Authenticity of TripAdvisor reviews questioned

24 Fri, Feb 2012

The UK’s advertising watchdog has found TripAdvisor to be in breach of advertising regulations, saying the site cannot guarantee the authenticity of reviews.

The ruling by the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) comes after several complaints were made about TripAdvisor reviews, with accusations that some businesses, and even guests, were putting up fake comments.

       After reviewing the complaints in July 2011, ASA has found that although TripAdvisor used advanced and highly effective fraud detection systems, the site couldn’t ensure all its content was genuine. “We told TripAdvisor not to claim or imply that all the reviews that appeared on the website were from real travellers, or were honest, real or trusted.”

       TripAdvisor responded to the ruling with a statement: “We think this ruling flies in the face of common sense and is unrealistic in its expectations from sites like ours. ASA has taken a highly technical view around some marketing copy that was used in a limited capacity; complaints were upheld on the basis that we could not provide 100% certainty that every single review on the site was written by a real traveller and could be trusted. No system, verified or not, could provide this.”

        However, consequently, TripAdvisor in the UK has changed the wording in its advertising from ‘the world’s most trusted travel advice’ to ‘the world’s largest travel site’. In South Africa and the US, TripAdvisor still advertises as offering the world’s most trusted travel advice.

         Meanwhile, a recent PhoCusWright study showed 98% of respondents found TripAdvisor hotel reviews to be accurate about the actual experience. “We are the world’s largest travel site and we have confidence that the 50 million users who come to our site every month trust the reviews they read on TripAdvisor, which is why they keep coming back to us in increasingly larger numbers to plan and have the perfect trip.”

Dorine Reinstein

The Editor
ETNW

Special tours to EGYPT – now is the time to go before the crowds return
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2nd phase of Khufu solar boat project to begin

2nd phase of Khufu solar boat project to begin Monday After being buried in the sand for 4,500 years, King Khufu’s second solar boat will soon be displayed next to its twin on Egypt’s famous Giza Plateau

Nevine El-Aref , Thursday 16 Feb 2012
El Ahram

At an international press conference held on Egypt’s Giza Plateau next Monday, Egyptian Minister of State for Antiquities Mohamed Ibrahim is expected to announce the launch of the second phase of the Khufu solar boat restoration project, which is being carried out in collaboration with a Japanese archaeological team from Wasida University. Ibrahim told Ahram Online that the team would collect samples of the boat’s wooden beams for analysis on Monday in order to draw up accurate plans for the boat’s restoration in a special museum located on the plateau.

The first phase of the project, carried out two years ago, assessed the area surrounding the second boat pit with the use of topographical radar surveys. A large hangar has since been built over the second pit, with a smaller hangar erected inside to cover the top of the boat itself. The hangars were especially designed to protect the wooden remains during the project’s analysis and treatment phases. A laser scanning survey has also documented the area, particularly the wall between the Great Pyramid and the boat pit. Ibrahim pointed out that the first phase had also included the raising of 41 stone blocks that had covered the pit containing Khufu’s second solar boat for the last 4,500 years. The second boat, found along with the first one in 1954 by late Egyptian archaeologist Kamal El-Malak, is currently on display at a special museum on the northern side of Khufu’s Great Pyramid.

The first boat was removed piece by piece and reconstructed by late Egyptian engineer Ahmed Youssef over the course of a 20-year period. The second boat remained largely buried in sand until 1992, when a Japanese archaeological team from Waseda University offered a $10 million grant to unearth, restore and display it to the public. Abdel Hamid Maarouf, head of the ministry’s ancient Egypt department, said the team had cleared the pit of insects and found a hieroglyphic cartouche bearing the names of Fourth Dynasty King Khufu and Crown Prince Djedefre. Ali El-Asfar, head of operations at the Giza Plateau, said that the Japanese team had also found that water had leaked from the nearby museum housing the first solar boat. The leak, they noted, had adversely affected some of the boat’s wood, making it necessary to quickly wrap up the analysis phase and restore the water-damaged wood.

 

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Cape Town mystery – how did this painting arrive here?

The Subsiding of the Nile, Frederickl Goodall.

The famous painting The Subsiding of the Nile – Frederick Goodall 1822 – 1904 held in Cape Town

Help please!  Any information about this painting will be appreciate, especially any information on how the painting came to be in Cape Town!

The Subsiding of the Nile shows the Giza Plateau from the south-east, with the Great Pyramid of Khufu on the right, and the Pyramid of Khafra on the left behind the palm trees with the Sphinx just visible in the centre. The sheep in the foreground were painted from the flock the artist bought in Egypt and sent to England to be used as models for this picture. This was the largest picture painted by Frederick Goodall – it is approximately 3.01 metres long and 1.6 metres high. Painted in 1873 by Frederick Goodall, this picture was exhibited at the Royal Academy, London (No. 292) in 1873 and purchased by art dealer Ernest Gambart for 1200 Guineas – a high sum in those days. Later it was sold to Sir William Agnew and in 1903 it appears it belonged to a Mr. Orr of Glasgow. An unconfirmed report suggests the painting was bought in Cairo in 1912 by a Mr. E.D. Anderson (see below).

