Gizmodo Hyperventilates: Gmail Isn't Private! (aka, Very Old News)

Gizmodo Hyperventilates: Gmail Isn’t Private! (aka, Very Old News)

Shock news that isn’t

TechnologyAugust 2013 • Views: 26,143

Time for a completely hysterical breaking story from Gizmodo: Google: Gmail Users Have No Reason to Expect Privacy.

Here’s some more bad news to add to the pile of concern over email vulnerability, a brief filed by Google’s attorneys has just surfaced and revealed that Gmail users should have “no legitimate expectation of privacy”—ever.

Evar!? Wow. That sounds bad. Tell me more.

The brief, unearthed by Consumer Watchdog, was filed on July 13, 2013 in response to a class action complaint against the company to the United States District Court for Northern District of California in the hopes that the court would dismiss the case. According to the document, users should assume that any electronic corresponded that finds its way to Google’s servers can and may be full accessed and used for a whole slew of purposes, including selling ads.

OMG! Why didn’t somebody tell me this before I used Gmail to send my aunt all those lolcats? They’re spying on my memes!

Oh wait. You mean, it’s been public knowledge for a long time that Google has content filters that scan Gmail for advertising keywords? No way!

Microsoft Attacks Google on Gmail Privacy - Feb. 6, 2013.

On Thursday, Microsoft plans to unveil a new print, television and online advertising campaign that attacks Google on an issue that Microsoft believes is one of its great vulnerabilities: privacy. The ads will showcase research that shows most people don’t know that Web e-mail providers like Google scan the contents of their e-mail messages to deliver personalized ads to them — and when they do find out, they don’t like it.

Breaking bombshell privacy news! For the last 9 years or so.

Google May Change GMail Advertising Model Due to Complaints - April 14, 2004. (h/t: @MartinSFP.)

When asked if it would be economical for Google to offer the GMail email with the 1 GB of storage without the content targeted advertising, Krane gave a “no comment.” Obviously there are other options for Google in this case, serving behavioral and gender specific text advertising, however, such practices may be shunned upon by Google’s advertisers since the targeting would not be as sharp as content targeted ads.

Additionally, Google has weighed the option of having GMail users opt-in for AdWords advertisements. Google President and co-founder Sergey Brin told the Wall Street Journal that Google “will not make any ‘rash changes’ to the email service which is still being tested by thousands of users.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Brin also commented on the idea of letting Gmail users opt in or out of the targeted ad service was an idea that “is being batted about. We certainly wouldn’t rule it out.”

I guess it’s just going to be one hyperventilating article after another as writers for sites like Gizmodo suddenly realize the shiny happy technology they promote 24/7, day in, day out, has privacy issues.

UPDATE at 8/13/13 4:27:36 pm

By the way, Gizmodo’s source for this breaking bombshell that isn’t?

Russia Today: Google: Gmail Users ‘Have No Legitimate Expectation of Privacy’ — RT USA.

Jump to bottom

134 comments

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:16:55pm

Wait a minute, you mean there was something in that long collection of words and letters that meant I was signing away my privacy when I signed up for Gmail? OMG!!!

////

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:18:37pm

Gmail To Roll Out Ads That Learn From Your Inbox
March 29th, 2011

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:21:03pm

re: #2 Gus

One of the reasons I refuse to use gmail.

Like Facebook and its endless schemes, I avoid making any accounts on Google products. My old Youtube account is now inaccessible to me because I don’t want to do the Google account thing.

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:21:51pm

I have to admit I was wrong when I said it had been public knowledge for 6 months.

It’s actually more like 9 years.

Google May Change GMail Advertising Model Due to Complaints | Search Engine Journal

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:23:24pm

THE HORROR!

again

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:24:26pm

The dogs are fed, watered and walked.

They say I may rest in peace until the next time they want something.

simoom Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:25:15pm

From today’s NYT Snowden interview:

nytimes.com

In the course of reporting his profile of Laura Poitras, Peter Maass conducted an encrypted question-and-answer session, for which Poitras served as intermediary, with Edward J. Snowden. Below is a full transcript of that conversation.

This is pretty odd, right? First they allowed the subject of their story to be an intermediary to the person they were interviewing about her. More critically, they conducted their interview through a medium that makes it impossible to verify that a Russian handler wasn’t yet-an-additional intermediary between Snowden and Poitras.

[deleted] Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:26:13pm

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:26:17pm

When I was growing up in the 90s, one of the things I was told time and again was “Don’t give anybody your personal info.” Be careful not to divulge even your age, because you didn’t know who was out there and what they might do with that info.

Then social media began and that sort of advice just sort of went out the window. Dignity was quick to follow.

