NOTE: This article is mostly about a hoax which spread on Facebook in August 2010, but there have been genuine scams spreading virally on the social network using the disguise of a message about a girl who killed herself after her father posted a message on her wall. And now back to the original article from August 2010..
Many Facebook users are spreading inaccurate messages on the social network, warning each other to beware a "virus" that claims a girl killed herself over a post her father made on her Facebook wall. The text of the warning reads as follows:
WARNING:THERE IS A VIRUS GOING AROUND AGAIN, IF YOU SEE A GIRL WHO KILLED HERSELF OVER SOMETHING HER FATHER WROTE ON HER WALL DO NOT OPEN IT, IT IS A VIRUS AND IT WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO DELETE IT, PLEASE PASS THIS ON BEFORE SOMEONE OPENS IT. (IT IS A SELF REPLICATING TROJAN
However, the alerts are not based on facts, and members of the public are unwittingly perpetuating a hoax in the belief that they are helping their online friends and family avoid a nasty virus infection. Ironically, the warning about the hoax is spreading faster and wider, and is probably more of a nuisance, than any genuine infection. For those who care about such things, viruses and Trojan horses are different types of malware - it's not possible to have a virus which is a Trojan horse. And by their very nature, Trojan horses cannot be self-replicating. Furthermore, there's no such thing as malware that you can't remove so the claim that it "will not allow you to delete it" is nonsense too. I'm going to say this very simply: Please stop forwarding this hoax to your friends. Thanks. :) Okay, now that's clear let's look a little more deeply into this story. What is the background to this virus hoax? It turns out that things are rather complicated. According to internet rumours, a girl called Emma killed herself on Christmas Eve 2008 after being bullied on Facebook. However, images which show the alleged conversation between the bully and victim show "Like" buttons even though it was not possible to say that you "liked" an online conversation on Facebook back in 2008. Rumours like this get a lot of people's attention - and it has been exploited by the bad guys in what is becoming a genuine problem on Facebook. There are a number of scam Facebook pages which claim to be about the alleged girl who killed herself because of a post made on the site (although some claim it was by her mother, not her father). Visiting the pages takes you to the familiar scam where they trick you into "liking" and "sharing" the link.
And there are also links being shared online which show the picture of a young woman, alleged to have been the person who killed themselves after their father wrote on their Facebook wall. However, the picture of the woman used on this webpage is actually that of former Greenwich University student Emma Jones. 24-year-old Miss Jones died in Abu Dhabi in November 2009 after drinking poisonous cleaning fluid, and there were claims that she was distressed and commited suicide after her ex-boyfriend had posted naked photos of her onto Facebook So, despite what this page promises - it's nothing to do with her father writing a message on her Facebook wall. I think it's pretty sick that cybercriminals are using the image of a dead woman in their attempts to spread their scam. Worryingly, the Facebook page promoting this (and other) scam pages has over 583,000 fans - making it easy for them to advertise a new link and kick start a new campaign at any time. And it seems many people are all too willing to unwittingly help spread such links. Undoubtedly some of these scams and rogue Facebook pages will have helped fuel the hoax that a virus is doing the rounds. You should be able to see by now that this is a tangled web of deceit and scams. So, to make things simpler, here's the executive summary: 1. Stop spreading the hoax virus warning. It's nonsense. You're clogging up your friends' news feeds. 2. Stop "liking" and "sharing" pages unless you really do like them. There are many scammers on Facebook trying to trick you into sharing their links with the promise of showing you some exclusive pictures or a video.
The Real Origins of Halloween discusses the history of Halloween, the origins of trick-or-treating, reasons behind some of the symbols of the season, and why the holiday is well worth keeping and celebrating. Previous versions of this essay specifically contrasted the historical evidence with the absurd claims and urban legends used in most anti-Halloween propaganda. I have now put those latter materials into their own essay, Halloween Errors and Lies, since it seems that many people have never seen or heard those fearmongering tales and could not understand why I would spend so much space discussing them within an historical essay.
