Facebook's privacy war not over

Even though simpler “simpler” privacy settings have been announced, Facebook’s privacy disaster is not over quite yet. CEO Mark Zuckerberg wrote in a piece this week, "If people share more, the world will become more open and connected. And a world that's more open and connected is a better world." This, however, contradicts the want of some users to stay private. Also, Facebook has an indirect push towards public sharing, as it changed all your settings to default where it shared more. It was much easier to agree to these settings than to redirect yourself to another page and change it all one by one. Facebook argues that the point of the site is to find new friends or friends of friends. Twitter, a public media, has been a great help to the recovery of some disasters, and it is clear that Facebook may be going for the same effect, but Facebook is a private media, not public. This “public by default” model has benefits to Facebook as a business as you'll spend more time browsing Facebook and you'll comment more and get more out of Facebook. It is only a matter of time until Facebook’s privacy war begins again.

It seems as if Facebook has schemed and talked its way out of another debate on its privacy settings. I have a Facebook account myself, and I believe that the more privacy there is to be provided, the better it will be for the clients. It makes more sense to provide the most privacy or even decent privacy as a default, and then give the consumers an option to change it by themselves. It is not fair that Facebook should take advantage of its clients to profit. Facebook needs to stop thinking it is a public media like Twitter and create a new model that will benefit the business as well as the clients.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/social.media/05/27/facebook.privacy.war.cashmore/index.html

Child Pornography Social Networking Site Found and Shut Down

Authorities have closed down a social networking site where members shared their images of child pornography, and talked about their sexual interests in children. They had a password that protected non-members from seeing the information. The investigation has been ongoing since 2008, and 50 people have been arrested and 35 convicted. At one point, the site had a thousand active members. Most of the people were charged for advertising and distributing child pornography. This all began with 26 people charged in the Southern District of Indiana and then 500 more people throughout the world. This investigation led to charges of sexual abuse as well as there had been several posts where they talked about sexual abuse and posted images of it. Delwyn Savigar of the United Kingdom, the lead administrator of the site, was one of them. He was found to have been linked to unsolved cases of sexual abuse and had been charged for 14 years in prison for three cases of sexual abuse.

The fact that this site had over 1000 members disgusts me. To take advantage of kids who have no way to defend themselves and having sexual interest in them is neither normal nor acceptable. This is different from same sex marriage as these people are taking inappropriate interest over youth. These people need to all be caught and arrested because this isn’t fair to the kids who were abused and taken advantage of, their parents, and the rest of the world that gets disgusted by these people’s behavior. These people deserve death sentences, not just 14 years in jail. What is worse is that this social networking site had been going on for a while and could not be found so easily. What is the point of the Internet if it cannot help the police find criminals that are working on the web? Shouldn’t sites all be indexed to help find them and their members when an investigation like this happens? I believe people should find a plan to be able to do a better, quicker job when a case like this opens again.


http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/27/feds-shut-child-porn-social-networking-site/

Late Pregnancy becomes more Possible

Recently, actress Kelly Preston announced that she was pregnant at the age of 47. This surprised many and made people wonder how good modern medicine is. However, she is considered a baby compared to people who have become pregnant in their fifties. "Most women can get pregnant with donor eggs," said Kreiner, the medical director of East Coast Fertility. The only reason that wouldn’t be possible would be when you have problems with your uterus. Preston also has used donor eggs. It is actually rare to naturally become pregnant after 45. Kort says he has about a 70 percent success rate when women in their mid- to late 40’s use donor eggs. But it costs $20,000 to $30,000 per attempt to get pregnant with donor eggs. There are also consequences to late pregnancy. Although it is deemed quite safe, parents may be too old. Some parents will be in their seventies when their kids graduate high school.

This is good news that people now have the opportunity to choose whether or not they will have a child in their late forties. It is helpful for couples that have been struggling to decide whether or not they will have a child and changed their mind in their forties. Not everyone will be fond of this, but it will give people a chance to have a child, which might have not been possible yet because of a late marriage. People will argue that having children at the age of 47 will be too late and not good for the kids, but this decision was probably thought out for a while and the couple obviously has a good plan. I think that this is one of the good things that are happening with the improving technology of our time.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/05/27/late.pregnancy.risks/index.html

Case on missing child reopened

In 1979, six-year-old Etan Patz disappeared while walking to his school bus. Lisa R. Cohen, author of "After Etan: The Missing Child Case That Held America Captive", said, “And his mother could see the bus stop at the end of the street and she saw parents there, waiting with kids for the bus, and so she let him go.” He was never seen again. Jose Antonio Ramos, a convicted child molester, was identified as a suspect but never charged. He even admitted at first that the child he took that morning was most likely Etan, but later denied that he even made the statement. Etan’s face was even on the back of a milk carton.
31 years after this unsolved case, it is being reopened. Stan Patz, Etan’s father, said, “Maybe we’ll finally get our day court” when he heard. Erin Duggan said, “It's a case that the district attorney has been aware of since before running for office last year. Last summer he said he would take a fresh look at the case if he became district attorney. Tuesday he confirmed that the case had been reopened.” This case had made a large difference to people’s lives, and needs to have some questions answered now.