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:26:28pm

It’s just like the custom ads that pop here when we use certain words. No?

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:27:52pm

re: #7 simoom

The whole Snowjob affair has stunk from day 1.

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:27:55pm

By the way, Gizmodo’s source for this breaking bombshell that isn’t?

Russia Today: Google: Gmail Users ‘Have No Legitimate Expectation of Privacy’ — RT USA.

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:28:09pm

re: #10 Gus

It’s just like the custom ads that pop here when we use certain words. No?

Exactly.

Eclectic Cyborg Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:28:32pm

You don’t want to be watched? Stay off the internet.

Kragar Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:29:17pm

If you’re using any service where you even have to click thru a terms of service, its not private.

dog philosopher Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:29:56pm

re: #14 Eclectic Cyborg

You don’t want to be watched? Stay off the internet.

you will be watched and like it, buster

now shut up and click

wrenchwench Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:30:00pm

We just had a 10 minute power outage.

That was more privacy than I need.

Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:30:23pm

re: #8 stone

I really think that this is a case where our laws haven’t caught up with the technology. We wouldn’t be fine with Verizon using voice to text software to search our phone conversations for advertising purposes. In fact, this would be illegal. What’s the difference here?

The phone conversations are ephemeral, no record of them is expected. By using voice to text on phone conversations, you’d be creating a recording where none existed in the first place. That’s the difference.

Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:31:08pm

re: #16 engineer cat

you will be watched and like it, buster

now shut up and click

You’ll be watched, you won’t like it.

I actually browse differently on my laptop vs. pc and can tell from the ads.

simoom Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:31:22pm

re: #11 freetoken

Heh… this response:

P.M.: Laura started filming you from nearly the start. Were you surprised by that? Why or why not?

E.S.: Definitely surprised. As one might imagine, normally spies allergically avoid contact with reporters or media, so I was a virgin source — everything was a surprise. Had I intended to skulk away anonymously, I think it would have been far harder to work with Laura, but we all knew what was at stake. The weight of the situation actually made it easier to focus on what was in the public interest rather than our own. I think we all knew there was no going back once she turned that camera on, and the ultimate outcome would be decided by the world.

McCain was mocking Snowden supporters the other day by saying they all saw saw him as a real-life Jason Bourne. It seems he sees himself that way too.

Bear Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:34:28pm

re: #17 wrenchwench

A warning perhaps that you should pay the power bill.
///

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:34:33pm

re: #13 Charles Johnson

Exactly.

The reality is that a lot of this is just plain old fashioned marketing. Advertising. In the end, if the privacy advocates have their way and end all these practices it will mean the end of a lot of free content. For instance, if Twitter didn’t do scanning of Tweets, because of privacy, the only way it could stay afloat would be as a subscription service. Of course the counter argument to this would be the utopians who would then say that internet content should be paid for by the state.

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:34:48pm

re: #12 Charles Johnson

By the way, Gizmodo’s source for this breaking bombshell that isn’t?

Russia Today: Google: Gmail Users ‘Have No Legitimate Expectation of Privacy’ — RT USA.

Please don’t tell me RT is the most “trusted” news source out there now?

Kragar Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:35:17pm

re: #23 Justanotherhuman

Please don’t tell me RT is the most “trusted” news source out there now?

All the wingnuts swear by it.

GeneJockey Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:36:17pm

re: #21 Bear

A warning perhaps that you should pay the power bill.
///

And take that damn foil off the meter.

RadicalModerate Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:36:48pm

Want really secure Gmail? Try GPG encryption

That’s just one of several articles I found on how to make your Gmail account contents private.

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:37:09pm

Listening to the aftermath of a townhall regarding same-sex marriage on
C-SPAN

All the “againsts” seem to use the Bible as their justification.

GeneJockey Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:38:05pm

re: #27 FemNaziBitch

Listening to the aftermath of a townhall regarding same-sex marriage on
C-SPAN

All the “againsts” seem to use the Bible as their justification.

My surprise, let me show you it.

[deleted] Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:38:41pm

Internet Tough Guy Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:38:48pm

>Want really secure Gmail?

I would have gone with “Don’t use an e-mail service that stores e-mail on their servers.”, but that’s just me.

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:38:58pm

re: #22 Gus

I pay for email service, and think we’d all be better off if en masse we recognized there is really nothing “free” about goods or services we desire.

Most people pay for telephone services, which these days usually include data services and not just voice. Email accounts often go along with these services (or they can be added.) Same with the cable TV service.

Gmail, Facebook, Twitter - these exist as part of the larger world of advertising, as you point out. Enticing users with “free” is misleading, as in the end the price of goods and services people buy are loaded with advertising costs.

