Posts made in May, 2015

on May 30, 2015

By Staff Writer Ross Ulbricht, founder of the online drug black market the Silk Road, has been sentenced to life in prison by a Manhattan judge. The Wall Street Journal reports that Ulbricht, 31, was given the most severe sentence possible for his role in creating and running the underground marketplace. Hidden on the so-called ‘dark web’, the Silk Road allowed users to anonymously buy drugs, weapons and other illicit goods, from 2011 until Ubricht’s arrest in 2013. It was shut down when Ulbricht was arrested in 2013 and he was subsequently found guilty of charges including conspiracy to commit drug trafficking, money laundering and Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 30, 2015

By Staff Writer Sepp Blatter has been re-elected for a fifth term as president of Fifa despite football’s world governing body being engulfed in a corruption scandal. Blatter’s victory in a ballot of Fifa members came just two days after seven Fifa officials were arrested as part of a US prosecution that indicted 14 people. UK prime minister David Cameron joined widespread calls for Blatter to resign before Friday’s vote, and World Cup sponsors including McDonald’s, Visa and Budweiser expressed their discomfort with the story that has dominated headlines all week. In spite of the controversy, yesterday’s vote went ahead as planned and critics from Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 30, 2015

By Jennifer Faull Agencies have welcomed D&AD’s Ad Filter tool that allows people to swap boring ads for award-winning work from the body’s extensive archive. Created by BETC Paris, the free installation for Chrome and Firefox replaces a bad pre-roll with the likes of Volvo’s ‘Van Damme splits’, Cadbury’s ‘drumming gorilla’ or Sony’s ‘balls’ with the click of the iconic yellow pencil. The launch was particularly relevant as AdBlock Plus, which allows people to block “annoying” online ads, won a court case in Germany and marked the fourth time it had batted away legal challenges to its offering. It comes as online advertising continues to Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 29, 2015

By Minda Smiley Beer company Anheuser-Busch, whose brands include Budweiser, Michelob, and Shock Top, is producing cans of drinking water at its Georgia-based brewery in partnership with the American Red Cross for those affected by the recent floods and storms in Texas and Oklahoma. The company will ship approximately 50,000 cans of the emergency water to residents of the two states. Rob Haas, senior general manager at Anheuser-Busch Brewery at Cartersville, Georgia, said: “Relief workers and people in the community are in need of drinking water as they work to recover from the storms, and this is one way Anheuser-Busch can help our friends and Read full story › Source: The Drum...

on May 29, 2015

By Nesh Pillay Hulu has removed the show ’19 Kids and Counting’ from its offerings amid molestation allegations against one of the show’s characters. The actor, Josh Duggar, has been accused of molesting multiple underage girls, including his own sisters. While Hulu hasn’t commented on the removal, the shows were available for streaming earlier this week and no longer appear in the line-up. Amid public outcry, the show’s host network, TLC, has decided against airing reruns. Multiple brands, including Choice Hotels and Payless Shoes, have also decided to cut ties with the show. Given the mounting pressure from brands, the public, and affiliates, Read full story › Source: The Drum...