Florists in Siegen Germany

Digital maps are wonderful — until they're abused by hackers

Sam Hind, a researcher at the University of Siegen in Germany who studies navigation technology, said mapping developers have come to realize that their users collectively have better up-to-date local knowledge than their own teams can collect.“Of course, this comes with a catch — that you can rely on the veracity of the knowledge, and that you can somehow verify this,” he said.That’s an issue for business listings on Google Maps. The company makes it easy to add new business listings to its map, in part to entice small business owners into advertising with Google to attract nearby customers.But that also opens the door to abuse.Just ask Greg Psitos, a 33-year-old florist in Queens, New York.In February, someone hijacked his Google Maps listing and changed his hours to “Closed” on Valentine’s Day — what should have been one of his busiest days of the year.“Someone had controlled that listing for four years and I didn’t know any better,” Psitos said, adding that it took months to reclaim it.Since then, he’s been on a crusade to draw attention to the problem. In one stunt, he fooled Google Maps into believing his flower shop is home to both news network CNN and Trump Palace. Both of these listings were still present and searchable on Google Maps when this article was published.“I’m a florist,” Psitos said. “Now I’m a Google Maps savant.”In a Google study of the problem, Princeton postdoc researcher Danny Yuxing Huang used data on hundreds of thousands of business listings Google identified as fraudulent. A large number were for on-call contractors such as locksmiths and plumbers, who created listings in different neighborhoods to drum up business. In one technique, fraudsters would set up multiple listings from a single address, then move their map pins to new locations.Detecting such problems is a challenge, Huang said, since it makes sense to let legitimate owners correct data issues from faulty mapping. “I personally think it’s quite difficult to balance this,” he said.LATEST WORLD STORIES ...https://www.japantimes.co.jp/news/2018/10/02/world/digital-maps-wonderful-theyre-abused-hackers/

Why you can't always trust your map app

Press that over the years it has reduced fraud to a very low incidence and that were always working on new and better ways to fight this type of behavior. Sam Hind, a researcher at the University of Siegen in Germany who studies navigation technology, said mapping developers have come to realize that their users collectively have better up-to-date local knowledge than their own teams can collect. Thats an issue for business listings on Google Maps. The company makes it easy to add new business listings, in part to entice small business owners into advertising with Google to attract nearby customers. That opens the door to abuse. Just ask Greg Psitos, a 33-year-old florist in Queens, New York. In February, someone hijacked his Google Maps listing and changed his hours to closed on Valentines Day – what should have been one of his busiest days of the year. Someone had controlled that listing for four years, and I didnt know any better, Psitos said, adding that it took months to reclaim it. Since then, hes been on a crusade to draw attention to the problem. In one stunt, he fooled Google Maps into believing his flower shop is home to both news network CNN and Trump Palace . Both of these listings were still present and searchable on Google Maps when this article was published. Im a florist, Psitos said. Now Im a Google Maps savant. http://www.vindy.com/news/2018/sep/30/love-that-map-app/

Gerhard König - Penn Yan Chronicle-Express (blog)

Lemgo, Germany, to Hans and Sophie König. As a child, he endured the hardships of World War II and its aftermath but was determined to succeed in life. Through hard work, he received his MBA from Siegen University in Germany, then decided to pursue the “American Dream” and arrived by boat in New York City in 1965. He completed a year of postgraduate work at the University of Cincinnati and joined Corning Incorporatedin 1966. Gerhard called Keuka Lake his home and was a resident of the area for more than 40 years, his professional career also took him and his family to Durham, NC; Denver, CO; Shrewsbury, MA; Amsterdam, The Netherlands; and several cities in Germany including Kaiserslautern and Munich. He enjoyed a long and fulfilling career with Corning, serving in many capacities including Regional CEO, Director, and President and CEO of several Corning business subsidiaries. Among his many professional achievements, one that he was most proud of was conceiving Corning’s entry into the stationary pollution control business and then negotiating the establishment of Cormetech Inc., a 50/50 joint equity company with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries of Japan, in Durham, NC. Despite retiring from Corning in 2002, Gerhard was never one to sit idle for long—he soon went back to work and served as President of Draka Comteq EMEA, a Dutch cable manufacturer for several years. Gerhard met his wife, Lorraine Kae Loomis, while working at Corning, Inc., and the two were married on August 27, 1983. Together, they raised Karsten and Sterling and provided a home to several families of cats and a beloved Yorkshire terrier named Katie. In his later life, Gerhard enjoyed travelling and hosting his friends and family at his home in Hammondsport for dinner and lively politica...http://www.chronicle-express.com/obituaries/20161202/gerhard-knig

