Mexico slams Burger King for 'whopper' of insult
MEXICO CITY (AP) - Mexico is protesting what it says is a whopper of an insult.
An advertisement for Burger King's chili-flavored "Texican" burger that has run in Europe shows a small wrestler dressed in a cape resembling a Mexican flag. The wrestler teams up with a lanky American cowboy twice his height to illustrate the cross-border blend of flavors.
"The taste of Texas with a little spicy Mexican," a narrator's voice says.
The much-taller cowboy boosts the wrestler up to reach high shelves and clean tall windows, while the Mexican helps the cowboy open a jar.
Mexico's ambassador to Spain said Monday he has written a letter to Burger King's offices in that nation objecting to the ad and asking that it be removed. Jorge Zermeno told Radio Formula that the ads "improperly use the stereotyped image of a Mexican."
Press officials at Burger King Corp. offices in Miami, Florida, and Madrid, Spain, did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Burger King is known for its signature Whopper hamburger.
One of the things that most angered Mexican officials was a print edition of the ad showing the wrestler wearing what appear to be a Mexican flag as a cloak.
"We have to tell these people that in Mexico we have a great deal of respect for our flag," Zermeno said.
Mexico has very strict rules about using the flag. In 2008, the government fined a foreign-owned publishing house, Random House Mondadori SA, for showing disrespect to the country's flag in a video posted online.
The video showed a literature fan wearing a Mexican flag like a cape as he barges into a book signing and rips a piece of cloth from the coat of Brazilian writer Paulo Coelho.
It is not the first time that fast-food outlets have offended Mexican sensibilities.
Mexicans and other Hispanics in the United States objected to a Taco Bell ad from the 1990s that featured a pint-sized talking Chihuahua that spoke with a Mexican accent.
http://www.breitbart.com/article.php?id=D97HSL0O1&show_article=1
Maybe a glimmer of hope?? I guess we will see
Europe starts legal action against UK over internet snooping
The European Commission has today started legal action against the Government over its failure to protect the privacy of British internet users.
The case was sparked by BT’s covert use of the controversial user-tracking technology Phorm on customers using its internet service in 2006 and 2007.
Phorm, a UK-based company founded in 2004, monitors users’ favourite sites and searches, and uses the information to deliver individually targeted advertising.
One of its most outspoken opponents is Sir Tim Berners-Lee, generally credited with inventing the web.
The European Commission has been concerned about the way Phorm was secretly tested in the United Kingdom. Last year, the Government backed Phorm after a complaint by Brussels.
But today Viviane Reding, the European Union's Commissioner for Information Society and Media, announced the first stage of legal action, saying that the Government had failed to implement European laws that protect internet users.
"Technologies such as internet behavioural advertising can be useful for businesses and consumers but they must be used in a way that complies with EU rules,” the Commissioner said. “These rules are there to protect the privacy of citizens and must be rigorously enforced by all member states.”
BT has already admitted that it conducted trials of Phorm without users’ consent in 2006 and 2007. A further, invitation-only, trial was conducted last year.
Ms Reding’s statement continued: “I call on the UK authorities to change their national laws and ensure that national authorities are duly empowered and have proper sanctions at their disposal to enforce EU legislation on the confidentiality of communications.”
Ms Reding’s contention is that UK laws must be tightened to protect consumers and comply with the ePrivacy Directive, which the UK Government signed up to in 2002. It came into force at the end of October 2003.
After receiving "hundreds of complaints" from UK citizens over the Phorm trials, EC officials wrote to Whitehall asking whether UK law adequately protected personal data.
"Following an analysis of the answers received, the commission has concerns that there are structural problems in the way the UK has implemented EU rules ensuring the confidentiality of communications,” the Commission said.
Although UK law makes it an offence to unlawfully intercept communications, the scope of this offence is limited to "intentional" interception only.
"Moreover, according to this law, interception is also considered to be lawful when the interceptor has 'reasonable grounds for believing' that consent to interception has been given.” City of London police refused last year to act over BT and Phorm's trials, insisting that BT’s customers had given their "implied consent" and that the companies had a lack of criminal intent.
The British Government “should have fined these companies,” an EC spokesman said today.
The Commission has now given the Government two months to respond to today’s “infringement proceeding” - the first stage of a legal process which could end up in the European Court of Justice for an alleged breach of the directive.
The directive states that user consent must be “freely given, specific, and informed”, and it requires EU member states to impose sanctions in the event of breaches of the rules.
The Department of Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform, which along with the Home Office received the Commission’s infringement notice today, said it would respond within the two-month time frame.
If no satisfactory reply is received by the Commission within two months, it may decide to issue a “reasoned opinion”, the next stage of the infringement process.
Brussels is also concerned that the UK has no regulatory body charged with controlling interceptions of communications by private companies. The UK’s Information Commissioner does not any power to enforce the Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act (RIPA), which governs interception, and the Office of the Surveillance Commissioners is mandated only to investigate interceptions by public authorities.
Ms Reding reinforced her stern message to the British Government in her weekly video message, delivered via the European Commission’s website.
“Privacy is a particular value for us Europeans; a value reflected in European laws for many years,” she said.
