Swine flu fears prompt quarantine plans, pork bans
By Frank Jordans, Associated Press Writer
4/26
Drugstores Online
GENEVA – Countries planned quarantines, tightened rules on pork imports and tested airline passengers for fevers as global health officials tried Sunday to come up with uniform ways to battle a deadly strain of swine flu. Nations from New Zealand to France reported new suspected cases and some warned citizens against travel to North America.
World Health Organization Director-General Margaret Chan held teleconferences with staff and flu experts around the world but stopped short of recommending specific measures to halt the disease beyond urging governments to step up their surveillance of suspicious outbreaks.
Governments including China, Russia and Taiwan began planning to put anyone with symptoms of the deadly virus under quarantine.
Others were increasing their screening of pigs and pork imports from the Americas or banning them outright despite health officials' reassurances that it was safe to eat thoroughly cooked pork.
Some nations issued travel warnings for Mexico and the United States.
Chan called the outbreak a public health emergency of "pandemic potential" because the virus can pass from human to human.
Her agency was considering whether to issue nonbinding recommendations on travel and trade restrictions, and even border closures. It is up to governments to decide whether to follow the advice.
"Countries are encouraged to do anything that they feel would be a precautionary measure," WHO spokeswoman Aphaluck Bhatiasevi said. "All countries need to enhance their monitoring."
New Zealand said that 10 students who took a school trip to Mexico "likely" had swine flu. Israel said a man who had recently visited Mexico had been hospitalized while authorities try to determine whether he had the disease. French Health Ministry officials said four possible cases of swine flu are currently under investigation, including a family of three in the northern Nord region and a woman in the Paris region. The four recently returned from Mexico. Tests on two separate cases of suspected swine flu proved negative, they said.
Spain's Health Ministry said three people who just returned from Mexico were under observation in hospitals in the northern Basque region, in southeastern Albacete and the Mediterranean port city of Valencia.
Mexico closed schools, museums, libraries and theaters in a bid to contain the outbreak after hundreds were sickened there. In the U.S., there have been at least 11 confirmed cases of swine flu in California, Texas and Kansas. Patients have ranged in age from 9 to over 50. At least two were hospitalized. All recovered or are recovering.
New York health officials said more than 100 students at the St. Francis Preparatory School, in Queens, recently began suffering a fever, sore throat and aches and pains. Some of their relatives also have been ill.
Some St. Francis students had recently traveled to Mexico, The New York Times and New York Post reported Sunday.
Preliminary tests of samples taken from sick students' noses and throats confirmed that at least eight had a non-human strain of influenza type A, indicating probable cases of swine flu, city health officials said. The exact subtypes were still unknown, and the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention was conducting further tests.
Hong Kong and Taiwan said visitors who came back from flu-affected areas with fevers would be quarantined. China said anyone experiencing flu-like symptoms within two weeks of arrival an affected area had to report to authorities. A Russian health agency said any passenger from North America running a fever would be quarantined until cause of the fever is determined.
Tokyo's Narita airport installed a device to test the temperatures of passengers arriving from Mexico.
Indonesia increased surveillance at all entry points for travelers with flu-like symptoms — using devices at airports that were put in place years ago to monitor for severe acute respiratory syndrome, or SARS, and bird flu. It said it was ready to quarantine suspected victims if necessary.
Hong Kong and South Korea warned against travel to the Mexican capital and three affected provinces. Italy, Poland and Venezuela also advised their citizens to postpone travel to affected areas of Mexico and the United States.
Symptoms of the flu-like illness include a fever of more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit (37.8 degrees Celsius), body aches, coughing, a sore throat, respiratory congestion and, in some cases, vomiting and diarrhea.
At least 81 people have died from severe pneumonia caused by the disease in Mexico, according to the WHO.
The virus is usually contracted through direct contact with pigs, but Joseph Domenech, chief of animal health service at U.N. Food and Agriculture Agency in Rome, said all indications were that the virus is being spread through human-to-human transmission.
No vaccine specifically protects against swine flu, and it is unclear how much protection current human flu vaccines might offer.
Russia banned the import of meat products from Mexico, California, Texans and Kansas. South Korea said it would increase the number of its influenza virus checks on pork products from Mexico and the U.S.
Serbia on Saturday banned all imports of pork from North America, despite reassurances from the FAO that pigs appear not to be the immediate source of infection.
Italy's agriculture lobby, Coldiretti, warned against panic reaction, noting that farmers lost hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) because of consumers boycotts during the 2001 mad cow scare and the 2005 bird flu outbreak.
Japanese Agriculture Minister Shigeru Ishiba appeared on TV to calm consumers, saying it was safe to eat pork.
In Egypt, health authorities were examining about 350,000 pigs being raised in Cairo and other provinces for swine flu.
The WHO's pandemic alert level is currently at to phase 3. The organization said the level could be raised to phase 4 if the virus shows sustained ability to pass from human to human.
Phase 5 would be reached if the virus is found in at least two countries in the same region.
"The declaration of phase 5 is a strong signal that a pandemic is imminent and that the time to finalize the organization, communication, and implementation of the planned mitigation measures is short," WHO said.
Phase 6 would indicate a full-scale global pandemic.
____
Associated Press writers around the world contributed to this report.
2009-04-27
Swine flu confirmed in NYC high school students
Swine flu confirmed in NYC high school students
By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press Writer
4/26
NEW YORK – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that students at a city high school were infected with swine flu.
New York officials previously had said they were eight "probable" cases, but tests later confirmed that it was indeed swine flu. Bloomberg stressed that the cases were mild and many are recovering.
The city is awaiting the tests of additional samples to see if more St. Francis Preparatory School students were infected.
About 100 students complained of flu-like symptoms at the school. Some students went to Cancun on a spring break trip two weeks ago.
Health Food
By KAREN MATTHEWS, Associated Press Writer
4/26
NEW YORK – New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg says that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has confirmed that students at a city high school were infected with swine flu.
New York officials previously had said they were eight "probable" cases, but tests later confirmed that it was indeed swine flu. Bloomberg stressed that the cases were mild and many are recovering.
The city is awaiting the tests of additional samples to see if more St. Francis Preparatory School students were infected.
About 100 students complained of flu-like symptoms at the school. Some students went to Cancun on a spring break trip two weeks ago.