This painting used to hang on the first floor of the Cape Town City Hall. Due to the size and weight of the painting and frame, wall brackets supported the frame at the base causing the picture to hang forward at an angle. In turn this caused the canvas to stretch downward and drag away from the ornate gilded frame which is thought to be the original frame. In response to my appeal and using the platform of The Egyptian Society of South Africa, the picture was removed from the unfavourable position in the Cape Town City Hall and loaned to the South African Cultural History Museum (now Iziko Slave Lodge) in 1997. Unfortunately, due to changes in the directorship of the museum and other reasons, the picture remained crated for 6 years in a store-room at the museum in Adderley Street. In 2003 the picture was returned to the Cape Town City Council and placed in a store room where it awaited a decision on its future.

The picture belongs to the people of the Cape Town. However, the date and manner of acquisition in Cape Town is a mystery and is entirely unknown. According to unsupported information from a former council employee who died some year ago, in 1968 T.J. & E.D. Anderson claimed it was on loan to the City but a court rejected the claim as there was no proof of ownership. Until now, it has not been possible to locate the court records. It has also been claimed that an untraceable newspaper report in 1968 stated the picture had been in the City Hall for at least 40 years.

When I approached the Royal Academy in London for information about the picture they were unaware that the original painting was in Cape Town having assumed the small version in the London Guildhall Art Gallery was the original. Their records have been amended. Frederick Goodall made his second and last visit to Egypt in 1870-71, accompanied by his brother Edward. Basing himself at Saqqara in the house of the distinguished archaeologist and founder of the Egyptian Museum Auguste Mariette-Bey, he spent several months sketching places and people to be used as the raw material for future paintings. In 1872 he began using some of his preparatory sketches and the result was The Subsiding of the Nile exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1873. There is a reduced version of The Subsiding of the Nile (76 x 152 cm) exhibited in the City of London’s Guildhall Art Gallery (No. 63). This smaller painting, a quarter of the size of the Cape Town picture, is signed with the monogram FG and dated 1873.

When Frederick Goodall died in 1904 there were examples of his works in many provincial art galleries in addition to the Tate Gallery and the Victoria and Albert Museum in London. Another small copy of The Subsiding of the Nile has been identified in Bournemouth, UK. Frederick Goodall is buried at Highgate Cemetery in London along with family members. With the valued co-operation of Alderman Owen Kinahan, the Cape Town City Council placed the picture in the capable hands of renowned art restorer Angela Zehnder in 2007 who was commissioned to clean and restore the damaged painting. Finally, in February 2011, the restoration of the painting and the frame was completed and with great anticipation the painting was at last hung for public viewing in the foyer of the Artscape Theatre, Cape Town. Newspaper pictures showed the painting in all its glory in the process of being hung. Fate yet again intervened in the story of this painting – within 24 hours inexplicably the painting fell off the wall and sustained serious damage. This very valuable painting was swiftly removed from the public gaze which had not yet awoken to the fact that the painting was anywhere to be seen anyway, and it was returned to the tender care of art restorer Angela Zehnder once more.

Following more restoration, the painting was exhibited at the Artscape Theatre foyer where it was securely hung on 13 February 2011 and, for the first time in many years, was once again on public view. The delicate colours of the picture are as fresh as the day Frederick Goodall painted this canvas and his signature monogram is visible in the bottom left-hand corner, dated 1873. On reading the name plate on the bottom of the ornate frame, viewers might be confused as to the nationality of Frederick Goodall as his name is incorrectly shown as Friederick. This inaccuracy is receiving attention. At the time of writing, the painting is on view at the Artscape Theatre for a limited but unknown period until a final home is decided upon by the Cape Town City Council.

Keith Grenville
17 February 2012

www.egypttoday.co.za

Stunning face hidden for thousands of years: Wooden sarcophagus unearthed at Egyptian necropolis

Daily Mail Reporter
16th February 2012

Qubbet el-Hawa west bank Aswan where sarcophagus found

Encased in soil, this extraordinarily delicate face emerges into the sun for the first time in thousands of years. The wooden sarcophagus was unearthed by archaeologists at the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan, Egypt. Believed to contain the body of a person of some rank, it boasts extraordinarily delicate features, well-preserved by the sands of time. High rank: The wooden sarcophagus was found at the necropolis of Qubbet el-Hawa in Aswan, Egypt Spectacular: The necropolis at Qubbet el-Hawa just outside the modern city of Aswan where the sarcophagus was found

