Youtube kills original RickRolling video

RIP, Rickrolling: YouTube Kills Original Video

That sound you hear? It's the spirit of the Internet being crushed, after YouTube removed the original Rickrolling video over a terms-of-use violation.

Are you sitting down? I have some horrible news for you. YouTube has removed the original "Rickrolling" video from its site due to a terms-of-use violation. Though there are other avenues in which to get a Rick Astley "Never Gonna Give You Up" fix, the original, the one that captured the nation's attention, the video that spurned over 30 million hits, is dead.

In case you weren't one of the lucky many to experience it, to be "Rickrolled" is to be baited by a contextually relevant Web link and then get smacked with Astley's official YouTube music video. "Rickrolling" started in early 2007 on the 4chan imageboard, and a year later spread like wildfire, becoming an unavoidable meme. The use of "Never Gonna Give You Up" stemmed from a 4chan prank called "duckrolling," in which people would be sent to an image of a duck on wheels. SurveyUSA estimated that at least 18 million Americans were "Rickrolled."

It's hard to believe, but "Rickrolling" extended way beyond simple Internet pranks. It was used during protests against the Church of Scientology, touched upon the First Lady, and even gave name to an iPhone virus that changed jailbroken iPhone backgrounds into images of Astley.

As it is wont to do, the Internet leapt upon the meme and tried turning it into something more expansive than it ought to be. Many Geocities-esque sites were born devoted to the cause, including a database and a dubious phone service.

But it's all over now

Google trial could lead to new restrictions on sharing videos online

Testimony begins Tuesday in the Italian trial of four Google executives accused of defamation and violating privacy for allowing a video to be posted online showing an autistic youth being abused.

All four deny wrongdoing. The case could set the tone for new limits on sharing videos and other content on the web.

Google says the case violates European Union rules by trying to place responsibility on providers for content uploaded by users.

The Mountain View, Calif., company also considers the trial a threat to freedom on the Internet because it could force providers into an impossible task - prescreening the thousands of hours of footage uploaded every day onto websites like the Google-owned YouTube.

Prosecutors and civil plaintiffs insist they don't want to censor the Internet, and maintain the case is about enforcing Italy's privacy rules as well as ensuring large corporations do their utmost to block inappropriate content, or quickly delete it.

"It's the first case of this kind in Italy and Europe," said Alessandro del Ninno, a lawyer and expert on Internet law. "The risk is that it will force providers to preventively control the content, something that goes against the very nature of the Internet."

The defendants, who are being tried in absentia in Milan, are Google's senior vice-president and chief legal officer David Drummond, former chief financial officer George Reyes, senior product marketing manager Arvind Desikan and global privacy counsel Peter Fleischer.

The investigation was sought by Vivi Down, an advocacy group for people with Down syndrome, which alerted prosecutors to the 2006 video showing an autistic student in Turin being beaten and insulted by bullies at school. In the footage, the youth is being mistreated while one of the teenagers puts in a mock telephone call to Vivi Down.

The events shortly preceded Google's 2006 acquisition of YouTube.

Google Italia, which is based in Milan, eventually took down the video, though the two sides disagree on how fast the company reacted to complaints. Thanks to the footage and Google's co-operation, the four bullies were identified and sentenced to community service by a juvenile court.

But prosecutors also sought trial for the Google executives, who could face up to three years in jail, for failing to protect the youth's privacy by allowing the video to be uploaded.

"We feel that bringing this case to court is totally wrong," Google said in a statement ahead of Tuesday's session. "It's akin to prosecuting mail service employees for hate speech letters sent in the post."

"Seeking to hold neutral platforms liable for content posted on them is a direct attack on a free, open Internet," it said.

The trial opened in February, with the court so far dealing with procedural matters. In Tuesday's session a company technician is expected to take the stand to explain how Google Video works.

A ruling is expected in July or after a summer break.

The family of the youth withdrew from the trial when it opened, leaving Vivi Down as the main plaintiff in a civil lawsuit attached to the case.

"It is not correct to talk about censorship, this is not our goal," said Guido Camera, a lawyer for the group. "We ask that at least users be made aware of their responsibilities."

