If rain drops were kisses, I could send you showers.If hugs were seas, I send you oceans.
And if love was a person, I send you me!!
-Ally Gwerty-
Happy Valentines Day
Feb 19, 2012
WELCOME
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Ragbag Headliners
Gun-scanning Cameras Could Hit Streets Soon
The NYPD is stepping up their war against illegal guns, with a new tool that could detect weapons on someone as they walk down the street.
But is it violating your right to privacy?
Police, along with the U.S. Department of Defense, are researching new technology in a scanner placed on police vehicles that can detect concealed weapons.
“You could use it at a specific event. You could use it at a shooting-prone location,” NYPD Commissioner Ray Kelly told CBS 2′s Hazel Sanchez on Tuesday.
It’s called Terahertz Imaging Detection. It measures the energy radiating from a body up to 16 feet away, and can detect anything blocking it, like a gun.
The proposal returns us to the old “liberty versus safety” argument (for which ol’ Ben Franklin said those who would give up liberty for safety deserve neither), and has ignited an “uproar on both sides of the privacy issue.”
“I think it’s good. People will be safer and it will be a safer environment,” Jessica Ramos said.
“If it’s going to make us safer as citizens I’m okay with that,” said Lori Sampson of Lake Ronkonkoma.
“I think it’s all about invading people’s lives more and more and more,” Antonio Gabriel said.
“It’s definitely a privacy issue, but it’s for our safety. So it’s just one of those things, a double-edged sword,” added Clarence Moore of Union, N.J.
Police Commissioner Kelly said the scanner would only be used in reasonably suspicious circumstances and could cut down on the number of stop-and-frisks on the street.
“Trust us, we’ll never abuse our power.” When are we going to pass a law against public officials using that line?
But the New York Civil Liberties Union is raising a red flag.
“It’s worrisome. It implicates privacy, the right to walk down the street without being subjected to a virtual pat-down by the Police Department when you’re doing nothing wrong,” the NYCLU’s Donna Lieberman said.
“We have involved our attorneys as we go forward with this issue. We think it’s a very positive development,” Kelly said. –American Vision News
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PTC: More Skin Likely ... Unless
A conservative advocacy group is growing more concerned over the amount of skin shown during network prime-time television.
The Parents Television Council is worried about the troubling trend it has been documenting even before releasing its report "The Alarming Family Hour" more than four years ago. Melissa Henson is director of communications and public education for PTC.
"What we have seen so far this season is a fairly noticeable increase in the frequency of depictions of nudity on prime-time broadcast television -- and that's something that used to be unheard of not that long ago," she tells OneNewsNow. "And even though it started creeping into 10:00 p.m. shows, you never would have seen that sort of content, certainly during the family hour. But now you are."
Henson says this could just be the beginning, depending on how the Supreme Court rules on a couple of cases regarding indecency -- a battle that has gone on for decades between the networks and decency advocates.
"The concern, of course, is that if the Supreme Court sides with the networks in these cases, I think we can all expect to see even more of this sort of content in the future," laments the PTC spokeswoman. "And it's going to be increasingly difficult for parents to avoid it when they're watching TV with their kids."
She says it is very telling that more and more TV contracts for actors include nudity clauses. And as PTC points out, the broadcast networks would not be waging the legal battle currently before the Supreme Court for something they do not intend to do.
In a statement earlier this month, PTC president Tim Winter warned that if the high court rules in favor of the networks, "the American people are going to get a rude awakening when broadcast TV become indistinguishable from Cinemax, HBO, or something even more explicit."
PTC maintains a weekly, online "family guide" to prime-time network television indicating which shows may include indecent content unsuitable for children, which shows contain adult-oriented themes/dialogue that may be inappropriate for youngsters, and which shows are family-friendly and promote responsible themes and traditional values. –One News Now
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HPV Study Finds 7% of U.S. Teens, Adults Carry Virus In Mouths
Infection with human papillomavirus heightens the risk of developing cancer of the mouth and throat. The findings indicate that most cases of oral HPV can be traced to oral sex, rather than to kissing or casual contact.
A new study showing an estimated 7% of American teens and adults carry the human papillomavirus in their mouths may help health experts finally understand why rates of mouth and throat cancer have been climbing for nearly 25 years. The evidence makes it clear that oral sex practices play a key role in transmission.
The new data, published online Thursday by the Journal of the American Medical Assn., are the first to assess the prevalence of oral HPV infection in the U.S. population. The findings indicate that the virus is not likely to spread through kissing or casual contact and that most cases of oral HPV can be traced to oral sex, which many Americans mistakenly view as a safe practice.
"There is a strong association for sexual behavior, and that has important implications for public health officials who teach sexual education," said Dr. Maura L. Gillison of the Ohio State University Comprehensive Cancer Center, who led the study and presented the findings Thursday at a meeting of head and neck cancer researchers and doctors in Phoenix.
Though herpes, HIV and other diseases can be transmitted via oral sex, the practice is often considered a safer alternative to sexual intercourse. A survey released last year by theU.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found that about 90% of adults have had oral sex, along with 27% of 15-year-old boys and 23% of 15-year-old girls.
"I don't think people think of oral sex in the same way they do with traditional intercourse," said Fred Wyand, director of the HPV Resource Center at the American Social Health Assn. in Research Triangle Park, N.C. "Sometimes younger people engage in oral sex so they don't have to worry about pregnancy. They may not even make the link between oral sex and STDs."
Suspicion among researchers that the behavior could cause oral cancers by transmitting HPV to the mouth has been mounting over the last decade. Initial studies found that patients with oral cancer were far more likely than healthy controls to have engaged in oral sex. And a 2007 study in the New England Journal of Medicine found that the more oral sex partners a person has had, the greater their risk of developing throat cancer.
Most oral HPV infections are harmless, and oral cancers are still relatively uncommon. But given the new information, doctors should encourage their patients to use protection during oral sex, Dr. Hans Schlecht, assistant professor of medicine at Drexel University College of Medicine in Philadelphia, wrote in an editorial accompanying the study.
"It's something people are not comfortable talking about, but it is protective," he said in an interview. "If you are going to be intimate with someone, there are some adult conversations you need to have."
HPV is best known as the cause of cervical cancer, which kills 4,220 women in the U.S. each year, according to the National Cancer Institute. The virus can also cause vulvar, anal, penile and various head and neck cancers. A study published in October in the Journal of Clinical Oncology traced more than 70% of new cases of oral cancers to HPV infection, putting it ahead of tobacco use as the leading cause of such cancers.
If present trends continue, HPV will cause more cases of oral cancers than cervical cancer by 2020, according to the October study.
