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Showing posts from May 7, 2015

Hookers, kidneys & nose jobs: New map shows most searched cost obsessions by country

Fixr.com's map of the world with the most-Googled things The cost of flying a MiG fighter in Russia, buying kidneys in Iran, prostitutes in Ukraine and rhinoplasty in S. Korea are just a few of the most popular Google requests worldwide, a new map shows. It does give some weird insights into the countries. Fixr.com, a cost-estimating website has put together a map of the world with the most-Googled things in each country, using the autocomplete formula of “How much does * cost in [x country]." The search results turned out to be hilarious and informative, and gave a peek into humanity’s cost obsessions per country. “Looking at some of the most popular Google searches throughout the World reveals some cultural differences, but also many key similarities. It also provides insights into the sometimes strange things people think about when they are alone,”says fixr.com website . Russians are most interested in “How much does it cost to fly a MiG [military aircraft] in Russia?”

US defends cluster bomb transfers

. Smoke billows as supporters of exiled Yemeni leader Abedrabbo Mansour Hadi continue to clash with Shiite Huthi rebels in the Khor Maksar neighbourhood of Aden, on May 3, 2015 (AFP Photo/Saleh Al-Obeidi) Washington (AFP) - The United States defended its supplies of cluster munitions Sunday, pointing to restrictions on the transfers, after Human Rights Watch said the bombs had been used by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen. HRW said it had gathered photographs, video and other evidence indicating that cluster munitions had been used in coalition air strikes against the Huthi rebel stronghold of Saada province in Yemen's northern mountains in recent weeks. It said that analysis of satellite imagery suggested that the weapons had landed on a cultivated plateau, within 600 meters (yards) of populated areas. "We take all accounts of civilian deaths due to the ongoing hostilities in Yemen very seriously," a US Defense Department official told AFP. "We call upon all side

The Computers are Listening

By Dan Froomkin Most people realize that emails and other digital communications they once considered private can now become part of their permanent record. But even as they increasingly use apps that understand what they say, most people don’t realize that the words they speak are not so private anymore, either. Top-secret documents from the archive of former NSA contractor Edward Snowden show the National Security Agency can now automatically recognize the content within phone calls by creating rough transcripts and phonetic representations that can be easily searched and stored. The documents show NSA analysts celebrating the development of what they called “Google for Voice” nearly a decade ago . Though perfect transcription of natural conversation apparently remains the Intelligence Community’s “ holy grail ,” the Snowden documents describe extensive use of keyword searching as well as computer programs designed to analyze and “extract” the content of voice conversations, and eve