The PGK Blog; The Knowledge Factory

Do No Evil?

From Wired-

The company once known for its “don’t be evil” motto is now in bed with the spy agency known for the mass surveillance of American citizens.

The National Security Agency is widely understood to have the government’s biggest and smartest collection of geeks — the guys that are more skilled at network warfare than just about anyone on the planet. So, in a sense, it’s only natural that Google would turn to the NSA after the company was hit by an ultrasophisticated hack attack. After all, the military has basically done the same thing, putting the NSA in charge of its new “Cyber Command.” The Department of Homeland Security is leaning heavily on the NSA to secure .gov networks.

But there’s a problem. The NSA and its predecessors also have a long history of spying on huge numbers of people, both at home and abroad. During the Cold War, the agency worked with companies like Western Union to intercept and read millions of telegrams. During the war on terror years, the NSA teamed up with the telecommunications companies to eavesdrop on customers’ phone calls and internet traffic right from the telcos’ switching stations. And even after the agency pledged to clean up its act — and was given wide new latitude to spy on whom they liked – the NSA was still caught “overcollecting” on U.S. citizens. According to The New York Times, the agency even “tried to wiretap a member of Congress without a warrant.”

All of which makes the NSA a particularly untrustworthy partner for a company that is almost wholly reliant on its customers’ trust and goodwill. We all know that Google automatically reads our Gmail and scans our Google Calendars and dives into our Google searches, all in an attempt to put the most relevant ads in front of us. But we’ve tolerated the automated intrusions, because Google’s products are so good, and we believed that the company was sincere in its “don’t be evil” mantra.

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Hockey Town is DC, USA

From DCist-

Capitals 4, Bruins 1: In the immortal words of Wayne Coyne, “do you realize?” So, do you? Do you realize that the Washington Capitals, with last night’s win over the Boston Bruins, are bulldozing their way through not just what is probably the best year in the 35-year history of the franchise, but one of the best seasons in the sporting history of Washington, D.C.? Do you realize the Capitals now have a larger lead for first in their conference than any other NHL team has at the top of their division? Do you realize that they are doing it as a team — including a goal last night from Boyd Gordon, a total of 18 players have scored for the team during the streak. (And do you realize that the Caps might actually be looking for ways that they can improve that already incredible offensive power?) Do you realize that Alex Ovechkin is actually only the second hottest Russian on the team at the moment? Do you realize that they’re winning in different ways — for instance, this evening, the Caps rode Tom Poti’s defensive acumen in the first and an unreal save by Jose Theodore in the second until they finally opened the floodgates in the third with three goals.

The tune reminds that “it’s hard to make the good things last.” But the Capitals are sure doing a pretty good job.

A Charming Look at a Literary Legend

From The NYT-

N.H. — His most famous character, Holden Caulfield, said it was impossible to find a place that is “nice and peaceful,” but J. D. Salinger may have found something close for himself in the woods of this tiny town. 

Here Mr. Salinger was just Jerry, a quiet man who arrived early to church suppers, nodded hello while buying a newspaper at the general store and wrote a thank-you note to the fire department after it extinguished a blaze and helped save his papers and writings. 

Despite his reputation, Mr. Salinger “was not a recluse,” said Nancy Norwalk, a librarian at the Philip Read Memorial Library in Plainfield, which Mr. Salinger would frequent. “He was a towns- person.” 

And last week, after his death, his neighbors would not talk about him, reflecting what one called “the code of the hills.” 

“Nobody conspired to keep his privacy, but everyone kept his privacy — otherwise he wouldn’t have stayed here all these years,” said Sherry Boudro of nearby Windsor, Vt., who said her father, Paul Sayah, befriended Mr. Salinger in the 1970s. “This community saw him as a person, not just the author of ‘The Catcher in the Rye.’ They respect him. He was an individual who just wanted to live his life.” 