HPV infection is common — an estimated 80% of Americans have contracted the virus, Gillison said. It usually produces no symptoms and is typically cleared from the body through natural processes.
But persistent infections can cause cancer. Vaccines are now available for children and young adults to prevent cervical and anal cancers caused by the most troublesome HPV strains.
To get a handle on HPV's role in oral cancers, Gillison and her colleagues analyzed data from 5,579 people ages 14 to 69 who participated in the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey in 2009 and 2010. The survey includes a detailed questionnaire and a physical examination, including the first large-scale use of a 30-second oral rinse from which researchers were able to extract cells to test for HPV infection. The test, which can detect the virus in the mouth as accurately as in the cervix, was 10 years in the making.
Gillison's team found that the overall prevalence of oral HPV was 6.9% — far less than the rate of genital HPV infection in reproductive-age women, which can be as high as 42% among women in their 20s.
The infection rate varied substantially among different groups. For instance, 10.1% of men in the study had oral HPV, compared with 3.6% of women. The reason for the difference is unknown but it could have to do with oral sex practices, Gillison said.
Among people who had more than 20 sexual partners, the prevalence of oral HPV was 20%. But the researchers found it in fewer than 1% of people who said they were virgins and in fewer than 4% of people who said they had never performed oral sex.
Researchers also noted age differences: Those in their early 60s had the highest prevalence at 11.4%. That's in marked contrast to cervical HPV infection, which is most common among women in their early 20s.
It's unclear why the prevalence of oral HPV peaks much later in life, Gillison said. One possibility is that the immune system weakens with age, making people more vulnerable to latent infections. Another theory is that study participants in their 60s grew up during an era of sexual permissiveness that preceded public health messages about safe sex.
"People who came of age during the sexual revolution may have had more sexual partners than other age groups, such as groups that came of age during the HIV epidemic," Gillison said.
The study also linked heavy smoking to oral infection. It's possible that smoking weakens the body's immune response, making it easier for an infection to persist.
The most common high-risk HPV strain, HPV-16, infected 1% of the participants. That strain raises the risk of oral cancer fiftyfold and accounts for most cases of squamous cell cancers of the mouth and pharynx. Squamous cell cancers, which arise in the mucous membranes that line the mouth and throat, are diagnosed in 2.6 per 100,000 people and are the most common type of oropharyngeal cancer.
Even with only 1% of people infected by HPV-16, that still translates to "hundreds of thousands of people" who will contract the virus and be unable to clear it, Schlecht said.
It's unclear whether the HPV vaccine will protect against oral cancers. That question that could take years to answer, experts said.
In the meantime, the new data should give parents more to think about as they consider whether to vaccinate their children — especially their sons, Gillison said. HPV vaccination is recommended for females ages 9 to 26 and males ages 9 to 21.
"Some parents may have felt that the risk of HPV infection wasn't relevant to them," she said. "But this study shows 1 in 10 boys has an infection that can lead to a cancer." -Los Angeles Times
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Expert: Newt Understands Islam 'Very Well'
A U.S.-born Israeli author and expert on the Middle East is praising presidential candidate Newt Gingrich for continuing to tell the truth about sharia law.
As previously reported on OneNewsNow, Gingrich recently took heat for saying that the Palestinians are "an invented people." Now, the Council on American-Islamic Relations is blasting the former House speaker for saying he would only hire Muslims to his administration if they renounced the use of Islamic sharia law as a tool for the U.S. government. CAIR is calling Gingrich "one of the nation's worst promoters of anti-Muslim bigotry."
But David Rubin, the former mayor of the Israeli city of Shiloh and author of The Islamic Tsunami: Israel and America in the Age of Obama, again thinks the presidential hopeful is right on.
"Sharia law is a threat to the United States of America and to Western civilization," he contends. "Sharia law says that women are allowed to be beaten by their husbands. It's also Islamic law that says that jihad holy war against all non-Muslims is a virtue and an obligation on every Muslim that needs to be adhered to. So, Newt Gingrich understands very well the Islamic civilization."
Rubin believes Gingrich has demonstrated boldness by speaking out about sharia, which by definition is intolerant and anti-American. –One News Now
20 Signs That Europe Is Plunging Into A Full-Blown Economic Depression
The frightening thing is that we are just at the beginning of the process for most European nations. If you want to see where nations such as Portugal, Italy and Spain are headed, just take a look at Greece. Greece has been going down this road for several years, and there is still no light at the end of the tunnel for them.
The tax increases and budget cuts that are being implemented right now in Europe will be felt for years to come. The tremendous economic prosperity that was fueled by unprecedented amounts of debt will now give way to tremendous economic suffering.
The following are 20 signs that Europe is plunging into a full-blown economic depression....
#1 The unemployment rate for those between the ages of 16 and 24 is 28 percent in Italy, 43 percent in Greece and 51 percent in Spain.
#2 Overall, the unemployment rate for those under the age of 25 in the EU is 22.7 percent.
#3 Citigroup is projecting that the economy of Portugal will shrink by 5.7 percent this year.
#4 The total of all forms of debt in Portugal (government, business and consumer) is equivalent to 360 percent of GDP.
#5 The Greek "recession" is now entering a fifth year.
#6 The Greek economy shrank by 6 percent during 2011.
#7 It is being projected that the Greek economy will shrink by another 5 percent during 2012.
#8 The overall unemployment rate in Greece is now 18.5 percent.
#9 In Greece, 20 percent of all retail stores have been permanently shut down.
#10 The number of suicides in Greece rose by 40 percent in just one recent 12 month time period.
#11 According to the IMF, the amount of debt accumulated by the Greek government is equal to approximately 160 percent of GDP.
#12 In total, there are now more than 5 million unemployed workers in Spain.
#13 Bad loans in Spain recently reached a 17-year high.
#14 The overall unemployment rate in Spain is now a whopping 22.8 percent.
#15 The number of property repossessions in Spain has risen by 32 percent over the past year.
#16 When the maturing debt that the Italian government must roll over in 2012 is added to their projected budget deficit, the total comes to approximately 23.1 percent of Italy's GDP.
#17 Manufacturing activity in the euro zone has fallen for five months in a row.
#18 The UK economy actually contracted during the 4th quarter of 2011.
#19 The German economy actually contracted during the 4th quarter of 2011.
#20 The Baltic Dry Index, often used as a gauge for the health of the world economy, has fallen a staggering 61 percent since October.