Health Food
2009-03-16
Millions in AIG bonuses draw chorus of outrage
Millions in AIG bonuses draw chorus of outrage
3/16
Insurance Quotes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of the White House economic team and the Senate's top Republican bellowed about bonuses at a bailed-out insurance giant and pledged to prevent such payments in the future.
From one Sunday talk show to the next, they tore into the contracts that American International Group asserted had to be honored, to the tune of about $165 million and payable to executives by Sunday — part of a larger total payout reportedly valued at $450 million. The company has benefited from more than $170 billion in a federal rescue.
AIG has agreed to Obama administration requests to restrain future payments. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed the president's case with AIG's chairman, Edward Liddy, last week.
"He stepped in and berated them, got them to reduce the bonuses following every legal means he has to do this," said Austan Goolsbee, staff director of President Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
"I don't know why they would follow a policy that's really not sensible, is obviously going to ignite the ire of millions of people, and we've done exactly what we can do to prevent this kind of thing from happening again," Goolsbee said.
Added Lawrence Summers, Obama's top economic adviser: "The easy thing would be to just say ... off with their heads, violate the contracts. But you have to think about the consequences of breaking contracts for the overall system of law, for the overall financial system."
Summers said Geithner used all his power, "both legal and moral, to reduce the level of these bonus payments."
The Democratic administration's argument about the sanctity of contracts was more than Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky could bear.
"For them to simply sit there and blame it on the previous administration or claim contract — we all know that contracts are valid in this country, but they need to be looked at," McConnell said. "Did they enter into these contracts knowing full well that, as a practical matter, the taxpayers of the United States were going to be reimbursing their employees? Particularly employees who got them into this mess in the first place? I think it's an outrage."
In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not address the bonuses but expressed his frustration with the AIG intervention.
"It makes me angry. I slammed the phone more than a few times on discussing AIG," Bernanke said. "It's — it's just absolutely — I understand why the American people are angry. It's absolutely unfair that taxpayer dollars are going to prop up a company that made these terrible bets — that was operating out of the sight of regulators, but which we have no choice but to stabilize, or else risk enormous impact, not just in the financial system, but on the whole U.S. economy."
AIG reported this month that it had lost $61.7 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, the largest corporate loss in history.
In a letter to Geithner dated Saturday, Liddy said outside lawyers had informed the company that AIG had contractual obligations to make the bonus payments and could face lawsuits if it did not do so.
Liddy said in his letter that "quite frankly, AIG's hands are tied," although he said that in light of the company's current situation he found it "distasteful and difficult" to recommend going forward with the payments.
Liddy said the company had entered into the bonus agreements in early 2008 before AIG got into severe financial straits and was forced to obtain a government bailout last fall.
The bulk of the payments at issue cover AIG Financial Products, the unit of the company that sold credit default swaps, the risky contracts that caused massive losses for the insurer.
Goolsbee acknowledged the AIG example could make it harder to sell the administration's financial plan to Congress.
"Yes, you worry about that backlash. But you're also angry that this would happen at an institution that has been so troubled and you're trying to save. So I think that's perfectly fair," he said.
Goolsbee appeared on "Fox News Sunday," and Summers was on CBS' "Face the Nation" and ABC's "This Week," where McConnell also was interviewed.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
3/16
Insurance Quotes
WASHINGTON (AP) — Leaders of the White House economic team and the Senate's top Republican bellowed about bonuses at a bailed-out insurance giant and pledged to prevent such payments in the future.
From one Sunday talk show to the next, they tore into the contracts that American International Group asserted had to be honored, to the tune of about $165 million and payable to executives by Sunday — part of a larger total payout reportedly valued at $450 million. The company has benefited from more than $170 billion in a federal rescue.
AIG has agreed to Obama administration requests to restrain future payments. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner pressed the president's case with AIG's chairman, Edward Liddy, last week.
"He stepped in and berated them, got them to reduce the bonuses following every legal means he has to do this," said Austan Goolsbee, staff director of President Barack Obama's Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
"I don't know why they would follow a policy that's really not sensible, is obviously going to ignite the ire of millions of people, and we've done exactly what we can do to prevent this kind of thing from happening again," Goolsbee said.
Added Lawrence Summers, Obama's top economic adviser: "The easy thing would be to just say ... off with their heads, violate the contracts. But you have to think about the consequences of breaking contracts for the overall system of law, for the overall financial system."
Summers said Geithner used all his power, "both legal and moral, to reduce the level of these bonus payments."
The Democratic administration's argument about the sanctity of contracts was more than Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky could bear.
"For them to simply sit there and blame it on the previous administration or claim contract — we all know that contracts are valid in this country, but they need to be looked at," McConnell said. "Did they enter into these contracts knowing full well that, as a practical matter, the taxpayers of the United States were going to be reimbursing their employees? Particularly employees who got them into this mess in the first place? I think it's an outrage."
In an interview that aired Sunday on CBS' "60 Minutes," Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke did not address the bonuses but expressed his frustration with the AIG intervention.
"It makes me angry. I slammed the phone more than a few times on discussing AIG," Bernanke said. "It's — it's just absolutely — I understand why the American people are angry. It's absolutely unfair that taxpayer dollars are going to prop up a company that made these terrible bets — that was operating out of the sight of regulators, but which we have no choice but to stabilize, or else risk enormous impact, not just in the financial system, but on the whole U.S. economy."
AIG reported this month that it had lost $61.7 billion for the fourth quarter of last year, the largest corporate loss in history.
In a letter to Geithner dated Saturday, Liddy said outside lawyers had informed the company that AIG had contractual obligations to make the bonus payments and could face lawsuits if it did not do so.
Liddy said in his letter that "quite frankly, AIG's hands are tied," although he said that in light of the company's current situation he found it "distasteful and difficult" to recommend going forward with the payments.
Liddy said the company had entered into the bonus agreements in early 2008 before AIG got into severe financial straits and was forced to obtain a government bailout last fall.
The bulk of the payments at issue cover AIG Financial Products, the unit of the company that sold credit default swaps, the risky contracts that caused massive losses for the insurer.
Goolsbee acknowledged the AIG example could make it harder to sell the administration's financial plan to Congress.
