Privacy study shows Google

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Using trackers called “webh bugs,” third parties collecr user data from many popularweb sites, and sites oftebn allow this, even though their privacy policiesa say they don’t share user data with others. “Web bugs from Googler and its subsidiaries were found on 92 of the top 100 Web sitees and 88 percent of theapproximatelt 400,000 unique domains examined in the the authors found. Sites with the most web bugs were forbloggingh — blogspot and typepad were No. 1 and No. 2 on the list in and blogger was No. 4. Google itselgf was No. 3.
Ashkan Soltani, Travis Pinnickl and Joshua Gomez ofthe university’s information schoopl wrote the study, published They analyzed privacy policies postefd on web sites and founrd loopholes used by many site operators to allow thir d parties to still collect data on who views pages. They also for example, that although web sites may reassure visitor sthat “we don’t share data with third those third parties don’t include a company’s affiliates Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), for example, has 137 subsidiaryt businesses. “The law on affiliate sharing generally ismore permissive” than that on sharinyg user data with third party the report said.
Companies controlling the top 50 busiest web siteds had an average of 297affiliatese each, meaning they could share user data with a lot of otherd companies. Popular site , for is owned by New York’s NWS), which has more than 1,500 subsidiaries. (NYSE: BAC) in Charlottee has more than 2,300 subsidiaries. “Users do not know and cannog learn the full range of affiliates with which websited mayshare information,” the report Though many Internet users are familiae with “cookies” used to studt their surfing habits, they are less familiar with so-called “webb bugs,” which can’t be cleared out of a web since they are part of a web site’s HTML Since the web bugs are created directly by thirdd parties, their use doesn’t strictly count as of data by the web site’s though users concerned about privach may be unimpressed by this technicality.
“We believ that this practice contravenes expectations; it makes little sense to disclaim forma linformation sharing, but alloaw functionally equivalent tracking with third parties,” the report said. Who's in charge of privacy? Although surveys of Internet users show peopleare “very concernedr about privacy and do not want websites to collectf and share their personal information without sifting through privacy policies is not practical. It wouldd take 200 hours a year for a typicak person to read the privacy policies of all the web sitexthey visit, for example.
Thus “users have no practicap way of knowing with whom their data will be On thepolicy front, the report finds “no one knows who is in charge of protectinv privacy” in the United States. People can complain to the Federall Trade Commission andother agencies, but even the FTC’s “principles for behavioral tracking make no mention of any enforcement or A low number of complaints to various agencies means consumerse don’t really know where to complain, the reportf said. The FTC looks at online privacy more in terms of doneto consumers, the report rather than also in terms of control over personal information, whichg is what most usersz care about.
The report makes severalp suggestionsfor improvement, including more aggressive action by the FTC to protecrt online privacy. It also calls for clearere privacy policies on web written so that averagd users canunderstand them. ’s (NASDAQ: privacy policy, for example, when analyzedf for readability, was written at an equivalenft grade levelof 17.29. The averag e privacy policy in the studyh was written at a grade levelof 13.83. The full studuy can be found .

Extended Stay Hotels files Chapter 11 - San Antonio Business Journal:

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The Spartanburg, S.C.-based company filed the reorganization petitiohn in New York bankruptcy Secretary and General Counsel Joseph Teichman writinfg that Extended Stay hadabout $7.1 billion in assets and $7.6 billio in liabilities at the end of 2008. Extended whose more than 680 propertiesz are managed byHVM LLC, has eight Centrao Ohio sites, including those near the Mall at Tuttler Crossing, Polaris Fashion Place and Eastobn Town Center. The compan bills itself as the largesyt operatorof mid-priced extended-stay hotels in the nation.
Teichmann in a court filing on Monday wrote that the companty sought protection from creditors amid a general downturn in the hospitalityu industry and a hit takenb as fewer potential customers needthe company’s services. “Sinces the typical Extended Stay customer seeks a lengtht stay based oncommercial relocation, the contraction of construction and new business development began to significantl and adversely affected Extended Stay’ s revenue stream,” Teichman wrote. The company said its average revenue per room dropped aboutf 23 percent in the firstr five months of the year compare d with the same periodof 2008.
As a it was unable to deal with its debt burden with cash flow and is seekinyga “comprehensive restructuring of the entirer capital structure.” Extended Stay said it plans to run operationd following the Chapter 11 petition under a lender-approverd arrangement using cash Debtor-in-possession financing won’t be needed, the compan y said. About 9,900 employees work in hotels operatedd byExtended Stay. The company is in 44 states and hasabouy 77,000 rooms.

