Just thought some people might find this information interesting. Google has had a lot of flak recently.
First is the incident where Street View cars record wireless data. If you use any kind of encryption you're fine, but they recorded entire emails and passwords as the cars drove by from unsecured wireless networks. They initially claimed they only stored network names to use for location purposes, so you can tell where you are via google maps, but it emerged that was false. They had begun to delete the data but have been instructed not to since this is tampering with evidence, they will be deleting it as countries conclude their legal investigations.
Also is the news that Google has avoided paying 60 billion dollars in taxes by a method which is technically legal, involving routing funds through subsidiaries in the Republic of Ireland, the Netherlands, and finally Bermuda where there is no corporate tax. This is $60 billion in taxes to the US government, no figures are presented for what they may or may not have avoided paying to other countries. Apparently all the big companies do it but Google have the most success, getting an effective tax rate of two point odd percent instead of the US rate of 35% or the UK rate of 28%. These are tax rates for corporations not individuals by the way.
All this sums up to quite a troubling picture for the big G. Even the mainstream media would find this amount of news difficult to ignore, meaning Google is likely to suffer serious downturn in its reputation.
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To live by honour and to honour life, these are our greatest strengths and our best hopes.
