Blogging: A Distinct Social Impact

Blogging has diligently progressed to the forefront of digital communication in a historically expeditious rate of speed. As early as 1983, threads of message boards dotted the internet with newsworthy postings, including the infamous World Wide Web. By 1994, some were using the web as their daily diary or sounding board.* People began to pay attention. By 1997, these personal homepages became sources of news. Who are we listening to out in cyberspace? It is true that most believe what they read or see on television. After all, these people have our best interest at heart! Don’t they? Or is there an agenda they serve of their own? The dangers of a world of information and socializing through blogging can leave a questionable impact that’s left to be decided.

The daily diaries of 1997 soon spread from journals of self-satisfying thoughts to a belief that people were actually interested in things they said. And many were. The web world grew from personal blogging to videos, thus the webcam. Soon the legal and corporate world began to hire bloggers. The question remained in some of our eyes, what kind of person would post their life for all to see? Or was it their life they were posting?

The immediate fears of children and teens in the blogging world are an ongoing debate. In the eyes of the teen, cyberspace has become a text heaven, taking the place of baby boomers talking on the phone. In the eyes of the parent, the teen is foreboding prey of the parasites feeding on the innocent lying in wait on the end of a text from a “friend” accepted. The law seems to stay one step behind the predator in these cases and children stay one step in front of the parent in finding the scum. The latest threat to servers funneling porn into our lives for not reporting the culprit sets them back about $300,000.00, while the child porn business is a $5 billion business. with 95% of their customers from the U.S.** This social impact that has taken the younger generation into places their parents never thought of falling is all brought to us by the wonderful world of blogging.

In our latest Presidential race, blogging has given the voting public a progressive, new look at candidates they never considered in the past. Overnight, Ron Paul became a viable candidate, when most didn’t recognize his name the day before. Isn’t this a questionable way to choose a person we are to trust with our country? If enough people get on the web and blog an interest, I could become President. People are too busy to research candidates themselves, so they take the word of bloggers, who may also be the predators that are on your children’s bedroom computers.

In defense of the world we have created on the web, we have the opportunity to learn, prosper, and discover the world at our fingertips. Students have a wealth of knowledge, while we can stay at home and do everything from graduate from college to shop at our favorite stores. The positives are abundant and obvious, while the negatives hide and pop out at us while we enjoy the good.

We’ve grown full circle from allowing television the right to tell us what to believe, where to shop, and what to buy. We now have any Tom, Dick, or Harry into our lives by means of the web, as we shop and educate ourselves and think we are minding our own business. Blogging is a distinct and valid social impact on the world and decidedly so. The positive aspect is there are signs of boredom in the blogging world; soon there will be another source for the intruder. Maybe one day we will have a mind of our own and use it.

By: Lynn O`Neil

Edited By: Bruce A. Tucker


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Download Music Online – Be Wary Of P2p

It is never too hard to download music online nowadays especially when there are tons of websites such as P2P networks that give them to you for free. In fact, these free networks even provide the software needed for you to download music online and share with others. It can be hard to reject their offers when everything seems to be “free”.

Did you know that the RIAA are taking some big time online music sharing individuals to task? Basically, these guys have been downloading free music from P2P sites and sharing them in a big way with thousands of others. If you are one of those, you need to be extra careful. At one point of time, it could probably be worthwhile to ponder if spending a couple of bucks to download music online at legal sources is something that can give you a peace of mind.

P2P music sites can provide free file sharing and downloading software. It allows you to download music online for free and this is very often the culprit behind problems like infecting your computers with viruses and malware.

File sharing software has been known for a while now to tag each music file you download with an adware. Adware may not be a virus but when your computer gets clustered with many of these, they would tax your computer resources so much so that they can slow down significantly. Spyware, on the other hand stealthily wire your private details such as where you surf and other information such as personal details from password saving software on your computer to people who can be up to no good.

As if these are not enough, when you download music online through these free services, your computer can suffer attacks from viruses. While efforts have been made to make the file sharing cum downloading software safer to use, you are still in a vulnerable position since the viruses do get stronger as well. It can be better to turn to other legitimate and safe sources for music.

This piece of advice is for all regular music junkies who pop by P2P sites every now and then. The very bare minimum you need to do is to ensure that your antivirus software and anti-adware and anti-spyware are all top notch stuff and constantly updated against the newest threats. But that said, your computer can never be 100% safe since the environment you are downloading in is unsecured in the first place.

