocked the Interwebs in the country. Good news for everyone who likes freedom. source
Posted by Ernie Smith • 0 Comments • Permalink

30 Dec 2010 21:44

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Tech: Web users like Facebook, Google, and…Bing?

  • facebook was the most-visited website this year. That is, of course, if you consider each Google offshoot site (Maps, Gmail) a separate website. If you count all Google properties, though, the search engine giant shoots up to #1, comprising 9.85% of all US visits. Some more weird bits: eBay was pushed out of the top ten by Bing (people actually use Bing?), and “facebook login” was the 2nd most-searched term of the year, which is odd, because it’s not like the login box on Facebook.com is terribly hard to find. source
Posted by Seth Millstein • 1 Comment • Permalink
 
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