German zoo fire kills more than 30 animals - TRT World

Wednesday.One of the tributes asked simply "Why?".Firefighters prevented the flames from spreading to other buildings at the zoo in North Rhine-Westphalia.Focus on fireworksPreliminary findings suggest the fire might have been caused by flying paper lanterns, which float into the air when lit.Three lanterns bearing hand-written New Year's wishes were discovered in the smouldering debris.These types of devices have been banned in the region since 2009.Police, who have launched an investigation for "arson through negligence", were contacted late Wednesday by a number of people who may have used these lanterns. Krefeld police said investigators were verifying their statements.The German animal protection association quickly called for all kinds of fireworks to be banned near zoos, farms and kennels.The deadly blaze was "terrible proof of the dramatic consequences for animals" from "uncontrolled" celebrations, the group said.Germans often use powerful fireworks to celebrate the New Year and in Berlin, rescue services on Wednesday recorded 22 injuries, some of which required amputations, from the holiday.That was roughly comparable to levels seen in previous years.The effect of fireworks on air quality has also begun to spark debate and the federal environment agency UBA estimated that the amount of fine particles released in one night was comparable to two months of highway traffic. OMG this breaks my heart??????RIP ?????poor little souls????????Sad start of the year: In a major fire on New Years Eve in Krefeld, the ape house of the local zoo burned down completely. More than 30 monkeys died. Only the chimpanzees Bally & Limbo survived slightly injured. pic.twitter.com/Wr7FDA7Ikr— ? ?? ?? (@FranceschiJcf) January 1, 2020 Several major German supermarket and hardware chains have decided to stop selling fireworks.Demand remains strong for now, however, with the people spending around 113 million euros ($127 million) for New Year fireworks, the same amount as last year, according to sector federation VPI.Around 57 percent of the county's inhabitants would support a ban on firework sales but 84 percent of those questioned also said they looked forward to displays next year.Krefeld zoo planned to remain closed Wednesday with employees "in shock" owing to the "terrible tragedy", management said.The zoo has around 1,000 animals and attracts some 400,000 visitors a year. Source: AFP ...https://www.trtworld.com/life/german-zoo-fire-kills-more-than-30-animals-32652

Long asparagus season in NRW ends this weekend - FreshPlaza.com

On Johannistag, June 24, it is New Year's Eve for asparagus. On this day, asparagus farmers traditionally end their harvest, says the Chamber of Agriculture of North Rhine-Westphalia. Last year, the noble vegetables were cultivated on about 4,000 hectares in NRW. The shoots, still growing, are no longer being harvested. In the next three months, the asparagus grows up to 2 m high to form energy reserves with the help of sunlight, reserves which are stored in the roots. This secures the harvest for the next asparagus season. The asparagus season has been running at full speed at many farms since the end of March. For the asparagus this year, there was a mix of warm, but also very cold days. The growers were able to adjust the harvest to the changing temperatures by putting covers on the fields. Since the consumer in Germany prefers white asparagus with white heads, covering the asparagus beds is indispensable. One way to enjoy asparagus even after the asparagus season is to freeze the peeled asparagus. The last harvest days should be used by consumers to stock up. The peeled and portioned asparagus can be frozen and enjoyed at a later date. For consumption, the frozen asparagus can be put in boiling water. So that not all valuable ingredients end up in the water, ...https://www.freshplaza.com/article/9119488/long-asparagus-season-in-nrw-ends-this-weekend/

Man accused of pushing boy in front of Frankfurt train had ‘psychological problems’ - The Irish Times