Kontes kecantikan dunia Miss Universe yang digelar tiap tahun, diyakini digelar bukan hanya untuk menemukan wanita paling cantik di dunia tapi juga yang memiliki kecerdasan, berkelakuan baik dan sadar budaya. Pendek kata, kontestan Miss Universe diharapkan memiliki kualitas yang mendekati sempurna.
Seluruh kontestan dinilai sejak mereka mengikuti latihan selama dua minggu. Dan pada puncak acara, lima finalis yang tersisa akan diuji kecerdasaannya dengan pertanyaan dari juri.
Sesi ini juga dilakukan pada ajang Miss Universe ke 59 yang digelar di Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino, Las Vegas Senin (23/8). Coba simak jawaban cerdas yang diberikan lima finalis ini di babak akhir ini.
Pada malam final Miss Universe 2010, lima kontestan yang berhasil masuk babak penyisihan lima besar adalah Miss Mexico Jimena Navarrete, Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell, Miss Jamaica Yendi Phillipps, Miss Ukraina Anna Poslavska dan Miss Filipina Venus Raj. Masing-masing mendapat kesempatan menjawab pertanyaan dalam 30 detik guna penilaian akhir siapa yang patut jadi pemenang.
Miss Mexico, Jimena Navarrete mendapat giliran pertama untuk menjawab pertanyaan: Apa efek penggunaan internet yang tidak diawasi di masa kini bagi kaum muda? Melalui penerjemah, Naverrete menjawab: Saya percaya internet adalah sesuatu yang dibutuhkan, peralatan yang perlu untuk saat ini. Kita harus memastikan mengajari mereka (anak-anak) tentang nilai-nilai yang harus kita pelajari sebagai keluarga."
Miss Australia Jesinta Campbell - yang sempat membuat kontroversi terkait pakaian dari kulit binatang - mendapat giliran kedua dengan pertanyaan: Peran apa yang dapat dimainkan pemerintah dalam peraturan soal pakaian yang mengganggu? "Hal paling besar yang kita miliki adalah kebebasan memilih...saya kira pemerintah tidak punya apapun yang harus dikatakan tentang apa yang kita pakai."
Miss Jamaica, Yendi Phillipps mendapat giliran ketiga dengan pertanyaan: Apa hukuman mati bisa diterima dan kenapa? "Saya meyakini bahwa kehidupan adalah sebuah hadiah...saya yakin tidak satupun dari kita sebagai manusia punya hak untuk mengambil kehidupan."
Miss Ukraina, Anna Poslavska: Apa yang Anda rasakan tentang scanner full body di bandara? Melalui penerjemah, Poslavska menjawab, "Kukira itu pertanyaan yang sangat penting untuk keamanan...jika itu membantu kita menyelamatkan kehidupan orang lain, saya setuju."
Miss Filipina, Venus Raj mendapat pertanyaan: Apa kesalahan terbesar yang pernah Anda buat dan apa yang Anda lakukan untuk memperbaikinya? Raj menjawab dia tak pernah membuat kesalahan besar dan lalu berteriak memberikan salam pada keluarganya, "Terima kasih banyak aku bisa ada di sini."
Dari kelima finalis Miss Universe ini juri memberikan penilaian akhir yang membawa kemenangan pada Miss Mexico, Jimena Navarrete. Tapi kita tentu punya pendapat sendiri, jadi menurut Anda, mana jawaban yang paling cerdas?
PS : Pemenang Miss Universe 2010 adalah Miss Mexico, Jimena Navarrete.
Padahal kalau menurut saya Miss Jamaica memiliki jawaban yang paling cerdas (sayang sekali dia berada di posisi runner up)
Video YouTube yang menunjukkan babak penyisihan dalam kontes kecantikan Miss Universe 2010 yang dilakukan oleh Puteri Indonesia, Qory Sandioriva, rupanya menuai kecaman keras. Pasalnya, babak penyisihan di mana Qory harus menjawab beberapa pertanyaan menggunakan Bahasa Inggris itu tidak dijalani dengan cukup lancar olehnya. Bahkan, beberapa komentar menyebut jika Qory tidak bisa berbahasa Inggris.