Economic gloom is slowly spreading throughout Europe like a dark cloud. Some of the strongest economies in Europe are only just starting to slow down. Others are already gripped by tremendous economic pain. Trends forecaster Gerald Celente recently explained to ABC Australia that much of the EU is already experiencing an economic depression.…
"If you live in Greece, you’re in a depression; if you live in Spain, you’re in a depression; if you live in Portugal or Ireland, you’re in a depression,” Celente said. “If you live in Lithuania, you’re running to the bank to get your money out of the bank as the bank runs go on. It’s a depression. Hungary, there’s a depression, and much of Eastern Europe, Romania, Bulgaria. And there are a lot of depressions going on [already]."
As things fall apart in Europe, the political wrangling is going to become even more intense.
For example, over the past few days a shocking new German proposal has come to light. Germany apparently would like Greece to give a "EU budget commissioner" the power to veto all Greek decisions on taxes and spending.
That would represent an unprecedented loss of sovereignty for Greece, and obviously Greek politicians are not excited about the idea at all.
In fact, Greek education minister Anna Diamantopoulou said that the proposal was "the product of a sick imagination".
But the sentiment in Germany is that since Greece must be bailed out by them, Greece should be willing to submit to some oversight for a certain amount of time.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out.
Meanwhile, the Greek people continue to become angrier. According to one recent poll, about 90 percent all of Greek citizens are unhappy with the interim government led by Prime Minister Lucas Papademos.
Things are also unraveling very quickly in Portugal. Now there is talk that private investors will be required to take a "haircut" on Portuguese debt as well.
The following is from a recent article in the Telegraph....
A report for the Kiel Institute for the World Economy said Portugal would have to run a primary budget surplus of over 11pc of GDP a year to prevent debt dynamics spiralling out of control, even in a benign scenario of 2pc annual growth.
"Portugal's debt is unsustainable. That is the only possible conclusion," said David Bencek, the co-author, warning that no country can achieve a primary budget surplus above 5pc for long.
"We won't know what the trigger will be but once there is a decision on Greece people are going to start looking closely and realise that Portugal is the same position as Greece was a year ago."
Sadly, that article is exactly right.
Portugal is marching down the exact same road that Greece went down.
The yield on 5 year Portuguese bonds is now up to an all-time record 19.8 percent.
A year ago, the yield on those bonds was only about 6 percent.
This is the same thing that happened to Greece.
A year ago, the yield on 5 year Greek bonds was about 12 percent.
Now the yield on those bonds is more than 50 percent.
The world is facing a debt crisis unlike anything ever seen before, and Europe is right at the center of it.
Right now, the major industrialized nations of the world are 55 trillion dollars in debt.
Everyone knew that at some point that debt bomb was going to explode.
So what is going to happen next?
Well, Europe appears to be heading for a full-blown economic depression.
Will the rest of the globe be able to escape a similar fate?
The American Dream
Black History Month: Waterways To Freedom And Other Events
How much do you know about Black History Month?
Do you know that this remembrance was founded as “Negro History Week” in 1926 by African-American historian, author and journalist Carter Godwin Woodson (b. 12/19/1875-d.4/3/1950) is known as the Father of Black History.
The son of James and Anna Eliza Riddle Woodson, who were slaves that found freedom, Carter became an activist that put him at the very core of a devoted group of black intellectual and activist.
At the age of 25 (1900), Woodson became principal of Douglass High School prior to working in the Philippines as a school supervisor. In 1908 he attended the University of Chicago, receiving his M.A. In 1912, Carter Godwin Woodson received his Ph.D. from Harvard University
Dr. Woodson founded “Negro History Week,” devoting his career to authoring books, journals, articles and publishing newspapers, in part, to insure that the role of the African-American was neither ignored nor misrepresented by scholars and people.
Dr. Woodson is not only the founder of what is now Black History Month, he is also one of the reasons we should take pause and consider the stories of some of this countries most remarkable citizens.
One historian walking in Dr. Woodson’s footpath is Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Ph.D., Associate professor of History, Norfolk State University.
In 2003, Dr. Newby-Alexander began work on Waterways to Freedom: The Underground Railway in Virginia. Part of that project included working with the City of Norfolk, Virginia to develop an interactive map that tells the story of the Underground Railway in Norfolk.
A conversation with Dr. Newby-Alexander was very enlightening as I learned:
> The State of Virginia had more Slaves than any other state.
> That while issues of property were “State” governed, the ownership of Slaves was Federally protected under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
> That William Still (b.1821) was one of Black History’s ameuteur historian recording the stories of escaped Slaves who came through the Philadelphia Underground Railroad, one such interview revealing that the escaping individual was his lost brother, left behind in bondage when his mother escaped.
“The story of the escaping Slave is interesting for many reasons, “ said Dr. Newby-Alexander from her Norfolk University office. “But at the heart of that story is a person willing to risk everything to run to freedom.”
Visit the Waterways to Freedom [below] and explore twelve areas of importance to the Underground Railroad.
An 1873 map reflects a very different Norfolk, Virginia than the one that is there today. Click on the twelve different points and learn about the men and women, and places that played an important part in the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves escaping from Norfolk left primarily by water,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “In a rural area contiguous with a border to a northern state, it would have been difficult to make the journey undetected."
“They escaped Norfolk by ship, usually paying a white captain for their escape.”
Many of those ships left out of Higgins Wharf (Clickable #1), located at the far end of Widewater Street, near New Castle Street. Click and learn that the wharf’s owner, John A. Higgins, was the former owner of Shadrick Minkins.
Mr. Minkins place in history is recorded as he was being hunted under the Slave Fugitive Act. Abolitionists helped him to evade trial in Boston, MA and escape to Canada.
Lewis Hayden (b.1811-d.1889) led the Vigilance Committee group that abetted Mr. Minkins escape.
Mr. Lewis was an ex-Slave that, once finding his freedom, became a representative from Boston to the State Legislature in 1873.
Mr. Minkins escaped from the ownership of John DeBree, a prosperous landowner and former navy man (see #4).
Visit the Wharf where in 1855, Captain Alfred Fountain sailed to Philadelphia with 21 fugitive Slaves. Just before leaving dock with fugitive brothers, Thomas and Frederick Nixon, owned by merchant B.T. Bockover, Norfolk Mayor William Lamb and a group of men boarded the ship to search for escaping Slaves.
The Captain most surely received payment for his services but, if caught, would have been tried under the Fugitive Slave Act.
Though slavery’s origins tentacle back as far as the 1560, it was from 1654 until 1865 that slavery for life was legal within the boundaries of much of the United States.
Until the 18th Century, however, slave labor was often ruled by a form of bonded labor, or indentured servitude, in which whites and blacks alike would work to pay the cost of their transportation to the American colonies.
everything to run to freedom.”
Visit the Waterways to Freedom [below] and explore twelve areas of importance to the Underground Railroad.
