Jumat, 14 Februari 2020

Google ordered to reveal author of Australian dentist's bad review - BBC News

An Australian court has ordered Google to identify the person behind an anonymous bad review of a dentist.

Dr Matthew Kabbabe, a teeth-whitening specialist in Melbourne, sought the order so he could sue for defamation.

He claimed user CBsm 23 had damaged his business by telling others to "STAY AWAY" from a procedure criticised as "extremely awkward and uncomfortable".

The ruling forces the hand of the tech giant, which has previously defended allowing negative reviews on its site.

Under the order, Google will be required to pass to Dr Kabbabe any personal details such as any names, phone numbers, location metadata and IP addresses linked to the account.

International law allows for people to seek documents from overseas parties that they need for their case.

'Groundbreaking' case

Google had previously rejected the dentist's requests for the review to be removed, or to share information about its author.

According to his affidavit, Google had told Dr Kabbabe: "[W]e do not have any means to investigate where and when the ID was created."

However, Justice Bernard Murphy ruled that Dr Kabbabe had grounds to pursue a defamation case and that Google was "likely to have or have had control of a document or thing that would help ascertain that description of the prospective respondent".

Mr Kabbabe's lawyer described the ruling as a "groundbreaking" win for small businesses, and argued Google had a duty of care in providing a platform for potentially defamatory postings.

"If you're out there trying to hide by anonymity, even via VPN, I think the court system's catching up now and there are ways and means of obtaining that information," Mark Stanarevic told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Google is yet to reply to queries about the ruling. The firm has previously been reluctant to remove bad reviews, but has done so in several instances following court orders.

Last year, it told Australian law reform experts that defamation cases over online reviews could lead to the suppression of consumer rights and free speech.

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2020-02-14 09:03:19Z
52780608341949

Google ordered to reveal author of Australian dentist's bad review - BBC News

An Australian court has ordered Google to identify the person behind an anonymous bad review of a dentist.

Dr Matthew Kabbabe, a teeth-whitening specialist in Melbourne, sought the order so he could sue for defamation.

He claimed user CBsm 23 had damaged his business by telling others to "STAY AWAY" from a procedure criticised as "extremely awkward and uncomfortable".

The ruling forces the hand of the tech giant, which has previously defended allowing negative reviews on its site.

Under the order, Google will be required to pass to Dr Kabbabe any personal details such as any names, phone numbers, location metadata and IP addresses linked to the account.

International law allows for people to seek documents from overseas parties that they need for their case.

'Groundbreaking' case

Google had previously rejected the dentist's requests for the review to be removed, or to share information about its author.

According to his affidavit, Google had told Dr Kabbabe: "[W]e do not have any means to investigate where and when the ID was created."

However, Justice Bernard Murphy ruled that Dr Kabbabe had grounds to pursue a defamation case and that Google was "likely to have or have had control of a document or thing that would help ascertain that description of the prospective respondent".

Mr Kabbabe's lawyer described the ruling as a "groundbreaking" win for small businesses, and argued Google had a duty of care in providing a platform for potentially defamatory postings.

"If you're out there trying to hide by anonymity, even via VPN, I think the court system's catching up now and there are ways and means of obtaining that information," Mark Stanarevic told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Google is yet to reply to queries about the ruling. The firm has previously been reluctant to remove bad reviews, but has done so in several instances following court orders.

Last year, it told Australian law reform experts that defamation cases over online reviews could lead to the suppression of consumer rights and free speech.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


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2020-02-14 08:47:01Z
52780608341949

Google ordered to reveal author of Australian dentist's bad review - BBC News

An Australian court has ordered Google to identify the person behind an anonymous bad review of a dentist.

Dr Matthew Kabbabe, a teeth-whitening specialist in Melbourne, sought the order so he could sue for defamation.

He claimed user CBsm 23 had damaged his business by telling others to "STAY AWAY" from a procedure criticised as "extremely awkward and uncomfortable".

The ruling forces the hand of the tech giant, which has previously defended allowing negative reviews on its site.

Under the order, Google will be required to pass to Dr Kabbabe any personal details such as any names, phone numbers, location metadata and IP addresses linked to the account.

International law allows for people to seek documents from overseas parties that they need for their case.

'Groundbreaking' case

Google had previously rejected the dentist's requests for the review to be removed, or to share information about its author.

According to his affidavit, Google had told Dr Kabbabe: "[W]e do not have any means to investigate where and when the ID was created."

However, Justice Bernard Murphy ruled that Dr Kabbabe had grounds to pursue a defamation case and that Google was "likely to have or have had control of a document or thing that would help ascertain that description of the prospective respondent".

Mr Kabbabe's lawyer described the ruling as a "groundbreaking" win for small businesses, and argued Google had a duty of care in providing a platform for potentially defamatory postings.