Video yang di-posting pada 15 Agustus itu telah dilihat lebih 23 ribu kali dan mendapatkan ratusan komentar.
Lihat videonya di sini:
Mungkin karena terlalu grogi atau karena alasan lain, Qory menjawab pertanyaan penanya dengan bahasa Inggris yang tidak terlalu bagus. Beberapa komentar menyatakan jika Qory sebaiknya memakai jasa penerjemah saja.
Meskipun banyak yang mencemooh Qory, bahkan menyebut yayasan Puteri Indonesia seharusnya lebih bisa mempersiapkan kandidat mereka untuk bersaing di arena Miss Universe, dukungan pun banyak datang.
Seperti yang ditulis oleh IS4n2Q, "without seeking my country, i think this is the most effort and honesty interview than others. thats ok because i think this is her 1st interview in many people. if i see clearly from this video, i think her english fluent enough, but she just too nervous. if she can add a little vocab. be calm, i think its fine enough.you tried the best qory, i just say GOODLUCK FOR YOU."
Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson (Vault Disney Collection) The Disney touch is all over this grand, colorful version of the Johann Wyss adventure of a European family set off for the new world of New Guinea. The film opens on a ship jostled and torn by a raging storm while a family struggles to make it through alive. Tossed into a reef near a deserted tropical island, father John Mills takes charge and the family soon turns their island prison into a veritable paradise. Their multilevel tree house, built in record time, is complete with running water and a working pipe organ scavenged from the ship, while their grand yard is abloom in English roses. As a tale of hardship and pioneer pluck, the tale is pure fantasy, but as entertainment it’s energetic and appealing. The island is impossibly populated by ostriches, zebras, lions, and elephants, a private zoo that delights the youngest boy and offers plenty of comic relief. The two older brothers discover even wilder life when they rescue the prisoner of oriental pirates (led by hard-bitten Sessue Hayakawa). There’s little real danger anywhere in the film–even the climactic battle with the pirates is a cartoonish affair,
with coconut bombs and nonlethal booby traps, until the final desperate, deadly moments. Hardly a faithful adaptation of the novel, but a lush, beautifully photographed film and an entertaining adventure safe for all ages. Dorothy McGuire costars as the proper, worry-prone mother.
NEW YORK -- Facebook users carrying their smart phones will soon be able to check in to real-life locations such as restaurants, bars or live concerts.
It's the first foray by the world's largest online social network into the frenzy of location-based services. Rising with the popularity of smart phones, such services let users find coupons, earn quirky merit badges or simply share with friends where they are.
The new feature is called Facebook Places. Sharing your whereabouts with friends is its main focus and some have noted that the feature "borrows heavily" from existing services like Foursquare and Gowalla, who are partnering with Facebook on Places.
Check-ins will be available on Facebook's iPhone application Wednesday with a free update users can download, as well as on the site's touch site used by many other mobile phones.
Facebook explained the feature in an introductory blog post: "You have the option to share your location by "checking in" to that place and letting friends know where you are. You can easily see if any of your friends have also chosen to check in nearby."
Places will let users tag other friends in their check-ins, as is currently possible with photos or status updates, and will enable users see others who have also checked in to their location.
Having wrestled with privacy concerns in the past, Facebook has attempted to strike the right balance with Places and has given users a variety of tools to control what location information they share and with whom. As the New York Times reports, "Mr. Sharon said that Places would have a series of privacy controls intended to give users the power to decide with whom they would share check-ins. Users will, for instance, be able to remove themselves after they are tagged. There will also be special privacy controls to protect minors, he added."
Facebook is partnering with Foursquare and Gowalla, two already-popular location-based social networks that also allow users to "check in." TechCrunch writes, "Representatives from both Gowalla and Foursquare were invited to take the stage at the event to talk about how they plan to leverage Facebook's new Places API. Both will allow you to check-in and publish the data to your Facebook feed. Your badges and pins from each of those apps will transfer over as well."
