(no subject)

In 2007, the magazine Mortgage Strategy asked: “Would you accept green belt development if cheaper homes could be built?” And to my astonishment, it turns out that I answered:

Yes, there are opportunities to use green belt land. I know of some green belt sites that are standing empty. They are not being used for anything worthwhile and they seem suitable for development. I also know of land banks that builders are apparently just sitting on. As long as the buildings are in keeping with the local environment, there's a case for developing the green belt. (webofevil)

... where webofevil = my actual given name.

What the dry-roasted fuck is this? My name, age and profession are all there, rendered correctly, and there I apparently am banging on about land banks and green belt development. To the extent that I’m ever likely to pronounce on this issue, I would say that I’d rather priority was given to developing neglected existing housing stock and some brownfield sites—but that’s really not the point here. Someone gave this quote to Mortgage Strategy magazine in my name and, in so doing, made me look like the sort of person who would give a quote to Mortgage Strategy magazine, which I resent.

There don’t seem to be any other dull quotes erroneously attributed to me floating around out there, but this one was disconcerting enough. Don’t get me wrong, though; I have this in proportion. If this timid impersonation is the most extreme identity theft that I ever face, I’ll be content.

Old trick beats new tech

Fake femme fatale shows social network risks

Hundreds of people in the information security, military and intelligence fields recently found themselves with egg on their faces after sharing personal information with a fictitious Navy cyberthreat analyst named "Robin Sage", whose profile on prominent social networking sites was created by a security researcher to illustrate the risks of social networking.

In a conversation with Computerworld, Thomas Ryan, co-founder of Provide Security, said he used a few photos to portray the fictional Sage on Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter as an attractive, somewhat flirty cybergeek, with degrees from MIT and a prestigious prep school in New Hampshire.

Then he established connections with some 300 men and women from the U.S. military, intelligence agencies, information security companies and government contractors. The goal, said Ryan, was to determine how effective social networking sites can be in conducting covert intelligence-gathering activities.

Despite some patently obvious red flags—such as noting that the 25 year-old Sage had worked professionally for 10 years—the scheme worked. [Computerworld]

(no subject)

When someone like me expresses (at best) scepticism about extending the role of private “providers” in all areas of public life, we might be moved to suggest a worst-case scenario in that regard. Don’t be ridiculous, we will be told, that would never happen; the rigours of the market would ensure that et cetera. There is no way, for example, that anyone could ever have predicted that encouraging the spread of private prisons could lead to this:

Former Pennsylvania judge Michael Conahan has pleaded guilty to a racketeering conspiracy charge for helping put juvenile defendants behind bars in exchange for bribes.

He is accused along with former judge Mark Ciavarella of taking $2.8m (£1.8m) from a profit-making detention centres. Mr Ciavarella denies wrongdoing.

Prosecutors in a federal court in Scranton, Pennsylvania, said Conahan had closed a county-owned juvenile detention centre in 2002, just before signing an agreement to use a for-profit centre. Prosecutors say Mr Ciavarella, a former juvenile court judge, then allegedly worked with Mr Conahan to ensure a constant flow of detainees.

The two men were originally charged in early 2009 with accepting money from the builder and owner of a for-profit detention centre that housed county juveniles in exchange for giving children longer, harsher sentences. A spokeswoman for the non-profit Juvenile Law Center alleges that Mr Ciavarella gave excessively harsh sentences to 1,000-2,000 juveniles between 2003 and 2006.

Some of the children were shackled, denied lawyers, and pulled from their homes for offences which included stealing change from cars and failure to appear as witnesses. [BBC]