You need to guard yourself against another potential threat when downloading music online for free – pornography. The music file you have downloaded could actually lead you to pornographic site. If you have kids or teens at home, this is something you do not want them to be exposed to when they get free music using P2P sites.

In any case, it pays to be careful what you install on your computer. Therefore, do not readily accept every file sharing software from the P2P sites. Do a check at least or surf around for other safe options to download music online.

You can actually overcome the above problems when you use paid membership services. Discover through my music blog which are the most popular services that allow you to download music online safely and access to their entire databases of millions of songs and music videos for less than $49.99.

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Husband booked for forced marriage [Jaipur]

JAIPUR: A 23-year-old girl has lodged an FIR with Bani Park police station against her husband claiming that the latter forced her to marry him on the basis of some porn photographs and then posted them on the social networking website Facebook. Investigations are on.

According to police, the girl, a resident of Bani Park area alleged that one Punit Kasnwal and his family members asked her to come to their house and drugged her. “She says that she was drugged and then they clicked her nude photographs. On the basis of this, they forced her to marry Punit in an Arya Samaj temple,” said Kishan Lal, investigating officer.

The girl alleged that Punit and his family members threatened her not to approach police. “They threatened her that they would make the photographs public,” said the officer.

The girl alleged that when her father went to Punits parents asking to return the photos, the latter refused and demanded Rs 25 lakh in return. “When the girls father expressed his inability to give that much of amount, the girl says her in-laws posted some photographs of her marriage on the Facebook,” said the officer.

He added that a case has been registered under various Sections. “We are trying to verify if the girls claims are true. Further investigation is going on,” said the officer.

For Reprint Rights: timescontent.com



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City Council tables decision on downtown porn prohibition

Staff Writer

WATERVILLE — City councilors on Tuesday decided to table voting on whether to prohibit pornography, massage parlors and other adult entertainment downtown.

The council agreed that the language proposing changes to the zoning ordinance that would prohibit adult entertainment downtown needs to be honed and made more specific before they vote.

City Solicitor William Lee cautioned councilors to make sure the language carefully spells out exactly what businesses would be prohibited, how the city defines those businesses and where they would or would not be allowed.

“The closer you get to the First Amendment, the broader the use has to be,” Lee said.

Councilors took a first vote Dec. 21 to change the ordinance to prohibit adult entertainment downtown. They must take two more votes to make the decision final.

The Planning Board voted several weeks ago to recommend the council prohibit adult entertainment downtown. The lone dissenter in that vote, Planning Board Chairman David Geller, said he did not think the city should legislate morality and that the market should be allowed to decide where such businesses are located.

Gov.-elect Paul LePage — who resigned as mayor Tuesday night before assuming the governorship in todays inauguration — agreed with Geller at the time, but did not comment on the issue Tuesday night.

Meanwhile, at Lees suggestion, two councilors were named to a committee to meet with the city administration about the adult entertainment issue and report back to the council.

“Id be happy. In fact, I would ask that I be nominated on that committee,” Councilor John ODonnell, D-Ward 5, said. ODonnell is a lawyer.

Councilor Karen Rancourt-Thomas, D-Ward 7, also asked to be named to the committee and was accepted.

In other matters Tuesday night, Council Chairman Dana Sennett, D-Ward 4, was re-elected chairman. Sennett abstained from voting on that item.

After LePages resignation, Sennett assumes some of his mayoral duties, including presiding over council meetings, until a mayoral election is held. Sennett, however, will not have the power of veto, which the mayor has.

City Clerk Arlene Strahan declared a vacancy in the Ward 6 council seat, which was vacated Dec. 22 by Thomas R.W. Longstaff, who in November was elected to the Maine House of Representatives.

Two people have submitted letters of interest in the position, according to Strahan: Nat Shed and Eliza Mathias. Mathias is a member of the citys Planning Board.

The council asked that letters of interest be submitted to the city clerks office by 5 p.m. Jan. 13.

Amy Calder — 861-9247

acalder@centralmaine.com



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Porn racket busted in Amravati, two youths arrested

Sensation has gripped the city of Amravati, 150 km from here, with the police busting a porn video racket, in which two youths filmed at least 10 girls, mostly students from well-to-do middle-class families from various places in Vidarbha, and sold the video-clips to people for Rs150 apiece.