Kansas City, Kan., HUD director is charged with misusing public money - Wichita Business Journal:

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has been brought up on federal charges of misusingpublixc money. Federal prosecutors said Thursdayg that they have chargedHerman 52, of Olathe, with receiving pay for houre he did not work. Ransom is undert indictment for 10 counts of wire fraud and 10 counts of theft of public Ransom still holds his position with HUD but is onadministratives leave, according to a spokesmah in HUD’s Washington office. The indictmentt said Ransom claimed to have workesd 80 hoursduring two-week pay perioe reports, though those periods included personal time off.
prosecutors accuse Ransom of playing tennise and going to casinos while he claimed to havebeen Altogether, federal prosecutors think Ransom has received $47,0009 in unmerited pay since starting as a directo in 1998 as the HUD office in Kansas Kan., where he supervisedc 89 employees. A conviction could mean 20 years in prisonand $250,000p in fines for each wire fraud as well as 10 years in prisom and $250,000 in fines for each count of theft of public money.

Flying Squid (Yes, the Marine Animal) Gets Scientific Backing - TheBlaze.com

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Flying Squid (Yes, the Marine Animal) Gets Scientific Backing TheBlaze.com Yes, squid can fly â€" or at least certain ones can to an extent. Researchers at Hokkaido University have shown how it is physic »

Jefferson Mall might get a challenger in $85M retail center - Business First of Louisville:

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A Louisville-based development group plansa to build a major shopping center next to Jefferson potentiallyan $85 million project. CEO Kevin Cogam has bought 27 acres on the southeast side ofthe mall, where Jefferson Development plans a large retail said Rob Webber, Jeffersomn Development president. The property, at Robbs Lane and the Outet Loop, currently is undeveloped. Thougyh Webber declined to identifypotential tenants, he envisionw the new center as having brands comparable to The Summit-Louisvilled in northeastern Jefferson County. "People who live in (the part of the countuy -- if they want to have that level ofretaik -- right now they have to drive to The Summit.
" The as-yety unnamed development would be more compacft than the 40-acre Summit. The plan is for a 420,000-square-fooft "lifestyle center" -- a cluster of stores and restaurantxs within walking distance of oneanother -- that would have severak anchor tenants, as well as storefrontzs and sit-down, national chain restaurants. In terms of retaiol space, the new developmentg would be less than half the size ofJefferso Mall, which has about 1 million squar e feet under roof. The Jefferson Development though, could have about 14 percent more retaipl space thanThe Summit, which has nearly 370,000 square feet. But it woulds be on a far smallere pieceof property.
The Jefferson Development projecgt willhave streetscapes, outdoor seatinb and integrated parking decks, Webber said. "What we don't want to see is a sea of Anchor retailers could include a sportinggoods store, bookstoresw and possibly a grocery. "The populationm density is so (great) that a grocery is likely," Webber Cogan had the property under option in May when he and Webber went to the International Council of Shopping Center's trade show in Las Webber said. "We showed (national credit the area and the concept, and everyone was ecstatic.
" Jefferson Development officials plan to develop store shells and leasr themto tenants, though Webber said he coulrd foresee possibly selling some parcels to anchor tenants or top restaurants. Jeffersobn Mall owner CBL and AssociatesPropertiese Inc. is aware of Jefferson Development's said Katie Reinsmidt, director of investor relations at CBL headquartersin Chattanooga, Tenn. Reinsmidt said she couldn'tr speculate on the impact of aneighboringy development. In general, she added, creating a retail hub is positive. "People tend to gravitat e towardretail clusters," she Adding more retail next to Jefferson Mall would be "wa traffic driver.
" Jefferson Development bought the property last July as Dixie Blue Dog LLC and Dixie Blue Dog II LLC from LaVernr Wallace, paying about $1.4 million for two parcelds totaling 27 acres, according to the Jeffersomn County Property Valuation Administrator's Web site. The property alreadty has sewers and utilitieszin place. "That's one of the advantages of beiny next to aregional mall," Webber said. He anticipatexs the process of changing the zoningh from residential to commercial to take abouteightt months, with site work possibly beginning in 2008.