"Yes, you worry about that backlash. But you're also angry that this would happen at an institution that has been so troubled and you're trying to save. So I think that's perfectly fair," he said.
Goolsbee appeared on "Fox News Sunday," and Summers was on CBS' "Face the Nation" and ABC's "This Week," where McConnell also was interviewed.
Copyright © 2009 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.
2009-03-13
北京猿人再老20萬歲 最新測年法技術發現
北京猿人再老20萬歲 最新測年法技術發現
3月13日 星期五
Charles Darwin The Theory Of Evolution
【明報專訊】北京 猿人較之前所知「老」了20多萬歲！中國科學家採用最新測年法技術發現，周口店北京猿人生活在距今約77萬年前，這比之前認為的50萬年前說法，提早了20多萬年，顯示北京猿人可在冰河時期的寒冷環境下繁衍生息。
研究刊登在最新一期《自然》雜誌上。研究負責人、南京師範大學地理科學學院沈冠軍教授說，這次他採用了一種名為「鋁鈹埋藏測年法」的技術，對北京猿人發現地——周口店第1地點的石英砂和石英質石製品進行了測量，測定結果為距今77萬年，誤差8萬年。
小冰河時期 古猿人仍能生存
美國 學者評論說，最新測定成果，將北京猿人的生存時間推向了一個更寒冷的年代。與大約50萬年前相比，77萬年前地球要寒冷許多，那時正處於一個小冰河時期。新測定結果將使學術界對古猿人在寒冷氣候下的生存能力，有新的認識，還為研究北京猿人用火等問題提供了線索。
沈冠軍說，目前在人類起源問題上，「非洲 起源說」和「中國古人類自成體系說」也存在爭議，這次將北京猿人生存時間推前，總體有利於中國古人類自成體系的假說，有助在東亞建立一個更可信的人類進化年表。
世上不少考古遺址多用鉀氬法測定年代，但中國的考古遺址中缺少這一方法所需的火山灰。今次沈教授所採用的鋁鈹埋藏測年法，可填補中國考古研究的技術空白。沈冠軍說，將採用該測年法，研究重慶巫山龍骨坡、河北泥河灣等古人類遺址的年代。
新華社 /路透社
Man survives Niagara Falls plunge
Man survives Niagara Falls plunge
BBC NEWS
2009/03/12
Travel Agency
A man has survived despite plunging 180ft (55m) over Niagara Falls and spending 45 minutes in freezing waters resisting his rescuers.
The unnamed man was seen by tourists to scale a wall and leap into the rapids above the falls.
Shortly afterwards he was spotted in the water near the base of the falls clinging to a log.
The man was eventually pulled from the icy waters and taken to hospital with hypothermia and a head injury.
Canadian officials said he was in a critical condition.
Rescue team
A specially trained falls rescue team had rushed to the man's aid after receiving reports of him going over the Horseshoe Falls, one of Niagara's three waterfalls.
However, the man - who was naked - swam away from them toward the middle of the river, police said.
A private helicopter was called in and used the force of its rotor blades to blow him closer to shore.
Firefighter Todd Brunning and another rescue worker then swam about 60 yards, grabbed the man and pulled him to safety, officials said.
Mr Brunning said the man was conscious but unable to talk.
“ It appeared he didn't want to come into shore. I thought he was an idiot to be honest with you ”
Witness Phil Richmond
Local resident Phil Richmond, who witnessed the rescue, told The Toronto Star that the man clearly didn't want to be saved.
"It appeared he didn't want to come into shore. I thought he was an idiot to be honest with you," he said.
"It looked like he was swimming, like he was one of those polar bear nuts who swim naked. I didn't realise he had gone over the falls."
It is against Canadian law to go over Niagara Falls, but police would not say if the man would be charged.
Very few people who have been swept over the falls have survived.
In 2003, American tourist Kirk Jones plunged over the Horseshoe Falls in what he claimed was "a spur of the moment act", and lived.
In 1960 a seven-year-old boy also survived the fall after the boat he was in capsized upstream.
BBC NEWS
2009/03/12
Travel Agency
A man has survived despite plunging 180ft (55m) over Niagara Falls and spending 45 minutes in freezing waters resisting his rescuers.
The unnamed man was seen by tourists to scale a wall and leap into the rapids above the falls.
Shortly afterwards he was spotted in the water near the base of the falls clinging to a log.
The man was eventually pulled from the icy waters and taken to hospital with hypothermia and a head injury.
Canadian officials said he was in a critical condition.
Rescue team
A specially trained falls rescue team had rushed to the man's aid after receiving reports of him going over the Horseshoe Falls, one of Niagara's three waterfalls.
However, the man - who was naked - swam away from them toward the middle of the river, police said.
A private helicopter was called in and used the force of its rotor blades to blow him closer to shore.
Firefighter Todd Brunning and another rescue worker then swam about 60 yards, grabbed the man and pulled him to safety, officials said.
Mr Brunning said the man was conscious but unable to talk.
“ It appeared he didn't want to come into shore. I thought he was an idiot to be honest with you ”
Witness Phil Richmond
Local resident Phil Richmond, who witnessed the rescue, told The Toronto Star that the man clearly didn't want to be saved.
"It appeared he didn't want to come into shore. I thought he was an idiot to be honest with you," he said.
"It looked like he was swimming, like he was one of those polar bear nuts who swim naked. I didn't realise he had gone over the falls."
It is against Canadian law to go over Niagara Falls, but police would not say if the man would be charged.
Very few people who have been swept over the falls have survived.
In 2003, American tourist Kirk Jones plunged over the Horseshoe Falls in what he claimed was "a spur of the moment act", and lived.
In 1960 a seven-year-old boy also survived the fall after the boat he was in capsized upstream.
Are Google's Behavior-Based Ads a New Privacy Concern?
Search Engines
Are Google's Behavior-Based Ads a New Privacy Concern?
By Nicholas Kolakowski
2009-03-12
Google Adsense
Google’s new interest-based advertising may lead to increased revenues for the search company, but privacy advocates have a list of new concerns for Google. Yahoo and other search-engine companies already use a variant of this sort of advertising, called “behavioral targeting,” in order to increase their advertisers’ chances of success. However, now that Google has entered the mix, privacy advocates fear they have more to worry about.