The police have arrested the two youths, but they said that no girl is coming forward to register any complaint.

“The two accused – Ankit Gupta, a cellphone shop owner and Lokesh Rathod, a student – allegedly filmed the girls after befriending them over a period of time and sold their clips,” commissioner of police (Amravati), Amitesh Kumar said.

The police are yet to ascertain the age group of the girls, but they said that after watching the clips it seems as if the girls were aware that they were being filmed but did not know that the clips were circulated. The girls faces could be clearly seen in most clips.

The police have managed to track one of the girls but found that her parents had sent her out of town. Kumar said the girl is shattered and suffering from tremendous mental stress.

Though they spoke to the police and shared information, the girls parents havent registered any complaint.

The police have not been able to trace any other girl so far. Theres enough evidence against the two accused, they said.

Credit:Jaideep Hardikar



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Ex-cop's Porn Trial Continued

HARRISBURG – The trial for a retired Mount Carmel policeman indicted in September on federal child pornography charges has been continued until April.

Jury selection and the trial for a case involving Blaine Handerhan, 55, of Jonestown, Lebanon County, which was scheduled to begin Monday before Judge William W. Caldwell in U.S. District Court in Harrisburg, has been continued at the request of Handerhans attorney, Matthew R. Gover, until 9:15 a.m. April 18.

Handerhan pleaded not guilty to the offenses on Nov. 2 before Magistrate Judge J. Andrew Smyser, who released the defendant but with restrictions.

Handerhan was charged with possession of child pornography and distributing child pornography over the Internet by the U.S. Attorneys Office after a grand jury indicted him Oct. 13.

The two-page indictment alleges that on or about Oct. 19, 2005, in Lebanon County, Handerhan knowingly distributed and attempted to distribute child pornography, and that he knowingly possessed material containing images of child pornography.

The child pornography charges against Handerhan stem from an investigation by the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force, Pennsylvania State Police and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The case developed as part of Project Safe Childhood, a nationwide initiative to combat the growing epidemic of child sexual exploitation and abuse launched in May 2006 by the U.S. Department of Justice.

Led by the U.S. Attorneys Offices and the Criminal Divisions Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, Project Safe Childhood combines federal, state and local resources to better locate, apprehend and prosecute individuals who exploit children via the Internet, as well as to identify and rescue victims.

Each charge carries a maximum fine of $250,000. The possession charge involves a maximum jail sentence of 10 years, while the distribution charge can result in a prison term of five to 20 years.

About 20 years ago, Handerhan was charged but later acquitted of the sexual assault of a teen-age girl.

Handerhan, who has been free since the charges were filed, was ordered by Smyser to continue to undergo psychiatric counseling and placed under supervision by the pre-trial service agency of the court.

The judge ordered Handerhan to be confined to his home under an electronic monitoring system, with a few exceptions, including medical appointments and religious services. Smyser established a 10 p.m. curfew for the former officer.

Handerhan, who served as a Mount Carmel policeman for 30 years before retiring on Oct. 30, 2005, at the rank of lieutenant, was ordered to avoid all contact with victims or witnesses in the case and any child under the age of 18, except his own children. He was restricted to travel only in counties in the Middle District Court of Pennsylvania and ordered to surrender any passport, which Handerhan told the judge he did not possess.

Handerhan also must surrender any firearms or other dangerous weapons.

The defendant must pay all costs associated with the electronic monitoring system and cannot possess a computer or have any access to the Internet. He also will have his cell phone monitored under the restrictions set by the judge.

Pension reinstated

In late October, Handerhan was in Northumberland County Court seeking to have his former employer restore his original pension benefits for the past three years.

Handerhan sued Mount Carmel Borough after his pension benefits were reduced for the past three years, but the borough contended Handerhan was overpaid approximately $8,600 in pension benefits from November 2005 to April 2008, which he was ordered to pay back, but never did.

On Dec. 3, Northumberland County Judge Charles Saylor issued a ruling in the pension benefits case favoring Handerhan. The judge ordered the borough to immediately reinstate $3,339.54 in benefits to Handerhan and reimburse him $4,889.63 for monies owed to him from May 1, 2010, until Dec. 1, 2010.