Prosecutors say they are aware Google cannot screen all videos, but maintain the company didn't have enough automatic filters in place as well as warnings to users on privacy and copyright laws. They also say Google didn't have enough workers assigned to its Italian service in order to react quickly to videos flagged as inappropriate by viewers.

Teen with 56 star tattoos on her face admits she wanted them the whole time

It was merely a case of buyer’s remorse.

Last week, Belgian teen Kimberly Vlaminck told reporters she fell asleep while getting a tattoo and woke up to find 56 stars inked on the left side of her face when she had asked for 3.

“It is terrible for me. I cannot go out on to the street. I look like a freak,” Vlaminck said at the time.

It turns out she was awake the whole time, had asked for all 56 of the stars, and was “fully aware” of what tattoo artist Rouslan Toumaniantz was doing, the Daily Mail reports.

The lie began when she came home with her newly decorated face and her father was very upset.

“I asked for 56 stars and initially adored them. But when my father saw them, he was furious,” Vlaminck told a Dutch TV crew. “So I said I fell asleep and that the tattooist had made a mistake.”

Toumaniantz has always maintained that he had understood Vlaminck correctly and she had asked for all 56 stars. But when the story was initially reported Toumaniantz said he would help pay for the tattoo removal because his customer was unsatisfied. He has now withdrawn that offer.

A Sweet Idea?

When two internet nerds are in love and in danger of losing their house, what do they do?

Get a job? Borrow from friends and family? Try to renegotiate with their lender?

How about hold a virtual bake sale!

On bryanandsandybakesale.com you can buy cakes, cookies, cupcakes and pies, and Bryan and Sandy will email you a picture of the sweet treat you've purchased. No, you don't actually get anything edible, silly. It's completely virtual!

If you see it as a healthy fat-free, calorie-free alternative to eating crap, while also supporting two anonymous humans who say they are in need, then it's a bargain.

But if you see it as a total sham, well then, what fun are you?

oh, and if you'd like to buy a virtual cupcake here...by all means... just deposit $1 (or more,up to you) in the tip jar :o)

Thoughts?

The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes

When we were younger, how much did we care to know about environmental issues? How much time did we spend to understand the people around us? How much did we fight for global issues? How well-versed were we of policies that effect the world at large. I’d dare say… very incredibly little.

Whether the times were easier, or the connectedness was limited, or the situation was less of a threat - nothing justifies closing our eyes and our ears to things that are real, close and extremely daunting.

Unless you’ve been hibernating in a cave for the past 20 years or so, you’d know that things are different today. Our kids are smarter about these global issues. We have better platforms for taking action.

Here’s a video to shake your conscience up. The girl who silenced the world for 5 minutes.

YouTube stunt ends with teen in coma

Boy thrown into trees after rope tied to sled comes loose from car

A Burlington,Ontario 16-year-old is comatose and in critical condition with severe head injuries after a video stunt gone terribly wrong.

He was badly injured in a secluded church lot near his high school Tuesday while car-boarding – a dangerous YouTube stunt in which teens film themselves being towed behind vehicles on skateboards and sleds.

His 17-year-old friend has been charged with dangerous operation of a vehicle causing bodily harm and criminal negligence causing bodily harm.

The crash happened as a group of teens stood cheering while the stunt was recorded on a cellphone video camera.

Yesterday, Robert Bateman High School students said the group built a sled out of two snowboards glued to a flying saucer toboggan and tried it out earlier that day.

They filmed it and showed the cellphone video to the boy, who agreed to try the stunt.

"The first time they did it, they were going 30 kilometres an hour," said a student.

"The second time, they were going 60 kilometres with (the boy)."

Around 1 p.m. Tuesday, four friends jumped into the car while the teen, wearing a motorcycle helmet and gloves, hopped onto the sled.

"They did four laps of the church parking lot," said Halton police spokesman Sgt. Brian Carr.

On the fourth lap, the tow rope ripped off the sled and the teen was thrown into a line of trees.

The video shows the moment the boy hurtles away, but not the impact.

The other teens picked up the unconscious boy and drove him to hospital.

On a Facebook page set up in support of the boy, the teen's family says he is in bad shape in Hamilton General Hospital's intensive care unit.

"This is his sister," the entry says.