An 1873 map reflects a very different Norfolk, Virginia than the one that is there today. Click on the twelve different points and learn about the men and women, and places that played an important part in the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves escaping from Norfolk left primarily by water,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “In a rural area contiguous with a border to a northern state, it would have been difficult to make the journey undetected."
“They escaped Norfolk by ship, usually paying a white captain for their escape.”
Many of those ships left out of Higgins Wharf (Clickable #1), located at the far end of Widewater Street, near New Castle Street. Click and learn that the wharf’s owner, John A. Higgins, was the former owner of Shadrick Minkins.
Mr. Minkins place in history is recorded as he was being hunted under the Slave Fugitive Act. Abolitionists helped him to evade trial in Boston, MA and escape to Canada.
Lewis Hayden (b.1811-d.1889) led the Vigilance Committee group that abetted Mr. Minkins escape.
Mr. Lewis was an ex-Slave that, once finding his freedom, became a representative from Boston to the State Legislature in 1873.
Mr. Minkins escaped from the ownership of John DeBree, a prosperous landowner and former navy man (see #4).
Visit the Wharf where in 1855, Captain Alfred Fountain sailed to Philadelphia with 21 fugitive Slaves. Just before leaving dock with fugitive brothers, Thomas and Frederick Nixon, owned by merchant B.T. Bockover, Norfolk Mayor William Lamb and a group of men boarded the ship to search for escaping Slaves.
The Captain most surely received payment for his services but, if caught, would have been tried under the Fugitive Slave Act.
Though slavery’s origins tentacle back as far as the 1560, it was from 1654 until 1865 that slavery for life was legal within the boundaries of much of the United States.
Until the 18th Century, however, slave labor was often ruled by a form of bonded labor, or indentured servitude, in which whites and blacks alike would work to pay the cost of their transportation to the American colonies.
In the 18th century, Federal Court rulings allowed a racial bias to grow, establishing the right to “own” Black Africans as property, forcing them to unpaid, and usually harsh labor, particularly in the Southern plantations where tobacco and cotton were particularly labor intensive, big cash crops.
At the heart of this movement was the need for cheap, expendable labor that ensured the success of large plantations.
From the 16th to the 19th centuries, twelve million Africans were shipped to the Americas, with the majority being sent to South America, mostly to Brazil. However, during that period approximately 650,000 persons were sold into slavery from the transporters, however by 1860, the Slave population in the United States had grown to four millions persons.
“The story of the Underground Railroad is not the story of just Black people,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “It is the story of those people, black and white, that worked together against something that they saw as oppressive and wrong.”
“Ship Captains may have been paid in coin, but they still transported people at great risk. All along the Underground Railroad are stories of white and black abolitionists who worked together, helping people to escape to freedom. To evade those that would recapture them.“
Visit Waterways to Freedom and explore Norfolk’s role in the Underground Railroad.
Do you know that this remembrance was founded as “Negro History Week” in 1926 by African-American historian, author and journalist Carter Godwin Woodson (b. 12/19/1875-d.4/3/1950) is known as the Father of Black History.
The son of James and Anna Eliza Riddle Woodson, who were slaves that found freedom, Carter became an activist that put him at the very core of a devoted group of black intellectual and activist.
At the age of 25 (1900), Woodson became principal of Douglass High School prior to working in the Philippines as a school supervisor. In 1908 he attended the University of Chicago, receiving his M.A. In 1912, Carter Godwin Woodson received his Ph.D. from Harvard University
Dr. Woodson founded “Negro History Week,” devoting his career to authoring books, journals, articles and publishing newspapers, in part, to insure that the role of the African-American was neither ignored nor misrepresented by scholars and people.
Dr. Woodson is not only the founder of what is now Black History Month, he is also one of the reasons we should take pause and consider the stories of some of this countries most remarkable citizens.
One historian walking in Dr. Woodson’s footpath is Dr. Cassandra Newby-Alexander, Ph.D., Associate professor of History, Norfolk State University.
In 2003, Dr. Newby-Alexander began work on Waterways to Freedom: The Underground Railway in Virginia. Part of that project included working with the City of Norfolk, Virginia to develop an interactive map that tells the story of the Underground Railway in Norfolk.
A conversation with Dr. Newby-Alexander was very enlightening as I learned:
> The State of Virginia had more Slaves than any other state.
> That while issues of property were “State” governed, the ownership of Slaves was Federally protected under the Fugitive Slave Act of 1793.
> That William Still (b.1821) was one of Black History’s ameuteur historian recording the stories of escaped Slaves who came through the Philadelphia Underground Railroad, one such interview revealing that the escaping individual was his lost brother, left behind in bondage when his mother escaped.
“The story of the escaping Slave is interesting for many reasons, “ said Dr. Newby-Alexander from her Norfolk University office. “But at the heart of that story is a person willing to risk everything to run to freedom.”
Visit the Waterways to Freedom [below] and explore twelve areas of importance to the Underground Railroad.
An 1873 map reflects a very different Norfolk, Virginia than the one that is there today. Click on the twelve different points and learn about the men and women, and places that played an important part in the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves escaping from Norfolk left primarily by water,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “In a rural area contiguous with a border to a northern state, it would have been difficult to make the journey undetected."
“They escaped Norfolk by ship, usually paying a white captain for their escape.”
Many of those ships left out of Higgins Wharf (Clickable #1), located at the far end of Widewater Street, near New Castle Street. Click and learn that the wharf’s owner, John A. Higgins, was the former owner of Shadrick Minkins.
Mr. Minkins place in history is recorded as he was being hunted under the Slave Fugitive Act. Abolitionists helped him to evade trial in Boston, MA and escape to Canada.
Lewis Hayden (b.1811-d.1889) led the Vigilance Committee group that abetted Mr. Minkins escape.
Mr. Lewis was an ex-Slave that, once finding his freedom, became a representative from Boston to the State Legislature in 1873.
Mr. Minkins escaped from the ownership of John DeBree, a prosperous landowner and former navy man (see #4).
Visit the Wharf where in 1855, Captain Alfred Fountain sailed to Philadelphia with 21 fugitive Slaves. Just before leaving dock with fugitive brothers, Thomas and Frederick Nixon, owned by merchant B.T. Bockover, Norfolk Mayor William Lamb and a group of men boarded the ship to search for escaping Slaves.
The Captain most surely received payment for his services but, if caught, would have been tried under the Fugitive Slave Act.
Though slavery’s origins tentacle back as far as the 1560, it was from 1654 until 1865 that slavery for life was legal within the boundaries of much of the United States.
Until the 18th Century, however, slave labor was often ruled by a form of bonded labor, or indentured servitude, in which whites and blacks alike would work to pay the cost of their transportation to the American colonies.
everything to run to freedom.”