In his ruling, Saylor noted no evidence was presented by the borough at Octobers non-jury trial to support the assertion that the compensatory time included in Handerhans pension calculation was accrued outside of the 36-months prior to his retirement. The judge also ruled that a borough policy adopted on July 15, 2004, not to provide overtime monetary compensation on compensatory time to salaried exempt employees was in place prior to Handerhans retirement and apparently ignored in the calculation of Handerhans benefits.

Saylor said Handerhan was not responsible for the calculation of his pension benefits and any miscalculation was only on the part of the borough.

The judge said the boroughs attempt to unilaterally decrease the amount of Handerhans pension is in violation of state law.

Members of the Mount Carmel borough council chose not to comment during a special meeting Thursday night.

With the case potentially still pending, I dont think its appropriate for the board to make any comments,” said Mount Carmel Borough Solicitor William Cole.



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Man, 29, guilty of porn, child exploitation

A Boynton Beach man who engaged in an online relationship with a person he thought was a 13-year-old girl from Jacksonville — but ended up being an investigator — was found guilty of computer pornography and child exploitation charges Wednesday.

Daniel Bryan Penn, 29, will be sentenced Jan. 28, the Palm Beach County State Attorneys Office said. Penn first contacted the investigator assigned to the Florida Attorney Generals Cybercrime Unit on Jan. 29, 2007. For the next five months, Penn made plans to meet who he thought was a teenage girl, an affidavit said.

A few times during their conversations, Penn acknowledged that having sexual intercourse with the youngster might not be the best plan for him. In May 2007, he was sentenced to two years in prison for sending harmful material to minors via the Internet. After his release, Penn moved to Indiana, where he was arrested for his online conversations.

~ alexandra_seltzer@pbpost.com



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Feds: Former Marine faces child porn charges

A former Marine corporal now working as a civilian clerk at the U.S. Marine Corps Headquarters in Arlington is facing child pornography charges after the pornography files were flagged on the services network.

A criminal complaint was filed against Kaleb C. Masters in federal court in Alexandria this week, accusing him of downloading hundreds of images of child pornography.

Masters was on active duty for four years, then served in the reserves for one year, ending in February 2006.

He has worked at headquarters as a civilian since then.

Masters first came to the attention of authorities when a Marine Corps network operations sensor flagged suspicious files on his computer in July 2007, according to court documents.

A forensic analysis of his workstation uncovered Internet history files from various pornography Web sites and nearly 250 pages of searches, largely for terms such as Underage Porn, a court affidavit says.

In May 2009, Masters provided investigators with two other computers, which he admitted contained images of child pornography, according to the affidavit.

Court records say Masters has admitted to viewing child pornography at work and at his Alexandria apartment. He told authorities that he had looked up child pornography at work, but stopped before his computer was seized in 2007, though he continued to do so at home.

Forensic analyses of Masters computers conducted over the past three years yielded 111 images of child porn on his work hard drive and about 200 images on his personal computers, court records say.

Masters was arrested Tuesday and released Thursday on the conditions that he not have contact with minors, not leave the Washington area without permission, and notify current and future employers about the charges, among other requirements.

A phone number for Masters could not be located Thursday. Court documents show he indicated he would retain an attorney, but no lawyer for him was listed for him in online court records.

According to Marine Corps officials, Masters works as an administrative clerk in the Navy Annex.

He was a trumpet player in the Marine Corps band while on active duty from June 2000 to June 2004. He was stationed in California and Virginia during that time.

He also served in the reserves from February 2005 to February 2006 and worked as an administrative clerk.

ebabay@washingtonexaminer.com



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The true test of love; Is she a shoe addict? Will he wash up? The questions all couples should ask

Byline: David Wilkes

THEY are questions that might not immediately seem fitting for a romantic night out.

But dating couples should ask each other if they have any secret addictions – such as buying handbags or watching porn – if they want their relationship to survive, according to a leading law firm.

And those hoping for long-term harmony should establish early on who would do the housework in the marital home.

The thorny topic of whether a prospective partner still holds a candle for any old flames also needs to be addressed.

These dispassionate lines of inquiry appear in a test, which lists the essential questions every couple should ask before they decide to wed or live together. Other areas they advise discussing include how much money each partner has, how intrusive their in-laws might be, how many children they want and whether they favour state or private education.