“However, in spite of the many advantages of technological development, there is an undeniable risk that privacy is being lost to the brave new world of intrusive technologies. On the global information highways, personal information is increasingly becoming ‘the new currency’. And I believe that Europeans… must have the right to control how their personal information is used.”
“European privacy rules are crystal clear,” she said. “A person's information can only be used with their prior consent. We cannot give up this basic principle, and have all our exchanges monitored, surveyed and stored, in exchange for a promise of ‘more relevant’ advertisements! I will not shy away from taking action where an EU country falls short of this duty.”
Phorm has already been investigated by the police and the Government over privacy concerns. It has attracted interest from UK internet service providers including BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, although no company has yet fully introduced the system.
Sir Tim spoke out passionately against Phorm at a meeting in the House of Commons in March this year. "It is very important that when we click, we click without a thought that a third party knows what we're clicking on," he said. "'What is at stake is the integrity of the internet as a communications medium. It's important there should be no snooping on the internet."
http://technology.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/tech_and_web/article6091811.ece
Hats Off for Surveillance!
Thursday, April 9, 2009 - Vol. 11, No. 89Just when you thought the world couldn't get any crazier...here's Mark Nestmann from the litigious frontier..."You may not have known it, but it may now be your civic duty to remove your hat in the presence of a surveillance camera. And don't smile, either-it might confuse the face-recognition software." "If New York City is any indication, this is a coming trend. Banks and other retailers have started to post signs asking customers to remove hats and any other face-obscuring accessories to "help us reduce crime." You see, hats and sunglasses make things more difficult for face-recognition software, as does smiling at the camera.""And it's not just businesses that are racing to identify everyone who walks in the door. The New York Police Department has proposed extending a CCTV network with 4,200 cameras in Lower Manhattan to cover midtown-Manhattan as well. The scheme includes license-plate recognition technology to identify all vehicles entering Manhattan. There's no word yet on whether or not face recognition will be included. However, I'd be very surprised if it's not part of the plan." "Will the new network catch many bad guys? Not unless the city passes an ordinance forbidding anyone entering Manhattan from wearing a hat, sunglasses-or smiling." "If CCTV is mostly "security theater," then what's it really good for? A recently released movie, Look, which presents life in a CCTV-surveilled world as a sort of reality show, provides an important clue. According to Adam Rifkin, who directed Look, in real life CCTV has more to do with titillation than security." ""We went into a mall security office and the guys were not looking for shoplifters. They were zooming in on girls with big boobs and following them around the stores. Those guards told me if they see something really interesting, they post it on YouTube."""Well, now you know the real purpose of CCTV networks. If you're out shopping in Manhattan or most other big cities, and you're a hottie, you just might be on YouTube!" http://www.sovereignsociety.com/2009Archives1stHalf/040909HatsOffforSurveillance/tabid/5553/Default.aspx http://frc4u.org/phpbb/index.php?topic=877.0
US Mumps Outbreak Friday April 11, 2008
Because of effective vaccines and high vaccination rates in the United States, mumps has been almost non-existent since 1990. In fact, a goal was established to completely eradicate the disease by 2010 in this country. However, a recent report in the New England Journal of Medicine has shown that there was a widespread outbreak in the midwest in 2006. This outbreak apparently occurred despite good vaccine coverage. Most of those who got the disease had been immunized. Over 6000 cases of the mumps were reported in 2006 and most of those occurred in 8 midwestern states. It also appears most were among 18-24 year olds that were attending college. In the 12 years prior to the outbreak, less than 1000 cases per year were reported. This outbreak does not mean that the goal of eradicating mumps by 2010 is impossible, but it brings up important questions about the efficacy of the vaccine and the possible need for a change in the vaccine schedule.
http://coldflu.about.com/b/2008/04/11/us-mumps-outbreak.htm
Thousands of dolphins block Somali pirates
BEIJING, April 14 (Xinhuanet) -- Thousands of dolphins blocked the suspected Somali pirate ships when they were trying to attack Chinese merchant ships passing the Gulf of Aden, the China Radio International reported on Monday.
The Chinese merchant ships escorted by a China's fleet sailed on the Gulf of Aden when they met some suspected pirate ships. Thousands of dolphins suddenly leaped out of water between pirates and merchants when the pirate ships headed for the China's.
The suspected pirates ships stopped and then turned away. The pirates could only lament their littleness befor the vast number of dolphins. The spectacular scene continued for a while.
China initiated its three-ship escort task force on Dec. 26 last year after the United Nations Security Council called on countries to patrol gulf and waters off Somalia, one of the world's busiest marine routes, where surging piracy endangered intercontinental shipping.
China's first fleet has escorted 206 vessels, including 29 foreign merchant vessels, and successfully rescued three foreign merchant ships from pirate attacks.
About 20 percent of Chinese merchant ships passing through the waters off Somalia were attacked by pirates from January to November in 2008, before the task force was deployed.
A total of seven ships, either owned by China or carrying Chinese cargo and crew, were hijacked.
Tianyu No. 8, a Chinese fishing vessel with 16 Chinese and eight foreign sailors aboard, was captured by Somali pirates on Nov. 14 and released in early February.
The second fleet of Chinese escort ships arrived at the Gulf of Aden on Monday to replace the first fleet.
http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2009-04/14/content_11184581.htm
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