Visit the Waterways to Freedom [below] and explore twelve areas of importance to the Underground Railroad.
An 1873 map reflects a very different Norfolk, Virginia than the one that is there today. Click on the twelve different points and learn about the men and women, and places that played an important part in the Underground Railroad.
“Slaves escaping from Norfolk left primarily by water,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “In a rural area contiguous with a border to a northern state, it would have been difficult to make the journey undetected."
“They escaped Norfolk by ship, usually paying a white captain for their escape.”
Many of those ships left out of Higgins Wharf (Clickable #1), located at the far end of Widewater Street, near New Castle Street. Click and learn that the wharf’s owner, John A. Higgins, was the former owner of Shadrick Minkins.
Mr. Minkins place in history is recorded as he was being hunted under the Slave Fugitive Act. Abolitionists helped him to evade trial in Boston, MA and escape to Canada.
Lewis Hayden (b.1811-d.1889) led the Vigilance Committee group that abetted Mr. Minkins escape.
Mr. Lewis was an ex-Slave that, once finding his freedom, became a representative from Boston to the State Legislature in 1873.
Mr. Minkins escaped from the ownership of John DeBree, a prosperous landowner and former navy man (see #4).
Visit the Wharf where in 1855, Captain Alfred Fountain sailed to Philadelphia with 21 fugitive Slaves. Just before leaving dock with fugitive brothers, Thomas and Frederick Nixon, owned by merchant B.T. Bockover, Norfolk Mayor William Lamb and a group of men boarded the ship to search for escaping Slaves.
The Captain most surely received payment for his services but, if caught, would have been tried under the Fugitive Slave Act.
Though slavery’s origins tentacle back as far as the 1560, it was from 1654 until 1865 that slavery for life was legal within the boundaries of much of the United States.
Until the 18th Century, however, slave labor was often ruled by a form of bonded labor, or indentured servitude, in which whites and blacks alike would work to pay the cost of their transportation to the American colonies.
In the 18th century, Federal Court rulings allowed a racial bias to grow, establishing the right to “own” Black Africans as property, forcing them to unpaid, and usually harsh labor, particularly in the Southern plantations where tobacco and cotton were particularly labor intensive, big cash crops.
At the heart of this movement was the need for cheap, expendable labor that ensured the success of large plantations.
From the 16th to the 19th centuries, twelve million Africans were shipped to the Americas, with the majority being sent to South America, mostly to Brazil. However, during that period approximately 650,000 persons were sold into slavery from the transporters, however by 1860, the Slave population in the United States had grown to four millions persons.
“The story of the Underground Railroad is not the story of just Black people,” Dr. Newby-Alexander said. “It is the story of those people, black and white, that worked together against something that they saw as oppressive and wrong.”
“Ship Captains may have been paid in coin, but they still transported people at great risk. All along the Underground Railroad are stories of white and black abolitionists who worked together, helping people to escape to freedom. To evade those that would recapture them.“
Visit Waterways to Freedom and explore Norfolk’s role in the Underground Railroad.
Waterways to Freedom
The Cop And The Little Girl
A cop was on his horse waiting to cross the street, when a little girl on her new shiny bike stopped beside him.
'Nice bike,' the cop said. 'Did Santa bring it to you?''
Yes sir,' the little girl said, 'he sure did!'
The cop looked the bike over and handed the girl a $5 ticket for a safety violation. The cop said, 'Give this to your dad, and next year, tell Santa to put a reflector light on the back of it!
'The young girl looked up at the cop and said, 'Nice horse you've got there sir. Did Santa bring it to you?'
Playing along with the girl, he chuckled and answered, 'Yes, he sure did!'
The little girl looked up at the cop and said: 'Next year tell Santa the dick goes underneath the horse, not on top!
Author Unknown
'Nice bike,' the cop said. 'Did Santa bring it to you?''
Yes sir,' the little girl said, 'he sure did!'
The cop looked the bike over and handed the girl a $5 ticket for a safety violation. The cop said, 'Give this to your dad, and next year, tell Santa to put a reflector light on the back of it!
'The young girl looked up at the cop and said, 'Nice horse you've got there sir. Did Santa bring it to you?'
Playing along with the girl, he chuckled and answered, 'Yes, he sure did!'
The little girl looked up at the cop and said: 'Next year tell Santa the dick goes underneath the horse, not on top!
Author Unknown
Bird Flu Data Should Be Kept Under Wraps, Science Panel Says
Details of a genetically altered strain of the deadly avian flu virus are "a grave concern" to public safety and should be kept under wraps, a federal advisory board declared Tuesday.
In a letter released by the journals Science and Nature, the 23-member National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity said the data behind a new strain of the virus can be used to help prepare for a possible future outbreak. But the board recommended the researchers' findings be published without "methods or details" that could be used by terrorists to produce a biological weapon.
"This is an unprecedented recommendation for work in the life sciences, and our analysis was conducted with careful consideration both of the potential benefits of publication and of the potential harm that could occur from such a precedent," the panel wrote. "Our concern is that publishing these experiments in detail would provide information to some person, organization or government that would help them to develop similar mammal-adapted influenza A/H5N1 viruses for harmful purposes."
The letter restates concerns first raised in December, after reports that scientists in Wisconsin and the Netherlands each created a strain of the influenza virus that is both highly lethal and easily transmitted between ferrets -- the animals that most closely mimic the human response to the flu.
A paper by the Dutch researchers was to be published in the journal Science, while the University of Wisconsin study was to be published in the journal Nature. Both journals have already agreed to postpone publication. But airing detailed results "represent(s) a grave concern for global biosecurity, biosafety, and public health," the NSABB concluded.
"Although scientists pride themselves on the creation of scientific literature that defines careful methodology that would allow other scientists to replicate experiments, we do not believe that widespread dissemination of the methodology in this case is a responsible action," they wrote.
But researchers involved in the bird-flu studies say censoring their papers would make it harder for scientists to share information while doing little to deter potential terrorists.
"The logic in this work is sufficiently obvious that virologists could perform experiments similar to ours even if our method is not published," the Dutch team wrote in Science last week.
Scientists and public health officials have long feared that the Asian bird flu virus, which now rarely infects people, could become a human-to-human disease. The flu has killed about 60% of the people who have contracted it since its discovery in 1997. –CNN Health
In a letter released by the journals Science and Nature, the 23-member National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity said the data behind a new strain of the virus can be used to help prepare for a possible future outbreak. But the board recommended the researchers' findings be published without "methods or details" that could be used by terrorists to produce a biological weapon.