Public safetyLast week a 34-year-old mother was killed in North Rhine-Westphalia when a German-born man with Serbian roots pushed her into the path of an oncoming train. The second such death in a week has sparked soul-searching in Germany about public safety, particularly in train stations. The Frankfurt suspect was born in 1979, is married and has three children. He was granted refugee status in 2008 and had full-time employment. “In a brochure from the firm where he works he was presented as a super integration case study,” said Horst Seehofer, Germany’s federal interior minister, who interrupted his holiday for a press conference on Tuesday. German interior minister Horst Seehofer at a news conference about the Frankfurt killing in Berlin on Tuesday. Photograph: Fabrizio Bensch/Reuters Federal police said the man was not flagged in any databases and, as a recognised refugee, was in Germany legally. He was not checked at the border because Switzerland, though outside the EU, is an associate member of the Schengen free-travel area. The man had been sought by the Swiss police since an incident last week in which he threatened a neighbour with a knife, tried to strangle her and locked her in her apartment. ‘Cold-blooded murder’Close to tears in Berlin on Tuesday afternoon, Mr Seehofer said that, like millions of other Germans, he was “deeply shocked by the cold-blooded murder”. He announced a special body to examine boosting train station security. “Although general criminality figures are dropping, the feeling of security among the population is very tense and cases like yesterday contribute to that,” he said, urging reporters at a press conference to “separate cleanly” crime and migration. Instead he said Germany was facing a rise in public order offences generally – regardless of perpetrator origin – and promised extra police resources to tackle this. Experts said it was difficult to predict what the motive in such attacks could be. “It could be an extremely heightened disposition for violence or psychological problems, but I would be careful talking of a typical perpetrator profile,” said Prof Rudolf Egg, a criminal psychologist, to German television. https://www.irishtimes.com/news/world/europe/man-accused-of-pushing-boy-in-front-of-train-in-frankfurt-was-model-refugee-1.3972016

Couple break with pace 214, on Federal road in order to catch a holiday flight - The Crypto Coin Discovery

Flensburg in the last two weeks solid. You have knowledge of more than 100 Calls of this kind. Übach-Palenberg: police to sexual offence witnesses. In North Rhine-Westphalia, Übach-Palenberg the police after an unknown youth was on Tuesday afternoon, compared to a nine-year-old girl sexually grip. Accordingly, the child was playing on a Playground, when a young man approached and led to a mound of dirt. There, the young people should have stripped the girl. The officials, according to two strollers, the speeches, the suspects approached in this Moment. This was run then walk. The passers-by took the girl home. Now the police are looking for both after helping a couple, as well as to the unknown youth who is described as follows: about 15 to 17 years of age, and of robust stature, short, blonde, and upstairs greasy hair, asked to be witnesses at the sides, shorter brown shoes, light brown denim jacket and blue Jeanswar with black-and-white Bicycle on the road to put under the phone number 02452 920 0. news of Wednesday, 20. February Munich: police stops driving school – driving instructor on drugs During a routine control, the police in Munich have pulled a driving instructor. The officers found the 40-Year-old initially glassy and red eyes, and assumed, therefore, that the man navigated his driving students under the influence of a drug through the streets of the Bavarian capital Navi. The locally made drug-test confirmed this suspicion. The police announced, has been canceled, then the hour’s drive. The rider was allowed to go home. The due blood test should confirm the results of the quick tests that threaten his driving instructor, a driving ban, two points in Flensburg and a fine of 500 euros. Maybe the man loses even his driving instructor permission. Pulheim: Drunk driver falls asleep in front of traffic light, a In North Rhine-Westphalia, Pulheim is asleep, a motorist in front of a traffic light. As the police reported on Wednesday, the 49-Year-old three per thousand in the blood. A witness stopped around 8.30 am on Tuesday morning behind the vehicle of the man. But when the light turned Green, drove off the car in front of him. When he got out, and ran to the car, he noted that the driver sat asleep behind the wheel. An ambulance took him to a hospital, where a blood sample. The police secured the license and launched a criminal case. Rostock: Baby skeleton in the flower pot found In Rostock (Mecklenburg-Vorpommern) has found the police in the case of a 27-year-old woman is the skeleton of a newborn baby in a flower pot. When the Baby died and what was the exact cause of death is yet determined, said the spokesman for the Rostock office of the public Prosecutor, Harald Nowack, on Wednesday. So far there is no evidence of a homicide. The investigators had received a note from a loved one that the woman kept a dead-born child in her apartment. The apartment in a multi family home was at 16. February searches. In an earth filled flower pot, officials found a small skeleton. Forensic scientists have found out that it is the bone of a newborn baby. With the help of DNA analysis is to be determined details. Unclear age, gender, and cause of death of the child and how the bones came to be in the vessel. In search of the absent tenant had reported in the meantime, a lawyer at the police. You have made no data. Iserlohn: 26-Year-old dies after punch In Northrhine-Westphalia Iserlohn, a dispute at a red light for a 26 is assumed to be-Year-old deadly. As the po...https://www.ccdiscovery.com/couple-break-with-pace-214-on-federal-road-in-order-to-catch-a-holiday-flight