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:39:09pm

re: #27 FemNaziBitch

Listening to the aftermath of a townhall regarding same-sex marriage on
C-SPAN

All the “againsts” seem to use the Bible as their justification.

The Bible? As justification to oppose same-sex marriage? Surely you jest!

A Man for all Seasons Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:39:28pm

FB over does the whole networking thing.. Ad’s for everything I might post..And girls, girls, girls…Hey look! there is somebody I knew in the 5th grade! Now we are inter twinned forever. The Man knows everything and nothing about me.
Google email.. Folks..This why they call Google, Hotmail and Yahoo mail throw away accounts. Why the surprise? Why so serious?
Man..I use my Google password on dozens of related sites..One big family…Weird interconnections of web marketing..I don’t really care..Keep those Ads of smoking hot girls from the world coming..You would think since I have never once in my life click on a dating site that they would move onto Camping equipment or car ads. Not as smart as you thought Google.
I have almost completely stopped using credit cards and Paypal on the Net.
I know this is going to be a pain in the ass but I need to get a throw away debit card from Wal-Mart or somewhere. That is the one great hole in my security I am addressing.
The rest of my privacy concerns are all play school and a bunch of Ads.

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:40:40pm

Jesus Green, Cambridge University — Cambridge, England #trees #fields #universities #colleges #cambridge #england pic.twitter.com/hcbLCPjzTL
— Preston Reed (@prestonreed) August 13, 2013

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:40:54pm

re: #31 freetoken

I pay for email service, and think we’d all be better off if en masse we recognized there is really nothing “free” about goods or services we desire.

Most people pay for telephone services, which these days usually include data services and not just voice. Email accounts often go along with these services (or they can be added.) Same with the cable TV service.

Gmail, Facebook, Twitter - these exist as part of the larger world of advertising, as you point out. Enticing users with “free” is misleading, as in the end the price of goods and services people buy are loaded with advertising costs.

Yes, it does include advertising costs. I prefer that than the alternative of the state.

dog philosopher Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:42:47pm

re: #19 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

You’ll be watched, you won’t like it.

I actually browse differently on my laptop vs. pc and can tell from the ads.

Mene, Mene, Tekel, Upharsin

measured, measured, weighed, divided

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:43:00pm

Santorum: Term ‘Middle Class’ Is ‘Marxism Talk’

Rick Santorum says the term “middle class” is “Marxism talk” since America doesn’t have any classes. “Since when in America do we have classes?” Santorum asked a Republican gathering in Lyon County, Iowa, “There’s no class in America.” He added that the GOP, unlike Democrats,”values the dignity of every human life,” and therefore shouldn’t use the term—which he has actually used repeatedly.

- See more at: rightwingwatch.org

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:44:41pm

re: #37 FemNaziBitch

- See more at: rightwingwatch.org

Where does he hide the 1%?

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:45:21pm

re: #35 Gus

I’m suggesting that all these services ought to be priced and bought, not advertised as “free”.

I pay $50 to Cox to provide me services (which includes email). Appropriately, Cox cable never pretends to be “free”.

The costs of Gmail, Facebook, Twitter… are hidden in the prices of the goods and services we buy. I’m just saying that our society would be better off if we stop pretending “free” is really free.

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:45:34pm

re: #38 Justanotherhuman

Where does he hide the 1%?

Well, their vote counts the same as everyone else’s—right?

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:46:12pm

re: #32 Targetpractice

The Bible? As justification to oppose same-sex marriage? Surely you jest!

It just seems so cut & dried to these callers.

They really have no imagination.

wrenchwench Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:47:41pm

re: #37 FemNaziBitch

- See more at: rightwingwatch.org

As someone else pointed out here yesterday, ‘classless society’ is even more Marxist than ‘middle class’ is. In fact, it was the ideal.

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:47:45pm

re: #37 FemNaziBitch

- See more at: rightwingwatch.org

*headdesk*

Well, let’s see, the term “middle class” is older than Marxism, hell it’s older than the Declaration of Independence. But when one’s own views don’t seem far removed from those of Joe McCarthy, it’s understandable that anything that doesn’t suck the toes of the rich and powerful sounds like socialist talk.

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:47:57pm

In this vein…

Microsoft brings back YouTube app for Windows Phone after working with Google to enable ads

thenextweb.com

GeneJockey Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:48:17pm

re: #37 FemNaziBitch

- See more at: rightwingwatch.org

It’s not the acts that makes you the thing, it’s noticing them.

If you observe and comment on racism, you’re a racist.

If you observe and comment on economic inequality, you’re a Marxist.

Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:49:57pm

re: #29 stone

Well, what if they just hired people to listen then?

They could, but they’d have to disclose to you that the phone call was being monitored. And remember, what Google is doing isn’t reading them, it’s performing a function on them. It’s really very different.