Sarcophagus found Aswan February 2012

The piece was found by a team from the University of Jaen, in Spain, who have been carrying out digs at the site since 2008. Since starting a fresh excavation in January, they have also discovered 20 mummies and uncovered a tomb dating from around 1830BC. The dig is being led by Professor Alejandro Jiménez Serrano, who is working alongside 16 staff from Jaen, as well as universities in Granada and London. He said that his team came from a number of different disciplines which allowed a broad focus. It had also allowed them ‘to develop new techniques such as RTI or scanning in 3D which helps read hieroglyphic texts with greater accuracy,’ he added. The team had already found two smaller tombs in earlier digs. Qubbet el-Hawa necropolis was in use from 2250BC and provided a last resting place for some of the country’s most important officials. A string of 40 tombs cut into a rocky cliff face, the burial ground also forms one of the best vantage points of the city of Aswan. Stunning panorama: Feluccas on the Nile as Aswan with the necropolis visible in the background Ancient monument: The tombs were first used in 2250BC for some of Egypt’s most important citizens

 

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Golden Triangle & Rajasthan Group Tour 2 – 16 November 2012

BOOK NOW while places remain for this specially arranged tour with its unique itinerary – from the Delhi to the Taj Mahal, from Jaipur to Jodhpur!  Join the India Discovery tour leaving South Africa on 2nd November and visiting Delhi, Mandawa, Bikaner, Jaisalmer, Jodhpur, Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur and Agra. Visit the palaces, temples, Taj Mahal and a host of other wonderful experiences. BOOK NOW before the air fares and taxes increase. Air fares on Emirates  are approximately R7938 including tax from either Cape Town or Johannesburg. SEE FULL DETAILS at www.egypttoday.co.za     BOOK NOW!

TOUR COST: Per person sharing in twin/double room R14 722 excluding air fares.  Single room supplement R7 456

SPLENDOURS OF ITALY – Group tour 5 – 20 May 2012

SPLENDOURS OF ITALY  -  5 – 20 May 2012

Group tour escorted by Keith Grenville
12 nights’ dinner, bed & breakfast

Rome, Pompeii, Naples, Assisi, Venice, Pisa, Florence, Siena, San Gimignano, Rome

VERY IMPORTANT:
If you are interested in this tour, please advise Keith Grenville immediately, without obligation.   keithg@egypttoday.co.za
No bookings will be considered until 20 persons indicate their interest.  Do not delay – please advise interest as soon as possible to safeguard the tour cost and flight availability for you and for others.

http://www.egypttoday.co.za/tour53.htm

US tourists in Israel warned to dress “modestly” for fear of assaults

“Modestly” dressed Haredi Jews

Feb 05, 2012

The US State Department is concerned over recent violence exhibited by extremists in Israel’s haredi community and has published a travel recommendation for tourists: Do not walk around dressed immodestly in haredi neighborhoods for fear that extremists would assault you in the street.

The travel recommendations which were updated by the US State Department two weeks ago with the recent phenomenon of women’s exclusion and haredi violence in mind, calls on American tourists to dress appropriately when visiting religious sites in the Old City and in haredi neighborhoods and to avoid driving through those neighborhoods during the Sabbath.

“Most roads into ultra-orthodox Jewish neighborhoods are blocked off on Friday nights, Saturdays, and Jewish holidays. Assaults on secular visitors, either for being in cars or for being ‘immodestly dressed’ have occurred in these neighborhoods,” the consulate said.

The travel recommendation follows on the heels of statements made by US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton who, speaking at the Saban Conference two months ago, expressed her shock that some busses in Jerusalem allocated separate seating areas for women.

“It’s reminiscent of Rosa Parks,” she said, referring to the black American woman who refused to give up her seat to white passengers in the 1950s.

Referring to the decision of some IDF soldiers to leave an event where female soldiers were singing, she said it reminded her of the situation in Iran.

Source: ynetnews.com

 

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Threat from new virus-infected emails which take over your PC even if you DON’T open their attachments

By Rob Cole
Daily Mail

2nd February 2012

Cyber attack: The new attack can infect PCs even if people DON’T open email attachments – leaving even savvy web users vulnerable to attack

A new class of cyber attack is threatening PCs – emails which infect PCs without the user having to open an attachment.

The user will not even be warned this is happening – the only message that appears is ‘loading’.

The email automatically downloads malicious software into your computer from elsewhere the moment a user clicks to open it.

The mails themselves are not infected – and thus will not ‘set off’ many web-security defence packages.

Security experts say that the development is ‘particularly dangerous’.

‘Driveby spam also affects cautious users which would never open an unknown attachment or link.

Previous generations of email-borne viruses and trojans required users to click on an attachment – often an office document such as a PDF.

The new emails – dubbed ‘drive-by emails’ – have been detected ‘in the wild’ by computer researchers Eleven Research Team.