"If you're out there trying to hide by anonymity, even via VPN, I think the court system's catching up now and there are ways and means of obtaining that information," Mark Stanarevic told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Google is yet to reply to queries about the ruling. The firm has previously been reluctant to remove bad reviews, but has done so in several instances following court orders.

Last year, it told Australian law reform experts that defamation cases over online reviews could lead to the suppression of consumer rights and free speech.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC1hdXN0cmFsaWEtNTE0OTgxOTDSATVodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY29tL25ld3MvYW1wL3dvcmxkLWF1c3RyYWxpYS01MTQ5ODE5MA?oc=5

2020-02-14 08:12:35Z
52780608341949

Google ordered to reveal author of Australian dentist's bad review - BBC News

An Australian court has ordered Google to identify the person behind an anonymous bad review of a dentist.

Dr Matthew Kabbabe, a teeth-whitening specialist in Melbourne, sought the order so he could sue for defamation.

He claimed user CBsm 23 had damaged his business by telling others to "STAY AWAY" from a procedure criticised as "extremely awkward and uncomfortable".

The ruling forces the hand of the tech giant, which has previously defended allowing negative reviews on its site.

Under the order, Google will be required to pass to Dr Kabbabe any personal details such as any names, phone numbers, location metadata and IP addresses linked to the account.

International law allows for people to seek documents from overseas parties that they need for their case.

'Groundbreaking' case

Google had previously rejected the dentist's requests for the review to be removed, or to share information about its author.

According to his affidavit, Google had told Dr Kabbabe: "[W]e do not have any means to investigate where and when the ID was created."

However, Justice Bernard Murphy ruled that Dr Kabbabe had grounds to pursue a defamation case and that Google was "likely to have or have had control of a document or thing that would help ascertain that description of the prospective respondent".

Mr Kabbabe's lawyer described the ruling as a "groundbreaking" win for small businesses, and argued Google had a duty of care in providing a platform for potentially defamatory postings.

"If you're out there trying to hide by anonymity, even via VPN, I think the court system's catching up now and there are ways and means of obtaining that information," Mark Stanarevic told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation.

Google is yet to reply to queries about the ruling. The firm has previously been reluctant to remove bad reviews, but has done so in several instances following court orders.

Last year, it told Australian law reform experts that defamation cases over online reviews could lead to the suppression of consumer rights and free speech.

Let's block ads! (Why?)


https://news.google.com/__i/rss/rd/articles/CBMiMWh0dHBzOi8vd3d3LmJiYy5jb20vbmV3cy93b3JsZC1hdXN0cmFsaWEtNTE0OTgxOTDSATVodHRwczovL3d3dy5iYmMuY29tL25ld3MvYW1wL3dvcmxkLWF1c3RyYWxpYS01MTQ5ODE5MA?oc=5

2020-02-14 07:28:34Z
52780608341949

Kamis, 13 Februari 2020

Australia's climate crisis has been building for years but no one listened - CNN

For months, the infernos have raged through Australia's southeast, leaving parts of the country choking under some of the worst air pollution in the world.
Since September, more than 18 million hectares (44 million acres) of bush, land and forest have been burned. At least 28 people have died, around 3,000 homes have been destroyed and about one billion animals could have been affected.
The parched legacy of drought in Murrurundi, an Australian town with beer but no water
Heavy rain down the east coast this week has temporarily eased the crisis, but authorities warn the fire risk is not over -- bushfire season typically ends in March. Only last week, Australia's capital city of Canberra declared a state of emergency as bushfires moved rapidly in the area.
Scientists had warned for more than a decade that an extreme bushfire season was coming -- and that the climate crisis was to blame.
While natural climate drivers created a perfect storm of hot and dry conditions this year, the sheer scale and intensity of the recent fires have led some experts to claim the world has now reached a turning point.
"I think the size and the intensity of these fires, coupled with the drought, have really just pushed Australia into a place that doesn't feel like home anymore." said Linden Ashcroft, lecturer in climate science and science communication at Melbourne University's School of Earth Science. "It doesn't feel safe anymore."

A dry bush waiting for a spark

Australia has been getting hotter and drier for decades.
Since 1910, the country has warmed by just over 1°C -- on par with global levels -- and this has meant more frequent and more intense heatwaves. Last year was the hottest and driest year ever recorded in Australia, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology.
On top of extreme heat, there has been a long-term decline in southern Australia's rainfall, which mainly comes during the winter months. Drought-stricken towns of New South Wales, for example, are suffering with severe water shortages as the state has received less than 125 mm (5 inches) of rain every year since 2017.
That has never happened before.
Without the rains, the dry bush provided the fuel for this year's fires. All that was needed was the spark.
"The signs are that this will become more common. We did have a perfect storm of events this year. But I don't think it's too much of a stretch to imagine that this is this is what our summers will look like in future, which is really quite confronting," Ashcroft said.