It seems to me that the expectation to privacy in email does not differ in any meaningful way from phone conversations.

Again, google isn’t reading your emails, they’re performing a function on it. So the analogy is really a poor one.

The court has ruled that the metadata of your phone calls is not protected but the content is. I honestly don’t see why email should be different.

Well, are you saying you should be prevented from accepting Google’s terms of service, or they shouldn’t be allowed to offer it, or what? If your phone company offered you free service but said they were going to do analysis of your calls and text you offers (something technologically possible very soon), that’d be the analogous situation.

Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:50:50pm

re: #39 freetoken

I’m suggesting that all these services ought to be priced and bought, not advertised as “free”.

I pay $50 to Cox to provide me services (which includes email). Appropriately, Cox cable never pretends to be “free”.

The costs of Gmail, Facebook, Twitter… are hidden in the prices of the goods and services we buy. I’m just saying that our society would be better off if we stop pretending “free” is really free.

People who are really poor wouldn’t be better off. People who are better off would be better off. We don’t need yet another barrier to enter the internet for poor people.

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:51:18pm

Was going to go have some Häagen-Dazs, and then I read this:

Eat Less and Live Longer?

Scientists have shown a link between long-living calorie-restricted mice and the types of microbes residing in the guts of those mice. The finding, published last month (July 16) in Nature Communications, suggests a novel mechanism of living longer by establishing the right kind of microbes in our gut through a low-calorie diet.

[…]

darthstar Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:51:45pm

Image: 1097986_10151854518326081_1600575670_n.jpg

GeneJockey Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:51:55pm

re: #48 freetoken

Was going to go have some Häagen-Dazs, and then I read this:

Eat Less and Live Longer?

It just SEEMS longer.

dog philosopher Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:52:08pm

“middle class” is “Marxism talk”

nobody is fooled by these kinds of arguments except the pre-fooled

remember the 27% who give the worst possible wingnut answer for any given poll question?

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:52:28pm

re: #48 freetoken

Was going to go have some Häagen-Dazs, and then I read this:

Eat Less and Live Longer?

Who wants to live forever?

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:52:54pm

re: #52 Targetpractice

Who wants to live forever?

Especially if you’ll never be able to eat ice cream.

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:53:22pm

pic.twitter.com/bbvTWjVLKn
— emilio porompompero (@PoromEmilio) August 13, 2013

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:53:30pm

Get someone’s mother’s maiden name and their birth date… access.

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:53:47pm

Last 4 of the SS number. Even more access.

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:54:01pm

You can run but you can’t hide!

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:54:09pm

re: #54 Charles Johnson

[Embedded content]

Is it just me or does it seem like the man never ages?

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:55:55pm

Notice in this 9-year old article, the discussion was about Google offering a no-ads option, or allowing opt-out of the content scanning.

They didn’t do either one.

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:56:14pm

The quote:

When asked if it would be economical for Google to offer the GMail email with the 1 GB of storage without the content targeted advertising, Krane gave a “no comment.” Obviously there are other options for Google in this case, serving behavioral and gender specific text advertising, however, such practices may be shunned upon by Google’s advertisers since the targeting would not be as sharp as content targeted ads.

Additionally, Google has weighed the option of having GMail users opt-in for AdWords advertisements. Google President and co-founder Sergey Brin told the Wall Street Journal that Google “will not make any ‘rash changes’ to the email service which is still being tested by thousands of users.”

According to the Wall Street Journal, Brin also commented on the idea of letting Gmail users opt in or out of the targeted ad service was an idea that “is being batted about. We certainly wouldn’t rule it out.”

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:56:23pm

re: #52 Targetpractice

Who wants to live forever?

Rich people.

Decatur Deb Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:58:32pm

re: #61 Gus

Rich people.

I wish it on them.

imdb.com

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 4:59:51pm

Hmmm…

Scientists say sugar at levels considered safe is harmful

When mice were fed a diet that was 25% added sugars – an amount consumed by many humans – the females died at twice the normal rate and the males were less likely to reproduce and hold territory, scientists said in a study published Tuesday.

The study shows “that added sugar consumed at concentrations currently considered safe exerts dramatic impacts on mammalian health,” the researchers said in the study, published in the journal Nature Communications. “Many researchers have already made calls for reevaluation of these safe levels of consumption.”

[…]

“Added sugars” are those added during processing or preparation, not those that occur naturally in fruit or milk. The scientists fed the mice a diet that got its added sugars from half fructose and half glucose monosaccharides, ~~which is about what’s found in high fructose corn syrup (HFCS),~~ Potts said. The study, he said, was not set up to differentiate between the effects of different forms of caloric sweeteners.