See screenshots of the Places iPhone app and Walt Mossberg's introduction to Facebook Places below.
C-17s have survived missile attacks in Iraq and pilot mishaps in Aghanistan without casualty in recent years, including a surface-to-air hit in Baghdad in 2003 and a 2009 incident at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan where a C-17 landed on its belly - with its landing gears disabled.
Four airmen were killed early Wednesday evening when a large military cargo plane crashed at Elmendorf Air Force base in Anchorage, officials said on early Thursday.
The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III aircraft went down at the end of the runway around 6.14 p.m. local time and was witnessed by many local residents. Large plumes of black smoke were initially seen rising from the scene.
Bob Hall, a spokesman for the base, said the Air Force cargo aircraft, which was carrying four Airmen, was assigned to the 3rd Wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base. “At the time of the accident, it was on a local training mission,” he said.
Colonel John McMullen, 3rd Wing commander, confirmed there were no survivors in the accident. “Our deepest sympathy and sincerest condolences go out to the family and friends of those Airmen killed in this crash,” he said.
“Yesterday, we lost four members of our Arctic Warrior family and it’s a loss felt across our entire joint installation. Right now our immediate focus is on providing all possible support to the loved ones of our fallen aviators,” McMullen added.
Alaska Governor Sean Parnell said he and his wife Sandy were saddened to learn of the plane crash. “Alaskans are very connected to the military and our thoughts and prayers are with Alaska’s Air Force Family,” he said.
U.S. Senator Mark Begich and former mayor of Anchorage Mark Begich said his thoughts and prayers were with the extended National Guard family. “The service members of our National Guard sacrifice daily to defend our nation and make our state safe,” he said.
Begich said every Alaskan is deeply saddened by Wednesday’s accident. “I urge all Alaskans to include these brave Guardsmen and their families in their prayers,” he added.
The names of the Airmen who died are being withheld pending notification of next of kin and McMullen said a board of officers will investigate the cause of the crash.
McMullen and Brigadier General Charles Foster, 176th Wing commander from the Alaska Air National Guard, will hold a news conference at 8 a.m. local time to provide more information about the accident.
The C-17 Globemaster III is a large four-engined jet which can be used to transport troops or cargo. Since it entered service with the US Air Force in 1993, the C-17 has had a mostly stellar safety record, with no fatal accidents reported. Five countries and NATO operate the aircraft, of which over 200 have been built.
Komunitas Blogger Bertuah sudah berdiri 2 tahun di Kota Pekanbaru. Banyak kegiatan positif yang telah dilaksanakan oleh Blogger Bertuah seperti kopdar dan kontes blogger di setiap sesion. Saya yang baru mengikuti kopdar Blogger Bertuah pada bulan Maret lalu begitu tergugah, ternyata di Pekanbaru banyak juga yang blogger. Komunitas dari Blogger Bertuah ini membuat saya yang newbie mendapat banyak pengalaman dan trik & tips untuk blog.
Dari hal itulah membuat saya lebih rutin blogwalking ke Blogger Bertuah dan mulai mengetahui adanya kontes Blogger Bertuah yaitu dengan tema "Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah". Dan ini kali pertama saya mengikutinya kontes yang diselenggarakan tersebut.
Dari tema "Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah" mengingatkan saya pada iklan rokok L.A Light yang bertemakan "Bukan Basa Basi". >.< Jadi sebenarnya apa sih arti dari tema "Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah"???
Saya berpikir apakah itu berhubungan dengan komunitas antar blogger di Pekanbaru dengan daerah blogger lainnya atau secara individu seorang blogger? Kemudian apa ciri khas dari Blogger Bertuah itu sendiri hingga kita dapat mengklaim sebagai "Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah" ? Dari tema"Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah" mungkin terlihat mudah untuk dirangkai dengan kata-kata. tapi apalah arti kata-kata apabila tidak diketahui 'meaning' dari tema tersebut?