It seems as if this case had been abandoned with no questions answered, perhaps due to a lack of proof. I am sure that 31 years later, the technology has improved to find more evidence. However, hasn’t it been too long? Won’t the case be forgotten and will it not be hard to find any evidence now? It seems as if it is too late to try to recover this case. I feel for Etan’s family as losing your 6 year old child would hurt you and make you suffer from guilt and anger. I hope that they will win this case and find the real criminal who would be evil enough to take a helpless six year old. However, I just wish that this had been done perhaps twenty years ago, when the hopes of finding this criminal and perhaps the child is a bit larger. Now, thirty years later, the chances are much slimmer.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/26/new.york.1979.missing.child/index.html

There's nothing like a handwritten letter

Even in this age, when everything is done through electronics, many find there is nothing quite like a handwritten letter. Although typing an email is quick and easy to send, which is exactly why people feel that handwritten letters are so much more special. There has been a drop of 10 billion letters in the past 20 years, and the Post Office plans to stop the Saturday morning delivery next year. Samantha Nelson, who has a boyfriend in South Korea, finds that Skype, Facebook, Twitter, Gmail are far worse than her boyfriend's monthly letters. Other couples feel this way as well. One man who received a letter from former president Ronald Reagan said "E-mail can never replace the excitement and thrill of receiving and opening a personal letter from the White House." Erika Garces, 30, tears up when she sees the only letter that her father sent to her when she was 15. "It makes me feel so important," she said.

This is great that some people are still writing hand written letters to others. I only do it in special occasions, and I find that they give the receiver a lot more emotion and gratitude than simple emails. Handwritten letters show that the person took the time and effort in writing it out rather than pushing a few keyboards. I believe that this global interest in better technology has made us forget about old rituals like sending handwritten letters to each other. I think that this activity will make us think more about what we are saying and it is a good practice. It will also give us a break from computers.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/27/letters.irpt/index.html

Apple's Business Practices Questioned

http://www.cnn.com/2010/TECH/biztech/05/27/cnet.itunes.apple/index.html

Will iPad create a new market?

http://www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/05/27/apple.ipad.international/index.html

"I'm paid $150k to do nothing"

http://www.cnn.com/2010/POLITICS/05/26/atf.whistleblowers/index.html

How important is your name?

Experts say that names are becoming more diverse. Names also influence your grades, job, and etcetera. Two men whose life changed due to their names were Wes Moore and Wes Moore. One Wes Moore was on his local newspaper for having good academic achievements, and the other was on the same newspaper for a jewelry store robbery where one police officer and one father of five were killed. When the first Moore saw that the second shared his name, he befriended him. The first went on to work in the White House and the other went on to get a life sentence. But the two remained in contact. Also, a study showed that a person with a “black sounding” name is 50% less likely to get a call back from a job interview than a person with a “white sounding name”. That is the effect of a name. Names are also getting more diverse as parents are thinking over what to name their child longer. "They want their child to have something neat or inspiring," Michael Campbell, owner of Behindthename.com, said. The number of baby girls who have the most popular name is half of 1960. Some unique names are Neveah, heaven spelled backwards, or Memphis.

Anyone can be named anything, so I don't believe your name makes any difference in your life. Even if there were stories of how a name changed a life, there is no proof that another name wouldn't have done the same effect. I believe that it is not important what you are named, but rather I think a person can change his own destiny. Wes Moore’s name didn’t get him out of jail, and the same name got a person into the White House. There is obviously no effect of names on people. Being named a popular name, or being named a unique name is not important. What is more significant is what you make of that name in your life. It is interesting to see that people want their children to stick out more. However, a name will not be more important than the other aspects of you. If a nation like the U.S. is still discriminating due just to the sound of the person’s name, I think there is a long way to go for racism to be gone.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/LIVING/05/26/naming.names.importance/index.html

Prime time TV Show has character with autism

In a TV show named "Parenthood" of NBC, the son of main characters Adam and Kristina Braverman, has been diagnosed with an autism spectrum disorder (Asperger's syndrome). This is not a usual case, as directors avoid such a sensitive topic. The last prime-time character who had Asperger's was Jerry Espenson on ABC's "Boston Legal." That character ended the show two years ago. "Grey's Anatomy" had a short-term character who was on for three episodes. People who have been affected by the disorder has given it good reviews, one saying, "Overall I think it's been really true to the behavior our Aspie kids display -- which is often confused for being naughty or a lack of discipline. Thanks for doing your homework NBC!" Executive Producer Jason Katims says it didn't clearly seem such a good idea in the beginning. He is personally affected by it as his son has the disorder as well. The show works with experts to make it as real as possible. Some people are not satisfied, however, as the show may not have gone deeply enough into the effects of an autism diagnosis to the family.