"For all of you that are concerned, this is the newest update. His brain is badly bruised because it was shaken so badly."

"With the first 72 hours, this causes swelling of the brain which is life-threatening."

"He is stable now and still in a coma. All the doctors can do now is monitor the swelling and pray for the best. ... His injuries are extremely severe."

Yesterday, police said teens need to realize such stunts are fraught with peril.

Car-boarding "is not a major problem in Halton," Carr said.

"But it's dangerous. There is no other way of describing it. It's a dangerous event and we advise not to do it."

Police Taser Great-Grandmother During Traffic Stop

This one was just unbelievable...

In what looks to be a case of police brutality, a 72-year-old Austin, Texas great-grandmother was tasered after apparently refusing to sign a ticket during a traffic stop.

Police insist that they were doing everything by the book, but using a taser on a senior citizen at a traffic stop strikes one as excessive use of force.



The video showed the whole thing, the cop even pushed the lady pretty hard then warned her and then tazered her. Just who wrote this book that the police officer was following?? Ok, the grandmother was being a little stubborn, and wouldn't sign the ticket, The police officer is a much larger person, why did he feel the need to use the tazer? A tazer is a weapon, this an unarmed, albeit unruly, 72 year old woman... what gives?

Thoughts?

The 'Wikipedia for Porn' launches, should parents worry?

Carnalpedia aims to be the definitive online resource for all things related to sex, including the porn industry. They also claim that innocent eyes will not be able to visit thanks to their Restricted to Adults rating.

I suppose it was just a matter of time before a site like this was created. The sex and porn industry has had an enormous influence on the development of the Internet and remains one of its most popular albeit controversial topics.

Carnalpedia will remind visitors immediately of Wikipedia, the site that has become the web's favourite destination for finding facts on just about every imaginable topic. The layout is identical, as is navigation and organization of content within article pages. It also maintains the wiki convention of being free to access and open to anyone to create and/or edit submissions.

Although the site has only been online for a few weeks, it already contains more than 120,000 articles, including a growing list of adult movie titles, which currently sits at about 76,000.

When asked about why the web needs a Wikipedia for sex, Carnalpedia creator Jeremy Haddock said "The fact that Wikipedia has a certain type of audience leaves a lot of information about sex and the adult industry either blocked or censored."

Haddock notes that all of Carnalpedia's article pages will be labeled with the Restricted To Adults (RTA) tag which will prevent them from being accessed on computers equipped with services like NetNanny which only allow age-appropriate content to be viewed.

The site is trying to avoid being a resource for people who simply want to swap adult material: only "authorized individuals from approved sources" are allowed to upload images, in order to comply with copyright laws.

Hmmmm, Well my first reaction is... Do we REALLY need a site like Carnalpedia? and although I'm not a parent, what disturbed me, is the relative ease at which I am still able to view any and all sorts of content (some of it really "kinky" lets just say to put it lightly) without any filter, password, request for age confirmation, or anything of the sort on the website... Is this be something that parents should be (if not worried) at least a little concerned about? the site is relatively new, but already has over 120,000 articles as mentioned above.. all of which can be viewed by just about anyone visiting the site... To make any changes, or additions to the articles in the database, you'd need to sign up/in, at which time you'd have to prove your age.. but is that enough? what about those not wanting to make additions? those simply wanting to "check things out"? I am sure there are a lot more people wanting to view things, then there would be wanting to add things... I feel as though there should be at least some sort of safeguard on the site to ensure inappropriate content can not be viewed by minors, software, and parental vigilance can only go so far.. I think the site also has some responsibilities in ensuring that pornography can not be viewed by persons not old enough to do so.

Thoughts?

Has Nintendo ruined video games?

Nintendo confirms secret 'Help' feature

On the extraordinary success of its Nintendo Wii video game console, Nintendo says it's due, in part, to making games accessible to wide audiences. And with an unannounced – but now confirmed – feature built into future Nintendo Wii titles, the Japanese gaming giant is taking this accessibility to the next level.



Beginning with the upcoming New Super Mario Bros. Wii, players will be able to pause a game during a particularly difficult level and let the game take over to complete the level. Press a button at any time to resume playing.