The Corn Refiners Assn., a trade group, questioned the use of mice in the study, saying in a statement that the only way to know the effect in people would be to test people.

[…]

Kragar Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:00:49pm

re: #63 freetoken

The Corn Refiners Assn., a trade group, questioned the use of mice in the study, saying in a statement that the only way to know the effect in people would be to test people.

Pick me.

I’ve got a damaged kidney because of corn syrup.

Decatur Deb Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:00:59pm

re: #63 freetoken

Hmmm…

Scientists say sugar at levels considered safe is harmful

Sucks to be a lab mouse.

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:01:19pm

I scored 100%

somehow, it doesn’t make me feel special.

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:01:35pm

re: #64 Kragar

Pick me.

I’ve got a damaged liver because of corn syrup.

Fermented first?

Kragar Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:02:51pm

re: #67 freetoken

Fermented first?

Carbonated

Backwoods_Sleuth Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:03:34pm

re: #17 wrenchwench

We just had a 10 minute power outage.

That was more privacy than I need.

smart meter saw what you were looking at on the intertubes and called a time out…

Kragar Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:03:41pm

I meant kidney.

Backwoods_Sleuth Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:04:37pm

re: #22 Gus

The reality is that a lot of this is just plain old fashioned marketing. Advertising. In the end, if the privacy advocates have their way and end all these practices it will mean the end of a lot of free content. For instance, if Twitter didn’t do scanning of Tweets, because of privacy, the only way it could stay afloat would be as a subscription service. Of course the counter argument to this would be the utopians who would then say that internet content should be paid for by the state.

SOCIALISM!!11!!

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:04:59pm

re: #70 Kragar

However, the concerns over HFCS does include liver problems, given the liver is involved in fructose conversion.

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:05:52pm

re: #52 Targetpractice

Who wants to live forever?

Youtube Video

GeneJockey Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:06:12pm

re: #70 Kragar

I meant kidney.

You have to be able to tell them apart. Nobody wants a liver-shaped pool, and while liver is reputedly good with onions, kidneys are better stewed with mushrooms and sherry.
//

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:07:45pm

re: #63 freetoken

A member of the Corn Refiners Assn: Image: beer-belly-38.jpg?w=499&h=653

GeneJockey Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:07:48pm

re: #72 freetoken

However, the concerns over HFCS does include liver problems, given the liver is involved in fructose conversion.

In our house, we call that ‘High Fucked up Corn Syrup’ and we try to avoid it, though we’re not obsessive about it. Which is good, because it’s in EVERYTHING.

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:09:29pm

Laying in the bed they made:

Carolina conservatives want more opposition in DC

Republican Patrick McHenry’s loudest constituents have no desire to see conciliation on gridlocked Capitol Hill, unless it comes from President Barack Obama and his fellow Democrats.

As the congressman holds public question-and-answer sessions with constituents during Congress’ summer break, conservatives and GOP loyalists who enjoy significant influence in his western North Carolina district are demanding that he and his House colleagues defund “Obamacare,” refuse to raise the nation’s debt limit and generally intensify opposition to the White House and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid.

[…]

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:11:53pm

Ok, much needed cuteness break.

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:12:25pm

AOL continues decline…

Chief Executive of AOL Apologizes to Staff for the Public Firing of an Employee

nytimes.com

FemNaziBitch Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:12:46pm

re: #79 Justanotherhuman

AOL continues decline…

Chief Executive of AOL Apologizes to Staff for the Public Firing of an Employee

nytimes.com

I’m amazed AOL is still in business.

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:13:44pm

re: #80 FemNaziBitch

I’m amazed AOL is still in business.

It’s being held together with the wire and duct tape of HuffPo.

Vicious Babushka Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:14:58pm

re: #7 simoom

From today’s NYT Snowden interview:

nytimes.com

This is pretty odd, right? First they allowed the subject of their story to be an intermediary to the person they were interviewing about her. More critically, they conducted their interview through a medium that makes it impossible to verify that a Russian handler wasn’t yet-an-additional intermediary between Snowden and Poitras.

So the person they thought was Snowden might really have been some FSB operative?

My surprise, let me show you it.

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:15:10pm

re: #76 GeneJockey

In our house, we call that ‘High Fucked up Corn Syrup’ and we try to avoid it, though we’re not obsessive about it. Which is good, because it’s in EVERYTHING.

Which is one reason I cook from scratch and try to use fresh ingredients wherever possible.

GeneJockey Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:17:00pm

re: #83 Justanotherhuman

Which is one reason I cook from scratch and try to use fresh ingredients wherever possible.

And stuff usually tastes better.