"This is an unprecedented recommendation for work in the life sciences, and our analysis was conducted with careful consideration both of the potential benefits of publication and of the potential harm that could occur from such a precedent," the panel wrote. "Our concern is that publishing these experiments in detail would provide information to some person, organization or government that would help them to develop similar mammal-adapted influenza A/H5N1 viruses for harmful purposes."
The letter restates concerns first raised in December, after reports that scientists in Wisconsin and the Netherlands each created a strain of the influenza virus that is both highly lethal and easily transmitted between ferrets -- the animals that most closely mimic the human response to the flu.
A paper by the Dutch researchers was to be published in the journal Science, while the University of Wisconsin study was to be published in the journal Nature. Both journals have already agreed to postpone publication. But airing detailed results "represent(s) a grave concern for global biosecurity, biosafety, and public health," the NSABB concluded.
"Although scientists pride themselves on the creation of scientific literature that defines careful methodology that would allow other scientists to replicate experiments, we do not believe that widespread dissemination of the methodology in this case is a responsible action," they wrote.
But researchers involved in the bird-flu studies say censoring their papers would make it harder for scientists to share information while doing little to deter potential terrorists.
"The logic in this work is sufficiently obvious that virologists could perform experiments similar to ours even if our method is not published," the Dutch team wrote in Science last week.
Scientists and public health officials have long feared that the Asian bird flu virus, which now rarely infects people, could become a human-to-human disease. The flu has killed about 60% of the people who have contracted it since its discovery in 1997. –CNN Health
Direct Deposit For SS Checks
ON JANUARY 1 2012, THE GOVERNMENT IS REQUIRING EVERYONE TO HAVE DIRECT DEPOSIT FOR SS CHECKS. WONDER WHY?
1% tax on all bank transactions HR4646 Watch for this AFTER November elections; remember this BEFORE you VOTE in case you think Obama's looking out for your best interest.
1% tax on all bank transactions HR 4646 This government just cannot think of enough ways to hurt the American people! I sure hope this dies!!!!!
FORWARD THIS TO EVERYONE YOU KNOW! 1% tax on all bank transactions HR 4646 - ANOTHER NEW OBAMA TAX SLIPPED IN WHILE WE WERE A SLEEP.
Checked this on snopes, it's true ! Check out HR 4646.
President Obama's finance team is recommending a one percent (1%) transaction fee (T A X). Obama's plan is to sneak it in after the November elections to keep it under the radar.
This is a 1% tax on all transactions at any financial institution - banks, credit unions, savings and loans, etc.
Any deposit you make, or even a transfer within your account, will have a 1% tax charged.
~If your paycheck or your social security or whatever is direct deposit, it will get a 1% tax charged for the transaction.
~If your paycheck is $1000, then you will pay Obama $10 just for the privilege of depositing your paycheck in your bank. Even if you hand carry your paycheck or any check into your bank for a deposit, 1% tax will be charged.
~You receive a $5,000 stock dividend from your broker, Obama takes $50 just to allow you to deposit that check in the bank.
~If you take $1,000 cash to deposit at your bank, 1% tax will be charged. Mind you, this is from the man who promised that, if you make under $250,000 per year, you will not see one penny of new tax.
Keep your eyes and ears open, you will be amazed at what you learn about this guy's under-the-table moves to increase the number of ways you are taxed.
Oh, and by the way, if you receive a refund from the IRS next year and you have it direct deposited or you walk in to deposit that check, you guessed it. You will pay a 1% charge of that money just for putting it in your bank.
Remember, any money, cash, check or whatever, no matter where it came from, you will pay a 1% fee if you put it in the bank.
Some will say, oh well, it's just 1%. Are you kidding me? It's a 1% tax increase across the board.
Remember, once the tax is there, they can also raise it at will.
And if anyone protests, they will just say, "Oh, that's not really a tax, it's a user fee"! Think this is no big deal?
Go back and look at the transactions you made on one year's banking statements. Then add the total of all those transactions and deduct 1%. Still think it's no big deal?
Click the links below to read what Snopes has to say and judge for yourself:
Feb 12, 2012
Feb 5, 2012
Ragbag Headliners
Treasury Raids Federal Pensions Until Debt Ceiling Hike
Reuters reports that the U.S. Treasury has begun raiding federal pension funds to keep the Obama administration afloat until the automatic debt-ceiling hike next week.
Part of the deal emerging from last year’s debt-ceiling stand-off which resulted in the supercommittee failure was a change in burden of approval: the $1.2 trillion dollar hike which before had to be passed by both houses of Congress is now considered passed unless both houses vote to block it—an unlikely event, especially in the Senate.
So this raiding of the pension fund does two things: First, it pressures Congress to act. It focuses the eyes of all federal employees whose pensions are at risk upon Congress, leaving Congressmen standing in the spotlight. And after all, the raided fund likely includes Congress’ pensions.
Secondly, and more importantly, the Treasury’s move is an almost arrogant voice of self-assurance that the debt-ceiling hike will indeed become a reality. The administration would be loathe to rob from its own pensions were it not quite sure it could pay them back in the near future. It may be acceptable to run Social Security on a phantom “trust fund,” but not the federal pensions. And borrowing from it permanently would be like robbing Robin Hood to pay Little John.
Meanwhile, the administration knows any effort from Congress to block the hike will be futile. While the House has already voted on a bill disapproving of the hike, the move is only symbolic. The Senate almost certainly will not follow, just as it refused to do in a similar measure last fall.
Besides, the Treasury has done this many times before, and has always gotten away with it—notably last spring when the whole stand-off began. –American Vision News
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WARNING! New Regulations Hide Taxes From The Public
There are two big reasons why people in this nation are disconnected with the true cost of government. One is, partially because of refundable tax credits, that 47% of the people in this nation do not pay any federal income taxes. The other reason they are disconnected is because decades ago our Federal government decided to withhold our taxes when we get our paycheck. This was a vehicle to grow government. At one time people in this nation actually received their whole paycheck and then were required to send a check into the government. The people who did this actually knew the exact amount they were paying because they were writing the check. Today, hardly anyone knows what their gross paycheck is (the amount before taxes), they only know their take-home pay (the net amount). The government had effectively decided to hide the amount of taxes you pay!
Our big, bloated Federal government is doing it again!
The next time you purchase an airline ticket you will not see any Federal taxes and fees associated with it (it used to be itemized). The U.S. Department of Transportation has now mandated that airlines HIDE the government’s taxes and fees in the price of the ticket!
In our opinion this will be just another vehicle to increase taxes and fees on the American people in an effort to increase government. Without transparency Federal bureaucrats could continually increase taxes and fees without your knowledge.
