The top-ranked result for US first lady Michelle Obama on Google's image search engine on Thursday was a racist caricature that depicted her with the face of a chimpanzee, just below a link to a suggested Google search for the terms "Michelle Obama Monkey."
The same image of Obama, which is currently hosted on Google's Blogger service, has appeared among the top image results on Google for at least two weeks, according to user complaints on Google's help forum.
The Obama caricature does not appear among the top image results for "Michelle Obama" on Microsoft's rival Bing search engine.
The image also does not appear among image results when users search for "Michelle Obama" on its main search engine, only on the results produced by the image search engine.
"Google views the integrity of our search results as an extremely important priority. Accordingly, we do not remove a page from our search results, or images from our Google Images results, simply because the content is in very poor taste or because we receive complaints concerning it," a Google employee named Jem wrote on the forum last week.
Google's image search results rely "heavily on computer algorithms using thousands of factors to calculate a page's relevance to a given query," Jem wrote, adding that Google does remove images from its results when they violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines, the company is required to do so by law, or at the request of the webmaster responsible for the image.
The same message is contained in a company notice titled "Offensive Search Results" that appears as a sponsored result when users search for an image of Michelle Obama on Google.
"We apologiwe if you've had an upsetting experience using Google. We hope you understand our position regarding offensive results," it said.
A Google spokeswoman did not immediately respond to an e-mail seeking information about how the Obama caricature became the top-ranked image result on the company's search engine.
One possibility is that the user who posted the image managed to game Google's search algorithm, perhaps by using large numbers of inbound links to boost its ranking on the search engine.
However, gaming the search engine in this way would violate Google's Webmaster Guidelines, prompting the company to remove the image from its results. Since that hasn't happened, it suggests other factors may be involved.
Small manufacturers and importers of goods from China are a "weak link" in the product safety supply chain, according to the EU.
A report, commissioned by European consumer affairs commissioner Meglena Kuneva and carried out by a group of independent experts, found smaller firms at both ends of the toy supply chain find it difficult to deal with safety issues because they lack in-depth knowledge about regulations and have fewer dedicated personnel and weaker quality systems.
This meant that in many cases the only safety guarantees imposed before products went to market were Chinese government export controls. There was also criticism that Chinese firms focus on US rather than EU regulations and standards.
"As a general rule one can say that the smaller the actor, the weaker its influence on the supply chain and consequently on product safety," the report said.
The study also expressed concerns over a lack of toy safety expertise in different areas of the EU, creating different levels of enforcement across the continent. "It is worrying that notified bodies seem in several cases to be struggling to properly fulfil their role," it said.
The report presented more than 50 recommendations to improve the safety of toys that could also apply to other products. Buyers were urged to ensure traceability in their supply chain, and share best practice with smaller firms and suppliers. Kuneva promised to analyse the recommendations and consult as to how to take them forward in the future.
they fight all the time it never stops i am afraid one of them is going to really get hurt one of these days.
They are at THAT age. All siblings go through especially if they are opposite sex. When I was their age, I did the same thing with my brother. He would chase me around the house and lift me over his head and throw me down on the bed lol. We always argued and we fought but it was normal to us. We never actually hurt-hurt one another but we had to get our frustrations out some how. They will get over it. When I turned 15-16, me and my brother mellowed out. Ever since then we have been cool around each other and even "loving". lol It will be ok. Good luck!
That sounds all too familiar! There is no manual, but in raising three boys (now 22, 17, and 9). The oldest is now out of the house, but my 17 and 9 yr olds fight like a cat and dog. I have to deal with them individually based on their unique personalities (one is sensitive, and the other is blunt and direct). Ironically, like others kids, they are loving most of the time when in public and would rip the hair off anyone that messed with their brother... One day, I suspect they will be best friends and remind them of this often!
I have the same issue. My daughter is 13 and she fights with everyone, not physically, I honstly think its the hormones in girls at this age. I wish they would come out with something to fix it, cause its driving me nuts!!!!
My 11 year old daughter and 8 year old son are the same. Honestly, I ignore them. I tell them I do not want to hear it. What I found is that they fight at home but are tight and loving in public. Which is exactly what I tell them. We were at our amusement park & I could not find my son, he should of been with older cousin.When I found him he was with that sister & they were holding hands running to a ride. So fight all day at home, I don't care, just know when to stick together.
Yesterday me and my daughter's dad had a argument because after doing the visit of Wed and Thur. with his son I had to come pick her up those two mornings to take her to the daycare and pick her up from the daycare and take her back over there. Just because his excuse was he doesnt have two car seats to transport his son which is two and my daughter which is one. This is not my problem I have a four year old that still rides in a car seat and I transport them together at all times. I am not going to be rushing around on the mornings that he decides to keep her just because of his excuses if he wants to keep her on those days he needs to be totally responsible for picking up and dropping her off also. I also don't want to accuse but during the time of the visits between daycare and his house with his other child my daughter got a sore on her upper lip like it was bumped. I am concerned that maybe the two might get into little scuffles with them being close in age and him not watching them closely. I get worried at that age group you know how kids can be and I don't want to be accusing if things happen at the daycare and not there. I asked him about changing days to maybe one of those days being with him and his son but the other day on a weekend where he can be attentitive to her and also since we are both off on the weekends to give me a break for a day on the weekend to regroup. He flew off the handle saying that he is not changing days I am ungrateful and wouldn't know a good father if it slapped me in the face. Since my daughter has been born we have never been able to come to an agreement with visitation. First it was monday's he didnt stick to that then it was tuesday a couple months later than he changed it to sunday last month and hasn't fell through with all of those changes. I am just so tired and just want to throw my hands up and let the courts decide an order where I know he will have no choice but to stick to it. I just need to know how to go about this I got a few numbers for legal aid but is this common for just divorced couples or kids out of wedlock get visitation orders also?
The car seat can be handed over but that's an excuse don't know why he has made that lame one. And with the situation of daycare or visit while with brother scuffles. I'm not sure if he does it while watching his kids but I know that he has indulged in marijuana use and that's just a concern that I have if he is being attentive and alert while their around. One of the reasons we are not together now. I'm in the Midwest of the United States. Thanks for your input.
Can you not handover the car seat at the same time you hand over your daughter? That's what I used to do.
If the two kids are getting into scuffles, that's pretty normal. It could happen there or at daycare, why does that make a difference to you?
Anyway, with regard to going about getting firm visitation orders, I can't advise unless I know where you live. I'm in Australia, and I can point you in the right direction here.