Google has raised privacy concerns with its newly launched interest-based advertising, which displays ads based on users' previous searches and page views. Also known as "behavioral targeting" or "online behavioral targeting," the method has privacy advocates up in arms over Google collecting massive amounts of user data.
While search engines use this type of technology, the fact that Google is now testing it has raised additional privacy concerns from those that see the search engine giant as already collecting too much personal information on its users. However, some others are defending Google, saying the company already has controls in place to control how personal data is used and collected.
The new Google advertising system, currently in beta, links "categories of interest" to the user’s browser, allowing targeted ads to appear even when the user is looking at a page totally unrelated to the ad’s subject matter. For example, someone who has spent months looking at pages about mini-notebooks will find ads for mini-notebooks appearing even when they’re on a site unrelated to PCs.
Google’s search rival Yahoo has already introduced its own application based on behavioral targeting, called Search Retargeting, which focuses display advertising based on users’ search histories. Search Retargeting, announced on Feb. 24, was anticipated by analysts as having the potential to draw massive privacy protests, but pushback from privacy advocates so far seems minimal.
For years, search engine companies have struggled to reassure the public that whatever information they collect is not being abused. This has led to much hand wringing about how long they should retain user data.
On Dec. 17, Yahoo announced that it could cleanse its system of user log data within 90 days. By contrast, Google has publicly stated that its data retention time is nine months.
Resource Library:
Nicole Wong, deputy general counsel for Google, argued in a blog posting on March 11 that the privacy policy behind the company’s interest-based ads provided "meaningful transparency and choice," with the company drawing a line at data-mining potentially sensitive categories for ad revenue.
"To provide greater privacy protections to users, we will not serve interest-based ads based on sensitive interest categories," she wrote. "For example, we don’t have health status interest categories or interest categories designed for children."
Users will be able access the individual interest categories associated with their browser via a tool called Ad Preferences Manager and add or delete specific ones.
"Access to the profile is something we’ve been promoting for years, and what we’ve been hearing from companies is that it would be too difficult for consumers; Google has essentially disproved that," Alissa Cooper, chief computer scientist for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in an interview. "On the ad profile and ad access front, they’ve moved the ball forward."
Cooper also believes, though, that Google could stand to buttress its privacy protection in other areas – particularly with regard to its cookies. At the moment, Google users have the ability to delete their interest-based advertising cookie for the AdSense partner network, curtailing Google’s tracking; but there’s a catch.
"The cookie is only specific to the ads that Google is serving," Cooper said, which still leaves users potentially open to other search engines that utilize cookies for behavioral tracking.
And even though there are plans to label the ads provided by Google on the AdSense partner network and YouTube with information on how those ads are served, Cooper feels those labels could be more intensive.
"They talked about labeling the ads, which is something we’ve been talking about for a long time, and a link on the ad is a good idea," Cooper adds. "But it’s unclear about whether having an ad with a link that says, 'Ad by Google' will be effective for people wanting to see how they can defend their privacy."
Some analysts believe that Google is doing an effective job of being cautious with users' privacy.
Berin Szoka, a fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation and director of the Center for Internet Freedom, suggests that Google’s piling-on by some privacy advocates could be somewhat unwarranted, and that the company gives "consumers more granular control over their own privacy preferences by developing better tools."
"Because these services [and their competitors] are all free, Google has to compete in what economists call 'non-price terms'—such as privacy," Szoka wrote in a research report distributed on March 11. "So, Google has a lot to lose by alienating its users and a lot to gain by being seen as a leader in privacy protection."
"It’s no accident that Google was a late-comer to the OBA [Online Behavioral Advertising] market, lagging behind Yahoo in particular," Szoka added in the paper. "The most likely reason Google has taken its time in rolling out an OBA product is that Google is subject to a unique level of scrutiny by privacy advocates by virtue of its size. Being the 'big kid on the block,' Google has to be especially careful not to appear to be 'Big Brother.'"
Even if Google has no interest in becoming Big Brother, it still seems focused on becoming truly big.
Despite CEO Eric Schmidt’s announcement, at Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco on March 3, that Google was "not immune" from "very, very tough" economic conditions, the company seems determined to push into new and untested areas.
Schmidt also decided to push Google to the forefront of the U.S. renewable energy debate, arguing that his company has a clean energy plan that will cut greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2030.
On March 11, Google announced the release of Google Voice, an application that not only consolidates all of a user’s phones onto a single number, but also transcribes voicemail and makes it available for download.
Google Voice is an updated version of GrandCentral, a service that Google acquired in July 2007.
Earlier in March, Google unveiled new features for its Google Health solution, which now allows users to share their public medical profiles with trusted contacts.
Are Google's Behavior-Based Ads a New Privacy Concern?
By Nicholas Kolakowski
2009-03-12
Google Adsense
Google’s new interest-based advertising may lead to increased revenues for the search company, but privacy advocates have a list of new concerns for Google. Yahoo and other search-engine companies already use a variant of this sort of advertising, called “behavioral targeting,” in order to increase their advertisers’ chances of success. However, now that Google has entered the mix, privacy advocates fear they have more to worry about.
Google has raised privacy concerns with its newly launched interest-based advertising, which displays ads based on users' previous searches and page views. Also known as "behavioral targeting" or "online behavioral targeting," the method has privacy advocates up in arms over Google collecting massive amounts of user data.
While search engines use this type of technology, the fact that Google is now testing it has raised additional privacy concerns from those that see the search engine giant as already collecting too much personal information on its users. However, some others are defending Google, saying the company already has controls in place to control how personal data is used and collected.
The new Google advertising system, currently in beta, links "categories of interest" to the user’s browser, allowing targeted ads to appear even when the user is looking at a page totally unrelated to the ad’s subject matter. For example, someone who has spent months looking at pages about mini-notebooks will find ads for mini-notebooks appearing even when they’re on a site unrelated to PCs.
Google’s search rival Yahoo has already introduced its own application based on behavioral targeting, called Search Retargeting, which focuses display advertising based on users’ search histories. Search Retargeting, announced on Feb. 24, was anticipated by analysts as having the potential to draw massive privacy protests, but pushback from privacy advocates so far seems minimal.