Don’t let this happen. Let Congress know that keeping government taxes and fees low and transparent is best. Contact your elected officials today! -Government Gone Wild
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'Uncertainty And danger': World Bank Warns Of Downturn Worse Than 2008
The World Bank warned Wednesday of a possible slump in global economic growth and urged developing countries to prepare for shocks that could be more severe than the 2008 crisis.
For the United States, the bank cut this year's growth forecast to 2.2 percent from 2.9 percent and for 2013 to 2.4 percent from 2.7 percent.
As reasons, it cited the anticipated global slowdown and the on-going fight in Washington over spending and taxes.
The bank also cut its growth forecast for developing countries this year to 5.4 percent from 6.2 percent and for developed countries to 1.4 percent from 2.7 percent.
For the 17 countries that use the euro currency, it forecast a contraction, cutting their growth outlook to -0.3 percent from 1.8 percent.
Global growth could be hurt by a recession in Europe and a slowdown in India, Brazil and other developing countries, the Washington-based bank said.
It said conditions might worsen if more European countries are unable to raise money in financial markets.
"The global economy is entering into a new phase of uncertainty and danger," said the bank's chief economist, Justin Yifu Lin. "The risks of a global freezing up of capital markets as well as a global crisis similar to what happened in September 2008 are real."
Separately Wednesday, the government of Germany — Europe's biggest economy — announced it had lowered its growth forecast for this year from 1 percent to 0.7 percent. However, it also predicted growth of 1.6 percent in 2013.
Developing countries that have enjoyed relatively strong growth while the United States and Europe struggled might be hit hard, Lin said. He said they should line up financing in advance to cover budget deficits, review the health of their banks and emphasize spending on social safety nets.
>Eurozone slammed by credit downgrades, collapse of Greek bond talks
Many governments are in a weaker position than they were to respond to the 2008 global crisis because their debts and budget deficits are bigger, Lin said at a news conference.
In the event of a major crisis, "no country will be spared," Lin said. "The downturn is likely to be longer and deeper than the last one."
The bank's outlook — in its "Global Economic Prospects" report issued twice a year — adds to mounting gloom amid Europe's debt crisis and high U.S. unemployment.
>S&P downgrades eurozone bailout fund to AA+
"It is very likely that most European countries, including Germany, entered recession in the fourth quarter of last year," said Hans Timmer, the World Bank's director of development projects.
Investors have cut investments in developing countries by 45 percent in the second half of last year, compared with the same period in 2010, Timmer said.
The report follows similar warnings about the global economy by its sister organization, the International Monetary Fund, and private sector forecasters.
>China’s growth cools, but still better than expected
Global growth might suffer from the interaction of Europe's troubles and efforts by China, India, South Africa, Russia and Turkey to cool rapid growth and inflation with interest rate hikes and other measures, the bank said.
China's expansion slowed to a 2 1/2-year low of 8.9 percent in the three months ending in December from the previous quarter's 9.1 percent.
As Europe weakens, developing countries could find "their slowdown might be larger than is necessary to cope with inflation pressures," Lin said.
Developing countries hurt
A global downturn would hurt developing countries by driving down prices for metals, farm goods and other commodities and demand for other exoprts, the World Bank said.
Slower growth is already visible in weakening trade and commodity prices, the World Bank said.
Global exports of goods and services expanded an estimated 6.6 percent in 2011, barely half the previous year's 12.4 percent rate, the bank said. It said the growth rate is expected to fall to 4.7 percent this year.
Prices of energy, metals and farm products are down 10 to 25 percent from their peaks in early 2011, Timmer said.
The United States is already feeling some pain from Europe's crisis. Exports to Europe fell 6 percent in November, the Commerce Department said last week. –MSNBC
Ten Things You Need To Know About SOPA And PIPA
The furor over SOPA and PIPA has died down, but the bills have not gone away.
In fact, there’s more reason than ever to pay close attention to the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) and the Senate’s corresponding Protect Intellectual Property Act (S.968). These acts, while perhaps well-intentioned, are not well-written and could cause serious damage to the free flow of information on the Internet.
That’s why VentureBeat opposes SOPA and PIPA.
At the peak of yesterday’s SOPA protests and website blackouts, it might have been easy to draw the conclusion that the tide was moving against these flawed bills and that they are doomed. Not so: They have merely been delayed. That’s why it’s more important than ever to pay close attention to what Congress is doing.
VentureBeat has had much internal discussion about the proposed anti-piracy legislation. There is a lot of misinformation — or perhaps misinterpretation — about what SOPA/PIPA is, how SOPA/PIPA will affect the internet, why SOPA/PIPA bad, etc. Understandably, it can get confusing.
Based on our own reporting, we’ve concluded that both SOPA and PIPA are flawed a pieces of legislation, regardless of future amendments or rewrites. VentureBeat firmly opposes both bills because they have the potential to harm the tech industry and hinder the pace of innovation. And while we’re against SOPA/PIPA, we do not support piracy.
Below is a list of things about SOPA and PIPA worth considering before reaching your own conclusion about the proposed legislation.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) — together with the corresponding Senate Protect IP Act (PIPA) — is a proposed piece of legislation intended to curb online piracy. As the bills are currently written, they gives both the U.S. government and copyright holders the authority to seek court orders against foreign-operated websites associated with infringing, pirating or counterfeiting intellectual property. If either bill becomes law, it could drastically change the way the Internet operates. For the full scope of information about the bills, check out VentureBeat’s ongoing SOPA/PIPA coverage.
The answer is both — meaning both Republicans and Democrats are showing overwhelming support for these proposed pieces of legislation. If you need further proof, you should note who wrote the bills: SOPA was authored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R – Texas), while PIPA was authored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D – Vt.). The White House has voiced its concerns about the legislation, but does agree that some kind of anti-piracy law is needed to protect American companies. It’s also worth noting that former sen. Christopher Dodd (D – Conn.) is now head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which is one of the groups pushing for these bills to go through.
The bills allow the U.S. Department of Justice as well as copyright holders to seek out and prosecute foreign sites that commit acts of piracy. The DOJ needs a court order before it can proceed, which it can obtain if the site in question is operated by an organization outside of the U.S. or the owner of the website’s domain doesn’t have adequate contact information.
Once a court order has been served, there are three main tools these bills give the DOJ and copyright holders for blocking websites. The first involves having an internet service provider (like Comcast, for example) block the site’s Domain Name Service (DNS) record. To do this, ISPs would be required to lower the level of security needed to verify each site’s identity and protect against malicious hackers. This also means SOPA/PIPA actually make the internet far less secure than it currently is.