The curious constantly descended on Cornish and the surrounding area, asking residents for directions to Mr. Salinger’s house. Instead of finding the home, interlopers would end up on a wild goose chase. 

How far afield the directions went “depended on how arrogant they were,” said Mike Ackerman, owner of the Cornish General Store. Mr. Salinger, he said, “was like the Batman icon. Everyone knew Batman existed, and everyone knows there’s a Batcave, but no one will tell you where it is.”

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Lizard Thievery

From SFGATE-

WELLINGTON, New Zealand: A German man who stuffed 44 small lizards into his underwear before trying to board a flight has been sentenced to prison in New Zealand for plundering the country’s protected species.

Hans Kurt Kubus, 58, will spend 14 weeks behind bars and must pay a 5,000 New Zealand dollar ($3,540) fine before being deported to Germany as soon as he is released, District Court Judge Colin Doherty ruled onTuesday.

Kubus was caught by wildlife officials at Christchurch International Airport on South Island in December, about to board an overseas flight with 44 geckos and skinks in a hand-sewn package concealed in his underwear.

He admitted trading in exploited species without a permit and hunting absolutely protected wildlife without authority, pleading guilty to two charges under the Wildlife Act and five under the Trade in Endangered Species Act.

Department of Conservation prosecutor Mike Bodie told the court Kubus could have faced potential maximum penalties of NZ$500,000 ($355,000) and six months in prison.

Bodie said the department sought a deterrent sentence for “the most serious case of its kind detected in New Zealand for a decade or more.”

Leaving Their Hoods on the Bench

From The Augusta Chronicle-

A new professional basketball league boasting rosters made up exclusively of white Americans has its eyes set on Augusta, but the team isn’t receiving a warm welcome.

The All-American Basketball Alliance announced in a news release Sunday evening that it intends to start its inaugural season in June and hopes Augusta will be one of 12 cities with a team.

“Only players that are natural born United States citizens with both parents of Caucasian race are eligible to play in the league,” the statement said.

Augusta Mayor Deke Copenhaver, who has publicly expressed his support for minor league teams in the past, said he would not do the same for this team.

“As a sports enthusiast, I have always supported bringing more sporting activities to Augusta,” he said. “However, in this instance I could not support in good conscience bringing in a team that did not fit with the spirit of inclusiveness that I, along with many others, have worked so hard to foster in our city.”

Clint Bryant, athletic director at Augusta State University, laughed when he heard the news.

“It’s so absurd, it’s funny, but it gives you an idea of the sickness of our society” he said. “It shows you what lengths people will go to just to be mean-spirited. I think at any basketball level, no matter if it’s all black, all white, all Hispanic, all Asian or anyone else, the players should just be a basketball team.”

Don “Moose” Lewis, the commissioner of the AABA, said the reasoning behind the league’s roster restrictions is not racism.

“There’s nothing hatred about what we’re doing,” he said. “I don’t hate anyone of color. But people of white, American-born citizens are in the minority now. Here’s a league for white players to play fundamental basketball, which they like.”

Lewis said he wants to emphasize fundamental basketball instead of “street-ball” played by “people of color.” He pointed out recent incidents in the NBA, including Gilbert Arenas’ indefinite suspension after bringing guns into the Washington Wizards locker room, as examples of fans’ dissatisfaction with the way current professional sports are run.

Burger+ Beach+ Beer= I Like

From CNN-

NEW YORK - Burger King Corp. said Friday it plans to open a Whopper Bar in the South Beach area of Miami next month.

To keep up with Miami’s night life, Burger King (BKC)’s new Whopper bar will offer American beer and Whopper sandwiches around the clock, staying open 24 hours a day, seven days a week.

It will be the chain’s first U.S. location to sell beer, and the restaurant will offer a delivery service for local customers, a walk-up window for orders on the go and an outdoor dining area.