For years, search engine companies have struggled to reassure the public that whatever information they collect is not being abused. This has led to much hand wringing about how long they should retain user data.
On Dec. 17, Yahoo announced that it could cleanse its system of user log data within 90 days. By contrast, Google has publicly stated that its data retention time is nine months.
Resource Library:
Nicole Wong, deputy general counsel for Google, argued in a blog posting on March 11 that the privacy policy behind the company’s interest-based ads provided "meaningful transparency and choice," with the company drawing a line at data-mining potentially sensitive categories for ad revenue.
"To provide greater privacy protections to users, we will not serve interest-based ads based on sensitive interest categories," she wrote. "For example, we don’t have health status interest categories or interest categories designed for children."
Users will be able access the individual interest categories associated with their browser via a tool called Ad Preferences Manager and add or delete specific ones.
"Access to the profile is something we’ve been promoting for years, and what we’ve been hearing from companies is that it would be too difficult for consumers; Google has essentially disproved that," Alissa Cooper, chief computer scientist for the Center for Democracy and Technology, said in an interview. "On the ad profile and ad access front, they’ve moved the ball forward."
Cooper also believes, though, that Google could stand to buttress its privacy protection in other areas – particularly with regard to its cookies. At the moment, Google users have the ability to delete their interest-based advertising cookie for the AdSense partner network, curtailing Google’s tracking; but there’s a catch.
"The cookie is only specific to the ads that Google is serving," Cooper said, which still leaves users potentially open to other search engines that utilize cookies for behavioral tracking.
And even though there are plans to label the ads provided by Google on the AdSense partner network and YouTube with information on how those ads are served, Cooper feels those labels could be more intensive.
"They talked about labeling the ads, which is something we’ve been talking about for a long time, and a link on the ad is a good idea," Cooper adds. "But it’s unclear about whether having an ad with a link that says, 'Ad by Google' will be effective for people wanting to see how they can defend their privacy."
Some analysts believe that Google is doing an effective job of being cautious with users' privacy.
Berin Szoka, a fellow at The Progress & Freedom Foundation and director of the Center for Internet Freedom, suggests that Google’s piling-on by some privacy advocates could be somewhat unwarranted, and that the company gives "consumers more granular control over their own privacy preferences by developing better tools."
"Because these services [and their competitors] are all free, Google has to compete in what economists call 'non-price terms'—such as privacy," Szoka wrote in a research report distributed on March 11. "So, Google has a lot to lose by alienating its users and a lot to gain by being seen as a leader in privacy protection."
"It’s no accident that Google was a late-comer to the OBA [Online Behavioral Advertising] market, lagging behind Yahoo in particular," Szoka added in the paper. "The most likely reason Google has taken its time in rolling out an OBA product is that Google is subject to a unique level of scrutiny by privacy advocates by virtue of its size. Being the 'big kid on the block,' Google has to be especially careful not to appear to be 'Big Brother.'"
