Since October, Google’s GKBO [Google Kenya Business Online] appears to have been systematically accessing Mocality’s database and attempting to sell their competing product to our business owners. They have been telling untruths about their relationship with us, and about our business practices, in order to do so. As of January 11th, nearly 30% of our database has apparently been contacted.

The New York Times wants to know if its reporters should continue their current policy of simply transcribing public statements or should they point out when newsmakers are lying. No, really. They want to know if they should do that.

But don't bother trying to tell them if they should take this radical step or not, they've closed the comments.

My latest Google gripe is a pretty esoteric one, but one that seems to hit me multiple times a day.

There are often times when I'm in a comment thread somewhere and the discussion causes me to remember a site that I'd visited recently, and I want to share that site. So, I go off to Google to find the site. I recite unto Google the appropriate incantation and it shows the site I want in the results list. So, I hover over that result, FireFox shows the URL in its status bar, and I mentally confirm that it's the link I want. Then I right-click on that Google result and choose 'Copy Link Location', to copy that link to the clipboard for pasting into the comment thread. That's how it has worked, forever.

But, Google has recently broken that. Now, when you hover over a link, something different happens. Google has told FireFox to lie about where that link actually goes. It doesn't go to the place FireFox's status bar says. Instead, the link goes to a Google redirect.

For an example, I just searched on "bag of dicks". And I see "EAT A BAG OF DICKS!" in the search results. The URL below the search result text says "eatabagofdicks.com/". And hovering over the result, FireFox's status bar says the link goes to "eatabagofdicks.com". Just as you'd expect it would. But if I copy that link location, I get this:

http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&ved=0CDEQFjAC&url=http%3A%2F%2Featabagofdicks.com%2F&ei=9vUOT8DxOeHw0gHu_fzNAw&usg=AFQjCNFr1qCLhJZzbOmzzuNjme7d27lDbg

The link doesn't go to eatabagofdicks.com, it goes to Google. I can no longer use Google to get URLs. The preview URLs on the results page are truncated if they get too long, so I can't just copy that text. I can only get the URL I want if I click the link and actually go to the site.

Google has deliberately broken FireFox (and other browsers, too, I suspect); they've taught me that I can't necessarily trust FireFox's status bar to tell me where a link goes (possibly a good thing, I guess). But, most importantly, they've broken the way I've been using Google for decades.

And why does Google do that redirect? Well, I suspect it's so they can associate sites I've visited against my Google login. There's probably something in that redirect URL that represents my Google username. If that's true, I expect Google is (or will be) doing something like "Our data shows that users who searched for this and visited this site also visited this kind of site. Isn't that interesting, Mr Advertiser?"

Very disappointing.

Things have gotten so bad, they're reduced to impersonating the poor:

An award-winning Elvis impersonator who has appeared at the Lake George Elvis Festival may be singing the "Jailhouse Rock" after police said he was also pretending to need welfare benefits.

Joseph E. Ramsey and his wife, Angela Ramsey, both 33, of 25 Larose St. Apartment E5 in Glens Falls were charged with welfare fraud after the Warren County Sheriff's Office said they did not accurately report all of Joseph's income as an Elvis tribute artist while receiving food stamps and Medicaid.

Newt Gingrich, professional asshole, recently said:

"I've tried for years to have a very simple model. Most of these schools ought to get rid of the unionized janitors, have one master janitor and pay local students to take care of the school. The kids would actually do work, they would have cash, they would have pride in the schools, they'd begin the process of rising."

And, Peoria AZ agreed:

The Peoria Unified School District, preparing for the possibility of more state funding cuts, is considering reducing custodial jobs to part-time positions without medical benefits or pension contributions.

...

If the board approves the proposal, about 90 full-time custodians would become 180 part-time positions without medical or retirement benefits. About 50 full-time head custodial positions would be spared, Finn said.

The board also considered allowing high-school students to fill some of those part-time positions.

The students would be chosen by their school's principal and earn the same as any other person in that position, about $9 per hour. They also wouldn't be allowed to work too late on campus, possibly from 5 p.m. to 9 p.m. on weeknights.

Of course this isn't Newt's idea, it's actually professional liberal Joe Klein's idea.

So, well, I think this means that everybody sucks.

A distillery worker's body has been discovered in the Glenfiddich plant in Banffshire.

Tributes have been paid to team leader Brian Ettles, 46, who died at the plant in Moray on Saturday.

It is understood that he was found dead in a 16ft distillery vat filled with water and yeast. Police would not comment on where Mr Ettles' body was discovered.

Eeww.

George Morris Is Unhinged

Animated Engines

Welcome to another installment of Monday Start Your iPod-equivalent!

Shuffle, describe the first five.

Like so:

1. Adrian Belew - I Wish I Knew. This is a slight little sketch of a song - four words, five guitar notes, an electronic drum track. I wouldn't have been surprised to hear Thom Yorke singing over it.
2. The Cars - Since You're Gone. Man, these guys could sure write a pop song. The thing is just bristling with hooks. It's not even close to my favorite Cars song, but still, its genius can't be denied.
3. The Sea And Cake - Weekend. I though this was a Broken Social Scene song, until the vocals started. It's that uptempo jammin-on-a-single-chord + electronics thing that BSS does. Not bad. I dig that video: upstate NY represent.
4. Digable Planets - Where I'm From. I'm loving this album, these days. I have a feeling it's gonna do well in this upcoming Top 100 list. There was something in the air in 92-94 - all the hip-hop albums that I really like came out in those three years.
5. Elmore James - Find My Kinda Woman. Well, if you like one Elmore James song, you'll like them all. But what a great guitar tone!

Now, you do it!

Battlestar Galactica RPG