“Not only is South Beach in our backyard, but the warm weather, famous nightlife and colorful personality of the destination make it a great fit for a Whopper Bar restaurant,” Chuck Fallon, Burger King’s North America president, said in a company statement.

Burger King’s bar will offer variations on its traditional Whopper sandwich, including an exclusive addition: the Black & Bleu Steakhouse XT. Customers will be able to choose from 20 sauces, displayed in a “visible toppings theater.”

And when South Beach locals pick up a 4 a.m. burger, they will also have their choice of Anheuser-Busch and MillerCoors beer, including Budweiser, Miller Lite and Budlight Lime at a cost of $4.25.

“That adds a new element to the Burger King brand,” said Tom Forte, an analyst at Telsey Advisory Group. “It also creates a different mystique for going to a Whopper Bar versus a traditional restaurant.”

Double Take

From the UK’s Daily Mail-

Even by the usual attention-seeking standards of women’s tennis, Venus Williams appeared to be flashing rather too much flesh at the Australian Open yesterday.

But closer inspection – which many of her male fans undoubtedly undertook – revealed that the five-times Wimbledon champion was actually preserving her modesty with flesh-coloured underwear.

Williams’s outfit attracted a great deal of speculation on the internet, with dozens of fans asking her via the Twitter social networking site if she had ‘gone commando’ – or worn no underwear – on court.

She explained to fans: ‘My dress for the Australian Open has been one of my best designs ever! It’s all about the slits and V-neck. I am wearing undershorts the same colour as my skin, so it gives the slits in my dress the full effect!’

She added: ‘This is completely my design. I just sketched it out. The whole idea is just about the illusion that I’m wearing a deep V-neck. Then the idea was to wear shorts that were like the same colour as my skin. It works very well, apparently.

Torture King Using Cheney’s Bunker for Class?

From Business Insider-

UC Berkeley’s Boalt Hall law school is hiding one of their celebrity professors to discourage rabid protestors.

John Yoo’s California Constitution class locale is not listed on the school’s class schedule. Yoo, who has been making the media rounds to support his book Crisis in Command and defending his authorship of the so-called Bush torture memos, has been tracked by anti-war activists since he re-joined the faculty last year.

According to Berkeley’s campus paper, The Daily Californian, his first class last year attracted more than 50 protestors and ended in four arrests.

The editorial board of the TDC agrees with the school’s choice, arguing that releasing the location would be disruptive to the learning environment and unfair to the students coughing up cash to learn at the feet of the former deputy assistant attorney general.

Pamela Anderson, Paris Hilton- MOVE OVER.

From Political Wire-

If you didn’t think the scandals surrounding John Edwards could get worse, think again. 

Sources have told Gawker that, “in the throes of their affair, John Edwards and Rielle Hunter made a sex tape that contains ‘several sex acts.’ And that his aide, Andrew Young found it on an unmarked DVD.”

More details are expected in Young’s book, The Politician, due out next week and in a Friday interview to promote it on the ABC News show 20/20.

Chelsea Single?

From Gawker-

A source close to the couple claims that late-night comedienne Chelsea Handler and her conveniently well-connected boyfriend Ted Harbert have split up. Harbert is president and CEO of Comcast Entertainment, which owns E!, the network that airs Chelsea Lately.

Handler and Harbert became a couple back in 2006, after her reality-sketch series The Chelsea Handler Show (also with E!) wrapped, but before plans for her more successful talk show (Chelsea Lately) were set in motion. The close timing of the union and the new show inevitably led to accusations that Handler slept her way to the top (is an E! show the top?), though Handler has openly discussed the relationship and doesn’t seem worried about those implications.

The thing we’re most curious about now is if Handler will change her stance on the whole NBC late night wars. Last week she went against the comedy grain by showing solidarity with her old pal Jay and stopping by his show during wartime to help make fun of David Letterman. We can’t help but wonder if the playing nice had anything to do with her literally being in bed with NBC, which Comcast purchased this fall.