This will help reduce barriers of entry for new or younger players – without purchasing a strategy guide or resorting to websites that list cheat codes.

In an exclusive interview with Mario creator Shigeru Miyamoto, the legendary game designer confirmed this optional feature called "demo play" (tentative name) is something the development team has been working on.

"In New Super Mario Bros. Wii, if a player is experiencing an area of difficulty, this will allow them to clear troubled areas and take over when they're ready" confirmed Miyamoto, through his translator.

"And yes, we're looking into this for future games, too" adds Miyamoto.

Not sure about you but I think this could be huge. I recall reading a stat once about how only 5 percent of gamers (or less) actually finish a game, because it gets too tough. Now if you spent $50 or $60 on a title, you should get to see the end of it. It's like buying a DVD or Blu-ray and turning it off after the movie's intro.

When a lot of people get stuck in a game they often turn to the internet and read a walkthrough for that particular level. Some, prefers to go to YouTube and watch a player finish a level so they can run back to the TV and try it out. But what Miyamoto is proposing means you don't need to leave your television to get through tough areas.

If it takes off -- and perhaps even copied by the likes of Microsoft and Sony -- this could mean the end of strategy guides and other game help books, too.

Do you think this feature is a good idea to help those stuck get through troubled spots in a game? Or are you in favour of a harder game, whereby players should keep trying (and failing) until they get it right (on their own)?

Thoughts?

Adolf Hitler.. In living color

Time Magazine has released never before seen color pictures of Adolf Hitler.

Adjectives like "chilling" and "astonishingly frightening" have have been accompanying these photos.

I have reviewed them and found the "interesting" but not "frightening" or "chilling" as advertised. Frankly, somewhat boring since these were taken 60 or 70 years ago.

The photographer of these images was Hugo Jaeger. Photographs courtesy Time & Life Pictures/Getty Images


Between 1936 and 1945, German photographer Hugo Jaeger was granted unprecedented access to Adolf Hitler, traveling and chronicling, in color, the Fuhrer and his confidants at small gatherings, public events, and, quite often, in private moments. Here, and in several other galleries on LIFE, we now present never-before-published photographs from Jaeger's astonishing -- and chilling -- collection.


Hugo Jaeger: Photographer to Hitler
Hugo Jaeger, one of Hitler's personal photographers, in 1970. Jaeger's story -- and the story of how LIFE came to own his photographs of Hitler -- is nothing short of astonishing. In 1945, when the Allies were making their final push toward Munich, Jaeger found himself face to face with six American soldiers in a small town west of the city. During a search of the house where Jaeger was staying, the Americans found a leather suitcase in which Jaeger had hidden thousands of color photo transparencies. He knew he would be arrested (or worse) if the Americans discovered his film and his close connection to Hitler. He could never have imagined what happened next.


Hitler Reviews the Troops, 1938
The American soldiers threw open the suitcase that held the Hitler images. Inside, they found a bottle of cognac that Jaeger had placed atop the transparencies. Elated, the soldiers proceeded to share the bottle with Jaeger and the owner of the house. The suitcase was forgotten. (Pictured: Tens of thousands of Nazi troops parade before Hitler in 1938, Nuremberg.)


A Nazi Christmas Party, 1941
After the Americans left, Jaeger packed the transparencies into 12 glass jars and buried them on the outskirts of town. In the years following the war, Jaeger occasionally returned to his multiple caches, digging them up, repacking, and reburying them. He finally retrieved the collection for good in 1955 -- 2,000 transparencies, all of them, amazingly, still in good shape -- stored them in a bank vault, and in 1965 sold them to LIFE. To date, only a fraction of the Jaeger collection has been published. (Pictured: Adolf Hitler and other Nazi officials attend a Christmas Party in 1941, at the height of the second World War.)


Hitler's Extravagant Birthday Gifts
In the late '30s, very few photographers were using color. Hugo Jaeger was an early adopter and Hitler liked what he saw. "The future," Hitler once said to Jaeger, "belongs to color photography." (Pictured: A hand-worked castle inlaid with precious stones, given to Hitler for his 50th birthday, April 20, 1939.)