Land of extremes

Furthermore, Australia is known for extreme fluctuations in its weather. In summer, it's not uncommon for towns to see 40°C weather one day and heavy hailstorms the next.
But the climate crisis is making those fluctuations worse, experts say.
"What we're seeing now is that natural variability is occurring on top of the long-term, human-induced climate changes, and that we're seeing the extremes becoming even more extreme," said Nerilie Abram, professor at the Australia National University Research School of Earth Sciences in Melbourne.
Driving Australia's erratic weather are several climate systems that conspired in such a way this year to exacerbate the hot, dry conditions.
A climate phenomenon called the Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) had a big role. You're not alone if you've never heard of the IOD, but you might know about its counterpart in the Pacific Ocean, El Nino. El NiƱo is a warming of the eastern Pacific Ocean, mainly along the Equator, and it can change circulation patterns around the globe.
The IOD describes changes in sea surface temperatures between the opposing eastern (near Indonesia) and western (near Africa) parts of the Indian Ocean, and it has three phases: neutral, positive and negative.
Changes between these phases can affect rainfall patterns -- so dry conditions in Australia could mean flooding thousands of miles away in East Africa, or vice versa.
A positive IOD -- which is what we've seen in recent months -- is a sustained warming of the waters near the Horn of Africa while water to the northwest of Australia becomes unusually cool. This cuts off one of Australia's key sources of moisture, leading to less rainfall and higher than normal temperatures.
Last year was one of the strongest positive IOD events on record, according to the Australian Bureau of Meteorology, meaning Australia experienced extremely hot and extremely dry conditions, on top of long-term warming.
Another climate system called the Southern Annular Mode (SAM) also contributed to Australia's dry weather conditions this year. The SAM is the movement of a belt of westerly winds that are pushed either north toward Australia or south toward Antarctica, and its impact on Australia differs depending on the season.
On kangaroo killing field, from horror to hope for Australian animals devastated by wildfires
There has been a long term trend of the SAM becoming more positive, Abram said, which means that the westerly winds between Australia and Antarctica are shifting further southwards. As a consequence, the southern parts of Australia that receive winter rainfall from those winds are not receiving as much.
But the SAM went through a negative phase from late October to late December -- the start of Australia's summer -- shifting the belt of westerly winds over the Southern Ocean northwards towards the equator, fanning the flames of the bushfires.
"These climate drivers acted to not only enhance fire dangers, but also suppress the thunderstorm activity that we would normally expect to impact eastern parts of Australia during spring and summer," said Diana Eadie, meteorologist for the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's Extreme Weather Desk.
Scientists say that rising greenhouse gas emissions are distorting those natural climate drivers.
Since the 1960s, positive Indian Ocean Dipole events have been becoming more common and stronger, according to Abram, and climate models suggest that trend is likely to continue.
"If we continue on a high greenhouse gas emission pathway, then we would expect these events to be three times more frequent in the 21st century compared to the 20th century because of the human-induced climate change," she said.

This is the proof

Public outrage over the fires has been mounting, with much of the anger directed at Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and his administration's climate policies and response to the fires.
Last week, more than 400 climate, weather and fire scientists signed an open letter calling on Australia's leaders and policymakers to take "genuine concerted action to reduce global emissions of greenhouse gases." The scientists unequivocally link the bushfires to human-induced climate change.
Abram, one of the signatories of the letter, said it had been "disheartening" as a climate scientist to have correctly made predictions for years and for governments to have basically ignored them.
"This is what climate change looks like -- it is actually here now, it's affecting us now. And it is going to get worse unless we dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions," Abram added.
Along with increased risk of fire, more intense droughts, heatwaves, prolonged summers and less rain are in store for Australia if the world doesn't limit warming to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels, in accordance with the Paris Agreement. Global C02 emissions are currently track to warm the earth by 3°C or more by the end of the century.
Australia's indigenous people have a solution for the country's bushfires. And it's been around for 50,000 years
Questions are being asked over how that hotter future would impact water resources, livelihoods, businesses, tourism, and even the ability to live in certain places of the country.
"There probably needs to be some discussion about where it is safe to live or where it is safe to build," Ashcroft said. "(But) I don't think that Australia will get to a point where it'll be a Mad Max anarchy kind of thing. I believe that we have the ability to adapt and to change what we do."
Australia needs to take a two-pronged approach to survive the coming decades, experts say: Adapt to warming global temperatures and mitigate against them and their affects. Moving away from fossil fuel energy sources will be key.
What is needed now, Abram said, is real leadership.
"Because what we're talking about is not just a little bit of tweaking around the edges in terms of our economies," she said. "We're talking about the need for a managed transition of the way that we operate."