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:18:21pm

re: #79 Justanotherhuman

AOL continues decline…

Chief Executive of AOL Apologizes to Staff for the Public Firing of an Employee

nytimes.com

Still remember the days when you couldn’t open the mail, a newspaper, or go to the store without seeing a “200 Free Hours!!” CD.

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:20:25pm

re: #85 Targetpractice

Still remember the days when you couldn’t open the mail, a newspaper, or go to the store without seeing a “200 Free Hours!!” CD.

Yeah, back in the days of dial up…

[deleted] Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:21:16pm

Vicious Babushka Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:21:28pm

re: #80 FemNaziBitch

I’m amazed AOL is still in business.

My 89-year-old mom uses AOL.

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:21:41pm

Rubio is fear mongering, again:

Rubio warns Obama could act to legalize immigrants

Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio warned Tuesday that if Congress doesn’t pass immigration overhaul legislation, President Barack Obama may act on his own to legalize the 11 million immigrants already in the U.S. illegally.

Rubio, a potential presidential candidate and an author of the sweeping immigration bill that passed the Senate in June but stalled in the House, noted that the Obama administration took action a year ago to give legal status to many immigrants brought here illegally as children. He said without congressional action, the president might well be tempted to do the same for everyone else here illegally, too.

“I believe that this president will be tempted, if nothing happens in Congress, he will be tempted to issue an executive order like he did for the DREAM Act kids a year ago where he basically legalizes 11 million people by the sign of a pen,” Rubio said on “The Morning Show with Preston Scott” on Tallahassee radio station WFLA.

Rubio said the possibility highlighted the need for congressional action because the alternative would be legalization without benefits like border security and an E-Verify system to require employers to check their workers’ legal status.

[…]

Using the IMPERIAL OBAMA!! play to convince xenophobes that his own proposed plan is not as bad and thus they ought to support it - no, it’s not going to work.

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:21:55pm

re: #86 Justanotherhuman

Yeah, back in the days of dial up…

Many moons ago…

Etaoin Shrdlu Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:22:42pm

Sorry, but the phrase “legitimate expectation of privacy” is straight from Smith v. Maryland, with direct and specific implication to warrantless search.

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:22:48pm

re: #86 Justanotherhuman

Yeah, back in the days of dial up…

Hey, my AOL dial-up was better than ATT mobile 2013.

Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:23:41pm

re: #87 stone

That sounds about right, I guess.

Okay, so you understand the difference between phone calls and email now?

The interesting thing about this brief is that Google cites Smith v. Maryland that “a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.” Of course, this ruling meant that no warrant was needed to obtain this information. So, if Google is applying this reasoning to the content of emails, does that mean that they also believe that no warrant is required to access this content?

No warrant is required if Google just wants to give it up. A warrant is required if Google doesn’t want to give it up, I think. The information belongs to them, not to you.

Backwoods_Sleuth Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:24:31pm

completely O/T but…
Second week of August and forecast low tonight is 51F, and for tomorrow night 50F. Usually I’d have the window A/C units going full blast this time of year and still feel miserable.
This is totally crazy…

NJDhockeyfan Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:26:54pm

RT if you see it. pic.twitter.com/vw9yIJrkdz
— Animal Life (@fabulousanimals) August 13, 2013

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:27:30pm

The opening line of the first song on T-Bone Burnett’s “Tooth of Crime” gets me every time I hear it:

People tell me I look like hell
Well I am hell

Vicious Babushka Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:27:59pm

re: #94 Backwoods_Sleuth

completely O/T but…
Second week of August and forecast low tonight is 51F, and for tomorrow night 50F. Usually I’d have the window A/C units going full blast this time of year and still feel miserable.
This is totally crazy…

HOW CAN THEIR BE GOLBUL WARMING IF ITZ SO COLD IN AUGUST!!!!111!!1111

Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:27:59pm

re: #91 Etaoin Shrdlu

Sorry, but the phrase “legitimate expectation of privacy” is straight from Smith v. Maryland, with direct and specific implication to warrantless search.

Direct and specific implication as to email? No. Telephone conversations are different from email. Email is permanently recorded, and you accept terms of service when using some that the content of your email will be put through some sort of information-delving.

Are you saying it’d be illegal for a phone company to offer free service with the arrangement that they could perform analysis on your phone call content and send you ads?

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:28:11pm

re: #94 Backwoods_Sleuth

completely O/T but…
Second week of August and forecast low tonight is 51F, and for tomorrow night 50F. Usually I’d have the window A/C units going full blast this time of year and still feel miserable.
This is totally crazy…

We’re getting lower, too. We’ll hit 59 deg Fri morning before dawn…

Still a warmish 67 tonight here in NC. : )

100

PhillyPretzel Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:29:34pm

re: #95 NJDhockeyfan

I like how the kitty looks almost like the others. Are those lemurs?