Hitler and the Totalitarian State
Hitler observes military maneuvers in St. Polten, Austria, in the spring of 1939. "The great strength of the totalitarian state," Hitler once said, "is that it forces those who fear it to imitate it."



Commemorating the Beer Hall Putsch, 1938
Hitler speaks in Munich on the 15th anniversary of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, in which Hitler and other Nazi party members attempted to overthrow the German government. Hitler, jailed for a year for his part in the coup attempt, was a master at swaying large crowds. "The leader of genius must have the ability to make different opponents appear as if they belong to one category," he said.



A Dark Day in Munich: 'Peace in Our Time'
British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain (front row, second right) walks past a Nazi honor guard on the way to a meeting with Adolf Hitler in 1938. After the meeting, Chamberlain famously declared that the agreement he had struck with the German Fuhrer meant "peace in our time" -- but subsequent events showed that he had merely whetted Hitler's appetite by handing over a strategically critical part of Czechoslovakia during their negotiations. See the room where the Munich Agreement was signed, and other public and personal places central to the Reich, in Hitler's Private World.

Hitler Among the Cars, 1939
Adolf Hitler tours the 1939 International Auto Exhibition in Berlin. Three years before, at another Berlin auto show, Hitler announced that Porsche would design the "People's Car," or Volkswagen, an affordable, practical vehicle for the working German family.



Hitler Talks Cars
Hitler was enthusiastic about cars, but didn't like to drive. For years, he had his chaffeur race down German roads at 80 mph. But once the war started, he became increasingly paranoid about his own safety, and forbade his driver to exceed 35 mph.




Hitler's Aide, Julius Schaub
Julius Schaub, Hitler's personal aide and adjutant, observes those around him at a party. After the 1944 bomb attempt on Hitler's life, Schaub is said to have falsely claimed to have been injured in the blast so he would be awarded a special badge by the Fuhrer. Schaub had actually been in another building at the time of the explosion.



Beauty Amid the Beasts
German film actress Hannelore Schroth sits in a chair at a reception for German artists held in the Berlin Chancellery in 1940. "[Hitler] often remarked that he didn't want witty or intelligent women around him, not aware how offensive such remarks must be to the ladies who were present," the chief Nazi architect Albert Speer once wrote.



Young, Beautiful.... Doomed
German actress Marieluise Claudius leans back in a chair in the Chancellery during an artists reception in Berlin, 1940. A prolific film actress during the 1930s, she died of heart failure in 1941, at the young age of 29.



Street of Fire: Munich, 1938
Nighttime Munich is lit with torches and festooned with swastikas in celebration of the 15th anniversary of the 1923 Beer Hall Putsch, Hitler's aborted attempt to use military might to take the government. Once he gained power in the late '30s, Hitler memorialized the putsch as a milestone on his own path to glory. The 1938 anniversary also witnessed the infamous Kristallnacht, or Night of Broken Glass -- a nationwide attack on Jews.

Hitler Salutes the Troops, Nuremberg, 1938
Hitler salutes German troops in Adolf Hitler Platz in 1938. "The very first essential for success," Hitler once said, "is a perpetually constant and regular employment of violence." See more of Hitler's ability to sway crowds in the service of violence and hatred in the gallery Among the Crowds.



Hitler on a Cruise, 1939
Adolf Hitler chats with several young women on a promenade of the German cruise ship Robert Ley (named after a prominant Nazi labor leader) on its maiden voyage in April, 1939.



Hitler Waves Bon Voyage
Hitler waves goodbye from aboard the Robert Ley. Six years later, on April 30, 1945, Hitler and his mistress (and, reportedly, as of April 29, his wife) Eva Braun committed suicide in a bunker beneath Berlin as the Allies crushed his army and took control of Europe. Many historians put the number of deaths attributed directly to World War II at about 70 million. Most of those killed were civilians.


I have no problems with the release of the photographs, I feel they do hold real historical value, BUT I have to question the timing of the release, with the D-Day anniversary, could there not have been a better time to release them? why not a few weeks later, or an issue or 2 later? why right now? I think its a little distasteful to choose this very moment to release them (feel free to disagree with me) but I see no valid reason to release them at this very moment.. TIME really does know how to sell magazines.

Agree? Disagree? Thoughts?