It is great that this TV show is accurately representing autism through one of the children. It will do great for awareness for autism as well as making people realize what they were mistaken about autistic kids. It is good that television is creating an awareness for this disorder. I was only worried that they would not be accurate and it might just make the viewers have misconceptions of the disorder, but I am glad that they have been clearly appropriate with how people behave around the child or how the child behaves. I think if they continue to be careful in being realistic and truthful about autism, the idea will be a success in creating awareness as well as for the show as well.
http://www.cnn.com/2010/SHOWBIZ/TV/05/26/autism.in.prime.time/index.html

Paid-for Online newspapers the future?

The Times and Sunday Times newspapers have decided to start charging users for the online service. Some predict that this move will change the course of online newspapers forever.
News International owns these two newspapers. It stated that an online subscription will cost $1.43 per day, or $2.87 per week. Right now, there is a free trial period and the "paywall" will begin in June. Murdoch, chairman and CEO of News Corp. (News International's parent company) said the free access model was not working. "We are now in the midst of an epochal debate over the value of content and it is clear to many newspapers that the current model is malfunctioning," he said. Some people are wondering whether people will pay this price when there is so much other news available.

I believe that it is actually useless to start charging users online unless the business is sure that everyone will fall in with this idea. If there are many other newspapers that are free, there is no reason to stay with these companies. Unless there is a regulation or contract that forces all businesses to charge for the online services, it is a very risky move to try to start charging people for something that they are used to getting for free. Although the point of this is to make more profit, it might actually make them lose.

www.cnn.com/2010/BUSINESS/05/26/britain.times.online.paywall/index.html

North Korea threatens to use military action

North Korea has accused South Korea of trespassing their waters on Tuesday. (Yonhap News agency) They have now threatened to go back into military action.
A South Korean report has said the the North fired a torpedo at a navy ship, which killed 46 sailors. South Korean President Lee Myung-bak said that they will stop trade with the North, close their waters to the North's ships, and have an agressive military attitude towards the North. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton urged the North to tell what they know of their "act of agression" and said the U.S. supports South Korea's defence immensely. She said that North Korea should stop its "belligerence and threatening behavior." President Obama directed military commanders to work with South Korea now.

As a South Korean, I know my opinion may be very biased, but I feel that through the course of history in the conflicts between the North and the South, the South has not been very agressive
towards the North before the North's behaviour has been wrong. I think that in this case the North Koreans should admit what happened with the Korean ship and avoid a larger conflict. It seems as if the U.S. is ready to fight with the North and that is good in the case of an attack, but it would be best if there is no attack in the first place. That would not be good for the people of Korea, as well as the U.S. It is relieving that the U.S. fully supports its ally South Korea.

http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/05/25/north.korea.threats/index.html?iref=allsearch

Cop-watchers look for racial profiling

In Phoenix, Arizona, Margarito Blanco and Andrew Sanchez are watching the police

http://www.cnn.com/2010/CRIME/05/11/phoenix.copwatch.arpaio/index.html?iref=allsearch

The Fate of a 12 year old Murderer

13 year old Demarco Harris was sentenced guilty to have murdered Trisha Babcock. However, he did it when he was 12, which means that he was a child when he committed the murder. However, he was sentenced as a 13 year old, who is an adult. It has not been decided yet whether he should be sentenced as an adult or a child. He could be sentenced as a juvenile, an adult, or a combination of the two. Currently Harris is in a juvenile detention center and will be sentenced on June 1st. Steve Babcock, Trisha Babcock's father, feels that Harris deserves to stay in jail for the rest of his life because he "knew what he was doing".

Harris does deserve a lifetime in sentence. However, even though he did know what he was doing, as a child he also should get some counseling and a second chance as it is a horrible thing for a 13 year old to have to live the rest of his life in prison. His parents also must get some of the responsibility as this sort of action almost always comes from the environment that the child lives in.

http://ac360.blogs.cnn.com/2010/05/06/fate-of-12-year-old-killer/