Even if Google has no interest in becoming Big Brother, it still seems focused on becoming truly big.
Despite CEO Eric Schmidt’s announcement, at Morgan Stanley Technology Conference in San Francisco on March 3, that Google was "not immune" from "very, very tough" economic conditions, the company seems determined to push into new and untested areas.
Schmidt also decided to push Google to the forefront of the U.S. renewable energy debate, arguing that his company has a clean energy plan that will cut greenhouse-gas emissions in half by 2030.
On March 11, Google announced the release of Google Voice, an application that not only consolidates all of a user’s phones onto a single number, but also transcribes voicemail and makes it available for download.
Google Voice is an updated version of GrandCentral, a service that Google acquired in July 2007.
Earlier in March, Google unveiled new features for its Google Health solution, which now allows users to share their public medical profiles with trusted contacts.
2009-03-10
大象中伏 恒指霎時大跌
大象中伏 恒指霎時大跌
(星島)3月10日 星期二
Hong Kong Mortgage Loan Services
(星島日報報道)恒生指數重磅股滙控（005），昨天在競價時段慘被「質」低，直接拖低整體大市表現；恒指「插水式」在市後交易，進一步跌至一一三四四點收市，下跌點數由下午四時的三百二十九點，在短短十分鐘後擴大至跌五百七十六點，全日跌幅近百分之五，單是滙控的跌幅，已令恒指跌四百零九點。
滙控昨天急跌對恒指的影響，原本可以較小，但由於恒指成分股比重剛於上周五收市後大「執位」，滙控比重由原來僅逾百分之九，重新提升至一成半的上限，遂令該股對恒指變動的影響力突然被放大。滙控股價昨天「插水」逾兩成四後，在恒指比重已由一成半急回至不足一成二，比重排名再度屈居於中移動（941）之後；滙控在本周三收市後為除供股權的因素作調整，粗略估計，屆時其比重應可增加約三個百分點，只要滙控股價不再急挫，仍有望於本周四重拾最重磅藍籌的地位。
昨天滙控遭大戶顯着「競」低前，股價在正常交易時段已受壓，還「累街坊」連帶影響其他本地金融股捱沽，被摩根大通唱好、料股價在六十二元應有支持的恒生（011），便跌近百分之九，報六十七元，東亞（023）與中銀香港（2388）分別跌百分之七點二六與百分之四點五五，齊登上藍籌跌幅榜十大；宏利金融（945）也再跌百分之八點五，報五十七元。
相反，中資股表現相對「硬淨」，國企指數僅回五十九點，報六七二五點，主板成交僅三百五十八億元。
金融股弱勢，雖然影響整體大市表現，但證券界人士對短期後市暫未看得太淡。新鴻基金融策略師彭偉新認為，滙控昨天是遭大戶刻意「質」低，受此影響的恒指收市價也不能作準，認為只要恒指今日能重返一一六○○點，即下跌走勢底部支持位，大市短期內尚未至要下試去年十月造出的低位，一○六七六點。
泓福資產管理研究部主管鄧聲興也樂觀地相信，滙控昨天收市價三十三元，應是短期底部，儘管以現時市場氣氛，難以排除恒指短期或要失守萬一點的可能性，但應毋須再試一○六七六點的低位。
從資金流向分析，情況則不太樂觀。花旗引述市場統計指出，離岸亞洲股票基金在截至上周三止的一周，資金流走達十一億美元 ，國際股票基金贖回大增八倍，新興股市基金由兩周前有一億三千二百萬美元流入，變成流出三億一千四百萬美元，整體贖回是自去年十月中以來的高位。花旗相信，由現在至第二季的三個多月內，有很大機會重現資金以數以十億美元計的速度流走。
U盤噩夢 滙控33元
U盤噩夢 滙控33元
(星島)3月10日 星期二
Hong Kong Bank
(星島日報報道)近期股價積弱的滙豐控股，昨天在競價時段出現跳崖式下挫，在最後一刻由三十七元急墮，以三十三元震撼價收市，跌幅逾兩成四，是有紀綠以來滙控最大的單日跌幅。值得留意的是，三十三元的超低競價盤，早在上周五已經出現，但當日未能成交，昨天卻巧合地以三十三元收市，掀起造市疑雲。一向不評論個別事件的證監會，昨天亦罕有地表示，會就滙控事件向有關人士查詢。
雖然滙控在香港急挫，但昨天在外圍卻稍稍回升，滙控在倫敦早段稍為回升報三十七點六元，在美國 的預託證券則報三十七點四六元，升四點四六元。
滙控昨天下挫十元五角，而自從本月二日公布業績及宣布供股以來，滙控已經累積下跌接近二十四元，即是在一個星期之內蒸發了逾二千九百億元的市值。在滙控股東當中，有兩成至三成是來自香港，換言之港人財富在過去一周亦蒸發了五百八十億元至八百七十億元。
滙控上周五在美國預託證券已率先跌穿四十元大關，昨天開市後不足半小時，便跌破四十元關口，大部分時間都在三十七元至三十八元之間上落，至四時的正常交易時段收市，仍報三十七元七角。到了競價時段，本來都在三十七元浮沉，但在最後時刻，股價卻突然狂瀉至三十三元，令全日跌幅擴大至二成四，共跌去十元五角。根據港交所 的資料，滙控在競價時段成交活躍達三億九千萬元，相當於滙控昨天全日總成交的百分之八點三。以三十三元收市價來說，如果計及供股除權因素，除權價將會調整為三十一元五角，與二十八元供股價愈來愈接近。證券界認為隨着滙控股價貼近供股價，供股變得不划算。
至於滙控股價大跌的原因，市場上有多個說法，包括滙控的供股包銷商可能先沽售手上的貴貨甚至沽空，再以包銷供股的機會低價平倉獲利。有市場人士認為，近期滙控在倫敦的股價持續低於在香港的股價，導致國際投資者進行套戥，即是在香港沽滙控然後在倫敦買，導致滙控在香港沽壓大增。
另一個可能性，是大戶以滙控收市價作為賭具，在場外對賭，因此做淡的大戶不惜在競價時段「嘜價」。分析員及學者認為，倘若同時沽空滙控及擔任供股分包銷商，原則上並無不合法，中文大學財務學系副教授蘇偉文認為，最多只是操守出現問題而已，事實上亦難以證明動機。
面對股價似全無承托地下跌，滙控在香港的管理層昨日盡出，為供股計畫護航。滙豐亞太區主席鄭海泉表示，據了解供股反應良好，他亦希望股東可繼續支持滙控。雖然滙控在美損手，但鄭重申滙控未來會集中發展新興市場。滙豐亞太區行政總裁霍嘉治亦表示管理層已經就供股計畫作出詳細解釋，而滙控有一班長期擁躉，希望他們可繼續支持滙控。滙豐銀行執行董事王冬勝說供股計畫進展順利，亦不認同昨日股價下跌會影響供股計畫的吸引力。
2009-03-06
迪士尼吸本地客推4款酒店套票
迪士尼吸本地客推4款酒店套票
(明報)3月6日 星期五
Travel Agency
【明報專訊】農曆年過後，本港酒店業進入淡季，市區部分四、五星酒店的入住率跌至四成，不少酒店紛紛推出優惠價搶港客市場。迪士尼 樂園兩間酒店昨日起加入搶港客行列，推出4款酒店套票，最高減幅逾三成。據了解，迪士尼兩間酒店入住率維持理想，推出優惠是要吸納減少外遊的港人。
酒店連購物套票省33％
迪士尼樂園酒店和好萊塢酒店昨日起推出4款住宿優惠，套票包括購物、晚餐、門票和水療等，4月30日前入住可享優惠。減幅最大的，應是酒店連購物套票，1420元可享雙人一晚住宿（包括10％服務費）及500元商品消費額，較原價1820元節省33％。