‘This driveby spam automatically downloads malware when the e-mail is opened in the e-mail client,’ says Eleven Research Team.

‘Previous malware e-mails required the user to click on a link or open an attachment for the PC to be infected.’

The new generation of e-mail-borne malware consists of HTML e-mails which automatically downloads malware when the e-mail is opened.’

‘This is similar to so-called driveby downloads which infect a PC by opening an infected website in the browser.’

The new attack loads malicious software from remote websites into your PC as soon as you open an email

The current wave of emails arrive with the title ‘Banking Security Update.’

To stay safe, the security company advises switching all security settings in email software to maximum, and updating your browser to the latest version so it’s protected against malicious software.

www.egypttoday.co.za   Specialised tours to Egypt, Italy, Jordan, Turkey, India, Morocco, Russia

TripAdvisor reviews can’t be trusted: Website fails to vet comments, says watchdog

By Sean Poulter
Daily Mail, London

1st February 2012

TripAdvisor can no longer claim to offer ‘trusted and honest’ reviews, the advertising watchdog has ruled.

It said that because the world’s biggest travel website does not vet its 50million users’ comments, it cannot  guarantee they are genuine.

The site promises to provide reliable reviews from travellers about hotels, restaurants and airlines around the world.

The site which offers recommendations for hotels has been targeted with fake reviews

However, it has faced claims that some establishments are being given poor write-ups by rivals to boost their own trade.

Malicious customers have even tried to blackmail small hotels with threats to post negative reviews.

The  Advertising Standards Authority began an investigation following a complaint from British firm KwikChex, which represents several hotels given poor reviews on TripAdvisor, plus two unnamed British hotels.

The ASA was asked to rule on claims made by TripAdvisor about the services it offers, including: ‘TripAdvisor offers trusted advice from real travellers’ and ‘50million honest travel reviews and opinions from real travellers’.

In reality, TripAdvisor does not check the accuracy of its reviews although it does offer hoteliers a right of reply. Instead, it asks the reviewer only to ensure what they have written is a genuine opinion and say they do not have a personal link to the hotel or service.

However, in a ruling today  the ASA said: ‘We understood that reviews could be placed on the site without any form of verification, and while TripAdvisor took steps to monitor suspicious activity, it was possible non-genuine content would appear on the site.

‘We did not consider consumers would necessarily be able to detect and separate  non-genuine reviews from genuine content.

‘Because we considered the claims implied that consumers could be assured all review content was genuine, we  concluded that the claims were misleading.’

Many hotels are in jeopardy of seeing their name tarnished by false ratings from rival businesses

It has told TripAdvisor to make changes to the way it markets its services in the UK.

A spokesman for TripAdvisor said: ‘We have confidence the 50million users who come to our site every month trust the reviews they read, which is why they keep coming back.’

But Chris Emmins, of KwikChex, said: ‘A number are false – both positive and negative reviews.

‘Small businesses suffer most as they tend to have few reviews and so the impact is greater, although any business with a bad review does suffer, particularly if it is a false accusation of something such as food poisoning or bed bugs.’

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2,200-year-old Egyptian mummy had prostate cancer

• Disease likely to be caused by genetics not environment
• Scans reveal tumours between pelvis and spine

 By Daily Mail Reporter

30th January 2012

Oldest case in Egypt: The 2,250-year-old Ptolemaic mummy, which revealed tell-tale signs of prostate cancer under high-powered digital imaging

Discovery of prostate cancer in a 2,200-year-old mummy suggests the disease is caused by genetics – not the environment.

Professor Salima Ikram, of the American University in Cairo, Egypt, said: ‘Living conditions in ancient times were very different; there were no pollutants or modified foods, which leads us to believe that the disease is not necessarily only linked to industrial factors.’

Whether environment or genetics triggers cancer is key to understanding it.

The unnamed Ptolemaic mummy, which is kept at the National Archaeology Museum of Lisbon, had a pattern of round and dense tumours between its pelvis and lumbar spine – giveaway signs of man’s modern-day killer.

The mummy was that of a 5ft 5ins adult male‭ who lived between 285 and 230 BC and was between 51 and 60 years old when he died, researchers said.

‘The bone lesions were considered very suggestive of metastatic prostate cancer,‭’ ‬wrote the researchers in the International Journal of Paleopathology.

They subjected the mummy, known as M1, to powerful Multi Detector Computerized Tomography‭ (‬MDCT‭) ‬scans, which produced‭ ‘really unusual high quality images’, ‬Carlos Prates,‭ ‬a radiologist at Imagens Médicas Integradas in Lisbon, told Discovery News.

Digital X-rays showed that M1‭ ‬had been buried with crossed arms‭ – a common pose in Ptolemaic mummies,‭ ‬although in the New Kingdom it was often associated with royals‭.

 

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