101

Bear Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:30:09pm

re: #78 FemNaziBitch

Many - many years ago, as a small boy, I saw a baby elephant in a zoo and wanted it. Asked by my Mother where in San Francisco it would be kept I said at my Grandmothers place in Berkeley.

102

Backwoods_Sleuth Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:30:48pm

re: #97 Vicious Babushka

have you seen this?

Detroit Mayor orders Koch brothers company to clean up that disgusting mess which created a black cloud over the river

103

Political Atheist Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:31:23pm

re: #98 Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut

FYI in a near dead thread.

104

geoffm33 Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:31:28pm

Sorry, just getting to the OP on this.

OMG! Why didn’t somebody tell me this before I used Gmail to send my aunt all those lolcats? They’re spying on my memes!

Oh wait. You mean, it’s been public knowledge for a long time that Google has content filters that scan Gmail for advertising keywords? No way!

Charles: Are you writing for Jon Stewart? Or is Jon Stewart writing for LGF?

105

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:31:39pm

re: #100 PhillyPretzel

I like how the kitty looks almost like the others. Are those lemurs?

Meerkats, I think.

106

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:31:41pm

@kevinwmoore I'm getting off twitter for the rest of the day. Anything I say is ammunition.
— Matt Bors (@MattBors) August 13, 2013

107

Backwoods_Sleuth Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:31:45pm

re: #100 PhillyPretzel

I like how the kitty looks almost like the others. Are those lemurs?

meerkats.

108

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:31:56pm

So ends a rough day for Matt.

109

wrenchwench Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:34:17pm

Just had a 30 minute modem outage. Lots of privacy.

110

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:35:31pm

re: #87 stone

That sounds about right, I guess.

The interesting thing about this brief is that Google cites Smith v. Maryland that “a person has no legitimate expectation of privacy in information he voluntarily turns over to third parties.” Of course, this ruling meant that no warrant was needed to obtain this information. So, if Google is applying this reasoning to the content of emails, does that mean that they also believe that no warrant is required to access this content?

Um, no. Google owns the servers on which these emails are stored, and when you open an account you sign an agreement that says you understand this, and that Google may access the content to do their advertising thing.

It has nothing to do with warrants. This is business.

111

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:37:13pm

re: #109 wrenchwench

Just had a 30 minute modem outage. Lots of privacy.

See how easy it is?

112

geoffm33 Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:37:23pm

re: #110 Charles Johnson

Exactly. Google’s $$ comes from Adwords. Almost exclusively. Everything else is just pushing the adwords advertising goal.

113

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:38:29pm

Eric, Defender of Science, son of Erick, continues this evening with this:

No One Showed Up at Organizing for Action’s Climate Change Rally Because #ScienceSaysSo

[…]

Because #ScienceSaysSo I guess they felt they didn’t have to prove the point. Or something.

This from a guy who is in denial that his audience is composed of hard core creationists.

Just yesterday one of his diarists wrote this on Defender of Science’s website:

Evolutionists More Insistent Than Ever About Being A Monkey’s Uncle

… which is just the usual concatenation of creationist falsehoods.

But, Eric is concerned about real Science.

114

wrenchwench Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:39:47pm

re: #108 Gus

Somebody stole my Yelp idea. I guess it was brilliant.

lol ALEC review on Yelp http://t.co/Tk8Zc9gl8e
— David Waldman (@KagroX) August 14, 2013

115

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:40:01pm

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the naivete on display. You’re storing files on a private server you don’t own, but signed an agreement to use that you didn’t look too deeply into, and are shocked that the person who owns the server is going through your correspondence because you believed that your right to privacy extends to what you do with other people’s property?

116

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:41:14pm

re: #115 Targetpractice

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the naivete on display. You’re storing files on a private server you don’t own, but signed an agreement to use that you didn’t look too deeply into, and are shocked that the person who owns the server is going through your correspondence because you believed that your right to privacy extends to what you do with other people’s property?

INORITE?

117

AlexRogan Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:42:10pm

re: #20 simoom

Heh… this response:

McCain was mocking Snowden supporters the other day by saying they all saw saw him as a real-life Jason Bourne. It seems he sees himself that way too.

He also talks like a ponderous, self-important little shit, but that’s just my opinion.

118

AlexRogan Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:44:16pm

re: #23 Justanotherhuman

Please don’t tell me RT is the most “trusted” news source out there now?

More than the Weekly World News and the National Enquirer in their prime; you know, the “hot sheets”.

119

Gus Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:46:55pm

BREAKING: Newark, NJ, Mayor Cory Booker wins Democratic primary in special US Senate election
— The Associated Press (@AP) August 14, 2013

120

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:47:13pm

We seem to be dealing with a basic misunderstanding about the nature of private property and intellectual rights here.