Berdasakan pendapat pribadi saya, tema "Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah" telah mencangkup individu maupun komunitas, pada dasarnya sih sama, karena pribadi seseoranglah yang dapat membuat suatu komunitas berjalan sesuai dengan misi dan visi yang telah direncanakan. Sebagai salah seorang blogger yang sudah tergabung dalam komunitas blogger bertuah. Saya mulai mengetahui bahwa kegiatan blog bukan hanya sekedar kenikmataan dalam menjalankan tren internet masa kini seperti facebook dan twitter. Tapi dimana para Blogger ingin terus berkarya dalam tulisan yang memberikan suatu kebebasan dalam beropini dan bereksperesi.
Melalui komunitas blogger bertuah ini juga saya mulai mengikuti kopdar - kopdar yang dibuat oleh Blogger Bertuah dalam menjalin tali silahturami antar blogger. Lebih uniknya bukan hanya blogger yang berasal dari Riau tapi juga dengan blogger dari daerah lain yang sedang melakuan kunjungan ke Pekanbaru. Seperti pertemuan pertama saya dengan Mbak Elpa blogger malaysia yang sedang melakukan perjalanan ke Pekanbaru pada Maret lalu. Suasana canda dan tawa mewarnai pertemuan kopdar tersebut.
Dalam acara kopdar tersebut juga saya tidak hanya berkenalan dengan para blogger lain yang newbie tapi juga dengan para administratornya yang sudah "wanna be" dan "veteran" dalam dunia blogger. dari pembahasan dan pembicangan tanya jawab mengenai blog telah memberikan saya banyak inspirasi dalam tips & trick untuk blogger newbie sepperti saya.
Suatu hal yang paling menyenangkan adalah tidak ada pembatasan usia tua maupun muda muda dalam pendiskusian tanya jawab dan pemberian pendapat karena pada dasarnnya semua adalah suatu pembelajaran menuju hal yang lebih baik. Dengan adanya kontes 'Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah' talah memberikan suatu pembelajaran bagi saya dalam memahami SEO, walau dalam pembahasan lisan terkesan sepele dan mudah tapi dalam pratik sesungguhnyalah baru dapat lebih dipahami.
Jadi menurut saya, komunitas blogger bertuah sudah cukup membuktikkan indentitasnya dalam menjalan visi dan misi telah berjalan dengan baik. Sehingga "Bukan Sekedar Blogger Bertuah" bukan hanya sebagai title basa basi tapi juga suatu pembelajaran diri dalam komunitas blogger untuk menjadi yang lebih baik.
Kontes kecantikan dunia Miss Universe yang digelar tiap tahun, diyakini digelar bukan hanya untuk menemukan wanita paling cantik di dunia tapi juga yang memiliki kecerdasan, berkelakuan baik dan sadar budaya. Pendek kata, kontestan Miss Universe diharapkan memiliki kualitas yang mendekati sempurna.
Swiss Family Robinson Swiss Family Robinson (Vault Disney Collection) The Disney touch is all over this grand, colorful version of the Johann Wyss adventure of a European family set off for the new world of New Guinea. The film opens on a ship jostled and torn by a raging storm while a family struggles to make it through alive. Tossed into a reef near a deserted tropical island, father John Mills takes charge and the family soon turns their island prison into a veritable paradise. Their multilevel tree house, built in record time, is complete with running water and a working pipe organ scavenged from the ship, while their grand yard is abloom in English roses. As a tale of hardship and pioneer pluck, the tale is pure fantasy, but as entertainment it’s energetic and appealing. The island is impossibly populated by ostriches, zebras, lions, and elephants, a private zoo that delights the youngest boy and offers plenty of comic relief. The two older brothers discover even wilder life when they rescue the prisoner of oriental pirates (led by hard-bitten Sessue Hayakawa). There’s little real danger anywhere in the film–even the climactic battle with the pirates is a cartoonish affair, 
NEW YORK -- Facebook users carrying their smart phones will soon be able to check in to real-life locations such as restaurants, bars or live concerts.