另一款連自助晚餐套票，減幅亦高達兩成。若二人到迪士尼樂園酒店住一晚，並到該酒店的翠樂庭餐廳享用自助晚餐，優惠價2192元，較原本單住酒店要 1700元加10％服務費及約900元的雙人晚餐便宜逾兩成；到好萊塢酒店住宿及到米奇廚師餐廳吃晚餐，更只需1492元，減幅至少15％（見表）。
優惠限周日至周四
本報記者昨日曾致電酒店熱線查詢，上述價錢僅限周日至周四，周五、六及公眾假期價錢普遍貴數百元；目前房間供應較緊張的日子是復活節假期前後及平日。
全年入住率約八成
迪士尼樂園兩間酒店近年全年平均入住率約八成，據了解，此次推出優惠，並非入住率不理想。消息人士指出，兩所酒店的入住率仍較市區酒店佳，周末有不少內地旅客，「但當然無八成啦」。他解釋，現時經濟下滑，不少港人減少外出，會在本地找地方度周末，故推出這些優惠套票，希望吸引他們入住，而購物、水療等套票，相信對女士較具吸引力。
樂園於暑假期間亦會推出以迪士尼公主為主題的活動，吸引小女孩。
樂園早前已推出「星級款待」計劃，5月30日前，賓客在樂園內只要多付數十元起，便可享額外體驗。
人民幣在港結算好事近
人民幣在港結算好事近
(星島)3月6日
Magazines Subscription
(星島日報報道)國務院總理溫家寶昨天在政府工作報告中表示，全力支援香港積極應對國際金融危機，加強合作鞏固香港國際金融中心地位；同時加快推進與港澳地區貨物貿易的人民幣結算試點。曾蔭權 則指在港進行人民幣結算，已到了最後討論階段。
溫家寶昨天在全國人大會議上發表政府工作報告時表示，中央政府將堅定不移地貫徹「一國兩制」、「港人治港」、「澳人治澳」、高度自治的方針，全力支持香港、澳門 兩個特別行政區積極應對國際金融危機，保持繁榮穩定。
他說，進一步加強內地與港澳的合作，鞏固香港國際金融中心地位，促進澳門經濟適度多元發展。加快推進與港澳地區貨物貿易的人民幣結算試點。不斷拓展粵港澳三地合作的深度和廣度。加快推動港珠澳大橋、港深機場鐵路、廣深港高速鐵路等基礎設施建設。擴大內地服務業對港澳的開放。採取有效措施支持港澳在內地企業特別是中小企業發展，緩解經營困難。
溫總說，「偉大祖國永遠是香港、澳門的堅強後盾。我們堅信，香港、澳門同胞一定能够克服面臨的困難，開創更加美好的明天！全力支援香港積極應對國際金融危機，保持繁榮穩定。」
特首曾蔭權對於國務院總理溫家寶，昨日在政府工作報告中，再次肯定香港作為國際金融中心的地位，表示歡迎；並對於中央政府表明會採取有效措施，支持香港在內地的企業，感到高興。
他說，關於人民幣結算於香港進行一事，已經做到最後討論的階段，「我相信這件事情很快會有結果，特別是利用人民幣結算貿易方面，我相信這件事很快很快會有好消息。」
香港中聯辦 主任高祀仁表示，今次的政府工作報告是全力應對金融危機，亦為港澳提出一系列措施幫助香港，有關力度比○三年時更大，希望防止香港出現結構性的金融動盪。而今次政府工作報告對於港澳的字眼較為具體，顯示出中央政府全力支持香港的決心。
國務院港澳辦副主任張曉明則指，中央政府在制訂政府工作報告時，原定把有關港澳的部分寫得較為原則性，但溫家寶在看了有關港澳的段落時，就指為了幫助港澳應對金融危機，一定要較為具體展示中央政府對港政策的內涵，讓港澳同胞安心。
行政會議召集人梁振英則指，今次的政府工作報告中，提出大量關於擴大消費性內需的措施，而從事零售業的內地港資，如時裝及化裝品，可以有相當大的得益，而香港的服務性的質素較高，本身亦可以有所獲益。
身兼全國政協的總商會議員林健鋒指，今次的工作報告給與香港一定的支持，希望香港內部可以團結一致。因此他認為香港本身都需要同舟共濟，應對金融海嘯。
他又指，今次的報告中，例如容許企業可以按實質需要調整工時，這與他們提出暫緩勞動合同法的理念一致。
中小企內地貸款 商會盼中央支持
中小企內地貸款 商會盼中央支持
(明報)3月6日 星期五
Credit Loans Lending
【明報專訊】多名港區全國政協委員都對總理溫家寶的報告讚好，全國政協常委戴德豐更形容這是「歷年來最好最振奮」的報告，特別是由中央政府指揮粵港澳的合作。不過，政協委員、香港中華總商會會長蔡冠深表示，希望中央對內地中小企的貸款支持計劃，可令在內地的港資中小企都同樣受惠。
蔡冠深稱，現時很多香港公司在內地銀行借貸的成功率不高，「對方都不認識你，你突然去申請，借錢不容易」。他稱，希望中央能夠在這方面協助到港資中小企渡過難關。
自由黨田北俊則認為，內地的香港中小企在減稅、退稅方面也會受惠。
前政務司長許仕仁形容總理報告非常全面、非常仔細，「亮點最重要看他關於台灣的立場和態度」。長實副主席李澤鉅則形容總理講明支持房地產發展，對醫療改革的支持他亦感到很高興。
財赤9500億力退海嘯
財赤9500億力退海嘯
(星島)3月6日 星期五
Investment
(星島日報報道)全國人民代表大會全體會議昨天上午開幕，溫家寶向兩千多名人大代表發表政府工作報告。受國際金融海嘯打擊，中國面臨內憂外患，去年第四季度GDP增速僅有六點八個百分點。溫家寶警告，國際金融危機還在蔓延、仍未見底，「經濟增速持續下滑已成為影響全局的主要矛盾。」
溫家寶重申了今年經濟增長百分之八目標，以及未來兩年四萬億元的政府投資計畫。
「在我們這樣一個十三億人口的發展中國家，要擴大城鄉就業，增加居民收入，維護社會穩定， 就必須保持一定的增長速度。只要政策對頭，措施得當，落實有力，就有可能實現這一目標。」溫家寶強調。
四萬億元經濟刺激計畫的大規模投資，需要財政赤字和銀行貸款提供資金支援。溫家寶在報告中宣布今年新增貸款五萬億以上，全國財政赤字合計九千五百億元，其中擬安排中央財政赤字七千五百億元，並有財政部代地方發行兩千億元債券。
據悉，這一赤字規模比去年擴張了五倍多，創出了新中國六十年的最高紀錄，是歷史高值的二○○三年財政赤字的近三倍。
為了保八，溫家寶提出了一攬子措施，包括大規模增加政府投資，大範圍實施調整振興產業規劃，大幅度提高社會保障水平。今年中央政府投資總額九千多億元，其中很大的比重是用於保障性住房、教育、衞生、文化等民生工程建設。
中央財政投入農業、農村將高達七千多億，增加農業補貼、提高糧食收購價；制定民工養老保險辦法，提高失業保險金；今後三年將會投入八千五百億元推行醫療改革，解決看病貴、看病難。
全國人大代表王越說，政府釋放的信號十分明顯，希望透過民生工程來保增長、擴內需、促穩定。
在教育方面，針對四川地震暴露校舍豆腐渣工程，溫家寶強調，「要把學校建成最安全、家長最放心的地方」。
過去一年，廣東官方推行「騰龍換鳥」等產業升級政策，引起包括港商在內的不少廠商不滿，認為操之過急。溫家寶在報告中強調，不能放鬆出口，要「穩步推進加工貿易轉型升級」，採取有效措施，紓緩港資中小企的經營困難。經濟不景、失業率上升，再加上今年是政治敏感年，溫家寶強調，要「健全社會穩定預警機制，積極預防好妥善處理各類群體性事件」，並且重申要堅決查處腐敗案件。
2009-03-04
Chinese Drywall Causing Massive Headaches for Homeowners News
Chinese Drywall Causing Massive Headaches for Homeowners News
February 24, 2009. By Heidi Turner
Legal Advice
Weston, FL: If you purchased a newly built home in the past 5 years or so, you may have unknowingly purchased a home that is defective. That is because some new homes were built with Chinese drywall, a product that is allegedly toxic. Issues with the Chinese drywall are now coming to light, with more and more people reporting problems in their homes. Some homeowners are now investigating lawsuits against home developers and drywall manufacturers.