121

Vicious Babushka Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:48:13pm

re: #102 Backwoods_Sleuth

have you seen this?

Detroit Mayor orders Koch brothers company to clean up that disgusting mess which created a black cloud over the river

Guess who is providing the space for the toxic waste dump:

The piles are owned by Koch Carbon and come from the Marathon Detroit Refinery. Detroit Bulk Storage is storing the pet coke on property owned by billionaire and Ambassador Bridge owner Manuel (Matty) Moroun and leased to Norfolk Southern railroad.

That’s right, it’s the Bridge Troll!

122

Justanotherhuman Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:48:27pm

re: #115 Targetpractice

I’m still trying to wrap my head around the naivete on display. You’re storing files on a private server you don’t own, but signed an agreement to use that you didn’t look too deeply into, and are shocked that the person who owns the server is going through your correspondence because you believed that your right to privacy extends to what you do with other people’s property?

But the outrage is more important!

123

[deleted] Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:49:18pm

124

Vicious Babushka Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:51:52pm

re: #112 geoffm33

Exactly. Google’s $$ comes from Adwords. Almost exclusively. Everything else is just pushing the adwords advertising goal.

GOOGLE OWNS ALL TEH WORDS!!11!!

125

Vicious Babushka Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:52:44pm

re: #117 AlexRogan

He also talks like a ponderous, self-important little shit, but that’s just my opinion.

McCain or Snowden?

126

Absalom, Absalom, Obdicut Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:53:13pm

re: #123 stone

Actually, I think you convinced me that there isn’t much difference between the two, legally anyway, it’s just that the market for no-privacy phone calls hasn’t emerged yet.

Yeah, but it probably will. Also, the phone companies can listen in to determine quality, and there have been cases of them inadvertently hearing stuff and turning people in to the cops. Conversations also started off not fully private— operators could stay on the line with you, back when it was switchboardy.

That’s interesting. It makes the XKeyscore story make a lot more sense. As long as the the government has worked out a deal with Google they have legal access to the content of those emails without a warrant. Good to know.

I am not a lawyer in any way shape or form, so please don’t look at me as an authority on this. I don’t know what the Google terms of service are, which hilariously proves the point because I use it all the time.

127

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:53:54pm

It really does seem like people in this country have forgotten that most natural of laws: “There’s No Such Thing As A Free Lunch.” If you sign onto a “free” service, don’t read the terms, and then find out later that you’re getting screwed, you have no one to blame but yourself.

128

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:55:15pm

re: #123 stone

Um, no. Google has issued several press releases saying that there is no blanket access to their emails by the NSA.

129

Charles Johnson Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:55:50pm

You know how those climate change deniers suddenly showed up to spread misinformation? Uh, yeah.

130

[deleted] Tue, Aug 13, 2013 5:57:27pm

131

Interesting Times Tue, Aug 13, 2013 6:00:18pm

re: #113 freetoken

Are you familiar with what’s probably the latest herpa-derp in the deniersphere?

Greenland ice is melting - even from below

The Greenland ice sheet is melting from below, caused by a high heat flow from the mantle into the lithosphere. This influence is very variable spatially and has its origin in an exceptionally thin lithosphere. Consequently, there is an increased heat flow from the mantle and a complex interplay between this geothermal heating and the Greenland ice sheet. The international research initiative IceGeoHeat led by the GFZ German Research Centre for Geosciences establishes in the current online issue of Nature Geosciences (Vol 6, August 11, 2013) that this effect cannot be neglected when modeling the ice sheet as part of a climate study.

Durr hurr, all the ice melt is caused by totally natural geothermal stuff!!1!

Yes, Steve Stockman (R-Texastan) tweeted the Daily Fail’s writeup of that study, claiming it was the cause of Arctic ice melt. Greenland is in the Arctic ocean now? Who knew? 9_9

132

Targetpractice Tue, Aug 13, 2013 6:02:11pm

re: #130 stone

I just find it interesting that this brief by Google cites the Supreme Court ruling on warrantless searches to justify its position. I’ll drop it though if you don’t like where the conversation is going.

They cite it under the understanding that ruling was that information given willfully in order for a service to be rendered has no legitimate expectation of privacy. When you sign the agreement with Google, you agree to allow them to be able to access the contents of your email in order to facilitate the sending of it.

133

freetoken Tue, Aug 13, 2013 6:24:35pm

re: #131 Interesting Times

Those claims have been floating around for some time. When it first became clear that the Arctic sea ice was declining some were blaming underwater volcanoes.

134

neilk Wed, Aug 14, 2013 10:59:08am

This is exactly the same thing Lavabit said, in justifying shutting down.

Spy Mode Auto

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