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2020-02-13 09:41:00Z
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Rabu, 12 Februari 2020

Tesla fan in Australia highlights the irony in becoming an actual EV owner - Teslarati

A Tesla fan and electric vehicle enthusiast reached out to Elon Musk to raise the issue of the Model 3’s price in Australia, which is significantly higher compared to territories like the United States.

David McCann, who goes by the Twitter handle @EVHQ2, asked the Tesla CEO if there’s a way to cut the cost of the Model 3 in Australia. McCann posted a screenshot showing a Tesla Model 3 Dual Motor AWD with a price of AUD 110,747 ($74,636) and a price of AUD 105,147 (USD 70,864) after estimated savings.

The inquiry caught the attention of Musk, who replied in agreement, “This does seem high.”

In the United States, a Tesla Model 3 RWD Standard Range Plus starts at $39,900 before incentives. The AWD Long Range version goes for $48,990 and the Performance Model 3 goes for $56,990.

The higher price of Model 3 in Australia is primarily due to the falling value of the Australian currency against the US dollar. Other factors also come into play, such as the country’s Goods and Services tax, luxury car tax, and stamp duty. The cost of shipping the vehicles from the United States is also priced in.

Tesla aims to provide consumers with electric cars that are as affordable as the company can muster while sticking to the mission of accelerating the world’s transition to sustainable energy. This is the primary reason why Tesla offers a $35,000 Model 3, despite the version being off-menu.

David McCann’s issue with the Model 3 price in Australia may represent the dilemma of other Australian consumers who want to shift to greener vehicles but hesitate because of the hefty price tag of EVs. This is quite ironic, since the country hosts one of the most notable Tesla Energy projects to date, such as the Hornsdale Power Reserve.

While Elon Musk did not detail how Tesla would eventually address Australia’s high prices, the electric carmaker does have a way to drastically reduce its operating costs. A Tesla Gigafactory in Australia or in a nearby country, for example, can lower the company’s expenses in shipping the Model 3 to the country.

“The biggest problem we have to solve right now is having production on each continent, because it’s insane to be making cars in California [and] shipping them to Europe and Asia,” Musk remarked in an interview on the Third Row podcast.

With Gigafactories all over, Tesla can meet the demand for its vehicles in different markets more efficiently without having to worry about high tariffs, carrying costs, or damage costs. This is what Tesla did in China where the price of Model 3 went down from $63,000 when imported to around $46,000 when locally produced. The same is true for Giga Berlin where Tesla can get a grant of up to as much as 100 million euros for its first factory in Europe. It may also get subsidies for a battery cell production in the country.

Tesla fan in Australia highlights the irony in becoming an actual EV owner

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2020-02-12 12:58:17Z
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Australia fires: 113 animal species 'need emergency help' - BBC News

Australia has identified 113 animal species which will need "urgent help" after their numbers and habitats were devastated by recent bushfires.

In a welcome finding, there appeared to be no extinctions, said the government.

But almost all species on the list had lost at least 30% of their habitat due to the mammoth blazes in the south and east over Australia's summer.

Koalas and wallabies, as well as bird, fish and frog species are among those needing the most help, said experts.

Researchers had previously estimated that more than 1 billion animals may have perished in the fires, which scorched large swathes of temperate forest and grassland.

Yellow-bellied glider

Getty

Species worst-hit by the fires
  • 13birds

  • 20reptiles

  • 5 inverterbrates

  • 19 mammals

  • 22 crayfish

  • 17fish

Source: Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel

A provisional list, released on Tuesday, narrowed a field of hundreds of fire-affected species to those needing the most urgent conservation action. It was drawn up by the government's Wildlife and Threatened Species Bushfire Recovery Expert Panel.

The panel found some highly threatened species faced "imminent risk of extinction" because almost all of their habitat had been destroyed. These included the Pugh's frog, Blue Mountains water skink and the Kangaroo Island dunnart.

Others, such as the koala and the smoky mouse, had "substantial" sections destroyed, meaning they would need "emergency intervention" to support their recovery.

While many species on the list were already considered threatened before the fires, other additions had been viewed as safe.

"Many [species] were considered secure and not threatened before the fires, but have now lost much of their habitat and may be imperilled," said the panel in its report.

Plant species and further invertebrates are expected to be named in the next update of the list, said Environment Minister Sussan Ley.

She said assessing the true scale of the devastation had been limited due to ongoing blazes in some areas and smouldering grounds.

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"While have been some encouraging sightings of threatened animals in fire-affected places, it is still not safe to enter many areas to make more detailed on-ground assessments," Ms Ley said.

Last month, Australia pledged A$50m (£26m; $33m) to wildlife and habitat recovery. Money will be spent on animal treatment, food drops and pest animal control programmes.

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2020-02-12 00:08:42Z
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