New House"During the recent building boom, from 2004 to 2007, there was a shortage of US- manufactured drywall," Scott Shepherd, partner with Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLP, says. "Prior to 2004, developers preferred, for economic and logistical reasons, to use drywall manufactured in the US. However, because of building demands during the boom, including the extreme drain on the system caused by Hurricane Katrina, there was a shortage of US drywall and builders began using drywall imported from China. This drywall typically was kept at sea for a few months prior to entering the US.
"It turns out that much of the Chinese drywall included fly ash, a waste material that is a byproduct from power plants using coal. The problem that has developed is that the drywall emits several sulfur gases, including, apparently, hydrogen sulfide. These gases have a strong smell, and have been causing significant damage to items in the home, such as air conditioner coils, electrical and computer wiring, plumbing and even silver picture frames and jewelry. The gases can also be harmful to humans and many reports indicate that the emissions are causing people respiratory discomfort, eye and nose irritation and headaches.
"Most of the drywall that came into the US between 2004 and 2006 arrived at about fifteen ports around the country, including several in Florida, New York, Texas, California and New Orleans. So far, most of the problems that we have seen, and that have been reported in the press, have been in Florida, Louisiana, Arizona and California, although I would expect we will hear more about other areas in the future. Anywhere that there was a problem getting US drywall—which means anywhere there was a high volume of home construction—we will probably hear about problems with Chinese drywall."
If you purchased a newly built home and are not sure whether or not Chinese drywall was used in your home, you may have to have a home inspection done. However, there are a few signs you can watch for that may indicate that Chinese drywall was used in your home. These signs include having to replace components in your air conditioner, plumbing piping that has corroded and turned black, corroded electrical wiring, silver jewelry or picture frames that have turned black and a rotten egg smell. You may also have noticed eye and nose irritations, headaches and respiratory problems.
How quickly these issues present themselves may have a lot to do with the drywall's exposure to moisture.
"People have reported problems for the past year although initially no one was sure what the cause of the problems were," Shepherd says. "A lot of these issues are just starting to manifest now. People may have noticed they were frequently replacing air conditioner parts but not known why, but they knew that they should not have been having these types of problems [such as air conditioner problems] in homes that are new construction."
The lawsuits thus far have been against developers and manufacturers of the drywall. At this stage, it is too soon to tell if there will turn out to be other responsible parties. The principal claim in most of the lawsuits is that the drywall has caused expensive damage to the home, that the drywall itself must be replaced and in some cases that the residents have suffered personal injuries as a result of their exposure. It has yet to be seen if there will be any effect on home values once repairs are made.
February 24, 2009. By Heidi Turner
Legal Advice
Weston, FL: If you purchased a newly built home in the past 5 years or so, you may have unknowingly purchased a home that is defective. That is because some new homes were built with Chinese drywall, a product that is allegedly toxic. Issues with the Chinese drywall are now coming to light, with more and more people reporting problems in their homes. Some homeowners are now investigating lawsuits against home developers and drywall manufacturers.
New House"During the recent building boom, from 2004 to 2007, there was a shortage of US- manufactured drywall," Scott Shepherd, partner with Shepherd, Finkelman, Miller & Shah, LLP, says. "Prior to 2004, developers preferred, for economic and logistical reasons, to use drywall manufactured in the US. However, because of building demands during the boom, including the extreme drain on the system caused by Hurricane Katrina, there was a shortage of US drywall and builders began using drywall imported from China. This drywall typically was kept at sea for a few months prior to entering the US.
"It turns out that much of the Chinese drywall included fly ash, a waste material that is a byproduct from power plants using coal. The problem that has developed is that the drywall emits several sulfur gases, including, apparently, hydrogen sulfide. These gases have a strong smell, and have been causing significant damage to items in the home, such as air conditioner coils, electrical and computer wiring, plumbing and even silver picture frames and jewelry. The gases can also be harmful to humans and many reports indicate that the emissions are causing people respiratory discomfort, eye and nose irritation and headaches.
"Most of the drywall that came into the US between 2004 and 2006 arrived at about fifteen ports around the country, including several in Florida, New York, Texas, California and New Orleans. So far, most of the problems that we have seen, and that have been reported in the press, have been in Florida, Louisiana, Arizona and California, although I would expect we will hear more about other areas in the future. Anywhere that there was a problem getting US drywall—which means anywhere there was a high volume of home construction—we will probably hear about problems with Chinese drywall."
If you purchased a newly built home and are not sure whether or not Chinese drywall was used in your home, you may have to have a home inspection done. However, there are a few signs you can watch for that may indicate that Chinese drywall was used in your home. These signs include having to replace components in your air conditioner, plumbing piping that has corroded and turned black, corroded electrical wiring, silver jewelry or picture frames that have turned black and a rotten egg smell. You may also have noticed eye and nose irritations, headaches and respiratory problems.
How quickly these issues present themselves may have a lot to do with the drywall's exposure to moisture.
"People have reported problems for the past year although initially no one was sure what the cause of the problems were," Shepherd says. "A lot of these issues are just starting to manifest now. People may have noticed they were frequently replacing air conditioner parts but not known why, but they knew that they should not have been having these types of problems [such as air conditioner problems] in homes that are new construction."
The lawsuits thus far have been against developers and manufacturers of the drywall. At this stage, it is too soon to tell if there will turn out to be other responsible parties. The principal claim in most of the lawsuits is that the drywall has caused expensive damage to the home, that the drywall itself must be replaced and in some cases that the residents have suffered personal injuries as a result of their exposure. It has yet to be seen if there will be any effect on home values once repairs are made.
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