Couples were yesterday urged to try the compatibility quiz before setting up home together as separate research indicated that January is Irelands busiest month for divorces.

Ruth Bross, partner at law firm Bross Bennett, which devised the test, said: No employer would offer someone a job without considering their suitability for that position and neither should a couple embark on a lifelong commitment without doing their research.

Successful relationships are built on honesty and deceit on any scale is a betrayal of that basic principle. There is little point in building a future with someone if they are not prepared to be truthful.

The quiz also includes questions about whether your career paths are compatible.

One celebrity couple who might have benefited from such a discussion are Kate Winslet and Sam Mendes, who split last year after a seven-year marriage. He reportedly felt crushed by her success.

Or perhaps Cheryl and Ashley Cole should have talked more about her family.

He is said to have blamed her for killing their marriage by inviting her mother to live with them. Then again, perhaps she should have asked him if he liked sending sex texts to other women…

Searches for divorce lawyers peak in January because many couples decide a new year means a fresh start in all areas of their life, according to website unbiased.co.uk.

The site found an almost 10 per cent increase on December in those going online to find details of legal advisors specialising in break ups.

reporter@dailymail.ie

HOW WELL DO YOU KNOW YOUR OTHER HALF?

FINANCIAL: Do you know each others assets? How do you view sharing them? Do you have the same attitude to saving?

FAMILY TIES: What relationship do you have with extended family? Are they local? Over-involved?

CHILDREN: Do you want them? How many? Should they be taught in a gaelscoil?

RELIGION: Do you both agree that your children will be brought up to be religious?

LEISURE: Do you like the same things? Is your idea of a dream holiday lying on a beach and your partners rock climbing?

LIFESTYLE: Do you have secret addictions e.g. handbags, shoes, chocolate, football, porn?

WORK: Are your career paths compatible? Will you want to give up work when you have children?

HONESTY: Are there any old flames for whom you still hold a candle?

ROLES: Will you live along traditional lines – woman as homemaker and man as bread-winner?



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Pottsville Man Headed To Trial On Child Porn Charges

A 52-year-old Pottsville man arrested by state police on pornography charges waived his right to a preliminary hearing Friday before Magisterial District Judge James K. Reiley, Pottsville.

Leroy Bruce Bone Sr., 211 Peacock St., was arrested by state police Cpl. Paul M. Smith of the Reading station and charged with 40 counts of sexual abuse of children-possession of child pornography, a third-degree felony offense.

Smith said that, during an investigation Sept. 8, 2010, Bones computer contained 20 image and 20 movie files of child pornography.

By waiving his right to a hearing, Bone will have to answer to all charges against him in Schuylkill County Court. Bone was returned to Schuylkill County Prison, where he is being held on $50,000 straight cash bail since his arrest last month.

Smith, assigned to the Computer Crime Task Force, charged Bone stemming from incidents that allegedly occurred in 2010.

Smith said on May 27, 2010, Cpl. Jon Nelson was conducting computer searches to locate people offering to share child pornography images or movie files when he found a person sharing such files using LimeWire software.

A search of the American Registry of Internet Numbers determined the IP address being used was assigned to Comcast Cable subscriber William Yeager, 211 Peacock St., Pottsville.

A search warrant was obtained for the home and executed on Sept. 8, 2010, and a desktop computer was seized from a bedroom, Smith said.

During the search, it was learned that Bone lived in the home and occupied a third-floor bedroom where eight paperback books dealing with sexual topics were found. Smith said that troopers also found in the bedroom a handwritten story describing sexual encounters involving an adult male and children.

Bone admitted owning the books and writing the story and also said he used the desktop computer and an attached web camera, Smith said.

The trooper alleged that Bone said he knew LimeWire was on his computer system and indicated he had seen file names indicative of child pornography.

Smith said he conducted an examination of the computer and found 40 files of child pornography.

In addition, Smith said examination of a 2 minute, 51 second video file showed Bone standing in the bedroom where the computer was located and performing a sexual act. That file, Smith said, was dated 7:45 a.m. Aug. 2, 2010.

Smith said the date and time associated with the file can be linked to dates and times related to child pornography files on the computer, including evidence that the files were viewed and played.



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