Authors of both bills have wavered on their stance when it comes to DNS blocking. Smith previously stated that he intends to remove the DNS blocking stipulation from SOPA. Leahy admitted that more study is needed regarding DNS blocking, but hasn’t gone as far as to say he will remove it from PIPA. Regardless of either author’s stated intentions, both bills in their current form still include DNS blocking as a means to stop piracy.
Even if DNS blocking is removed from both SOPA and PIPA, the legislation still offers two tools to block websites. The second method of blocking involves mandating that major search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) de-index an accused site from their search results. The logic behind this action is that if you can’t search for sites that commit acts of piracy, then most people won’t be able to find those sites, and they will eventually die.
And finally, the third way prohibits any site accused of piracy from doing business with other services, such as PayPal or any advertising platform. If organizations that are selling pirated goods can’t use secure transaction services to collect purchases, they can’t make money. The same is true for ad networks.
Contrary to much of the Internet hype, both the SOPA and PIPA bills would not be able to immediately shut down sites like YouTube and Reddit. The bills are going after sites that are operated by foreign organizations that are making money off of counterfeit goods and/or streaming media illegally. The bills, as written by their authors, won’t go after U.S. blogs or news sites. If a U.S. site is found violating copyrights, its subject to the laws that currently exist in the U.S., primarily the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (.pdf file) and prior copyright law.
Despite the foreign-site targeting, SOPA and PIPA could eventually turn into a huge nightmare for many U.S.-based sites, especially those with an audience that extend beyond the borders of this country. Since the definition for what’s considered a “foreign site” is vague within SOPA/PIPA, it could potentially allow some copyright holders to mount convincing legal attacks against some U.S. companies that operate internationally or allow foreign users to contribute to a U.S. site. That ambiguity alone has many Internet companies concerned.
Because of vague definitions for “foreign sites,” critics fear that SOPA/PIPA will allow larger companies to sue smaller startups over copyright violations. Even if smaller startups end up winning legal battles over whether or not they violated SOPA/PIPA, the mere threat of a battle has the potential to ruin a company.
For instance, Veoh founder Dmitry Shapiro recently explained how his former company was “litigated to death” after Universal Music Group filed multiple lawsuits claiming that Veoh had violated the DMCA. These lawsuits eliminated Veoh’s ability to attract new investors and spend lots of time and money fighting in the courtroom. Eventually, Shapiro said Veoh was forced to lay off the majority of its employees and sell itself at a low “fire sale” price. While the courts eventually ruled that Veoh hadn’t violated DMCA, the company was essentially ruined. If SOPA/PIPA is permitted to repeat history like DMCA lawsuits did with Veoh, future innovative startups may have a harder time achieving success.
As for Google, it doesn’t like SOPA/PIPA because it essentially allows the government to influence its search results. This is a dangerous precedent, even though the proposed legislation is only trying to de-index sites that commit acts of piracy. Google has already faced legal opposition overseas — for instance, China places restrictions on what content Google can present in search results — and a U.S. challenge would only lend credence to other nations’ attempts to limit what a search engine can do.
It’s easy to give a blanket statement about how members of Congress who support SOPA/PIPA are motivated by money from lobbyist groups that make large financial contributions to their re-election campaigns. That may be the case.
However, it also appears that they’ve been led to believe that these particular bills will thwart organizations operating in other countries that make money off of pirated content. They’d like to stop sites from stealing content and generating advertising revenue from it. It makes sense from this perspective, and piracy is a real and growing problem.
But SOPA/PIPA has the potential to go beyond limiting just foreign copyright pirates, which is why most of the tech business community is speaking out against it.
The majority of major media companies (Comcast, News Corp., Disney, Universal Music, Warner Music, etc.) and organizations that support media companies (MPAA, RIAA, etc.) are in favor of SOPA. OpenCongress has a up-to-date list of organizations supporting SOPA and PIPA.
As for congressional support, there are currently 33 co-sponsors for PIPA and 30 co-sponsors for SOPA. Many congressional contact pages were displaying “Technical Difficulties” messages during the height of the protests yesterday, according to The Verge, which is no doubt due to a high number of constituents wishing to voice their opinions on the matter to their representatives in Washington.
Plenty of organizations have come out in protest of the proposed bills, including (but not limited to) Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia, Cheezburger Network, WordPress, Mozilla, The Internet Archive and many others. We’ve also compiled a list of SOPA/PIPA protest screenshots from sites opposing the bills as well as a list of gaming companies opposing SOPA and PIPA. In addition to opposition through organizations and businesses, hundreds of people gathered to protest SOPA in New York City today and over 3 million people have signed an anti- SOPA/PIPA petition online.
The House has pushed back all markup (debate, amendments, rewrites) for SOPA until February. We don’t have an official date for when a vote will take place on SOPA beyond that. PIPA, on the other hand, will be sent to the Senate floor for a vote on Jan. 24.
The best way to make an impact regarding the future of SOPA and PIPA is to contact your local congressperson, as VentureBeat’s Jolie O’Dell previously outlined. Taking our own advice, we also decided to call Congress in this week’s VB Weekly webcast. –The Washington Post
In fact, there’s more reason than ever to pay close attention to the House’s Stop Online Piracy Act (H.R. 3261) and the Senate’s corresponding Protect Intellectual Property Act (S.968). These acts, while perhaps well-intentioned, are not well-written and could cause serious damage to the free flow of information on the Internet.
That’s why VentureBeat opposes SOPA and PIPA.
At the peak of yesterday’s SOPA protests and website blackouts, it might have been easy to draw the conclusion that the tide was moving against these flawed bills and that they are doomed. Not so: They have merely been delayed. That’s why it’s more important than ever to pay close attention to what Congress is doing.
VentureBeat has had much internal discussion about the proposed anti-piracy legislation. There is a lot of misinformation — or perhaps misinterpretation — about what SOPA/PIPA is, how SOPA/PIPA will affect the internet, why SOPA/PIPA bad, etc. Understandably, it can get confusing.
Based on our own reporting, we’ve concluded that both SOPA and PIPA are flawed a pieces of legislation, regardless of future amendments or rewrites. VentureBeat firmly opposes both bills because they have the potential to harm the tech industry and hinder the pace of innovation. And while we’re against SOPA/PIPA, we do not support piracy.
Below is a list of things about SOPA and PIPA worth considering before reaching your own conclusion about the proposed legislation.
The Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) — together with the corresponding Senate Protect IP Act (PIPA) — is a proposed piece of legislation intended to curb online piracy. As the bills are currently written, they gives both the U.S. government and copyright holders the authority to seek court orders against foreign-operated websites associated with infringing, pirating or counterfeiting intellectual property. If either bill becomes law, it could drastically change the way the Internet operates. For the full scope of information about the bills, check out VentureBeat’s ongoing SOPA/PIPA coverage.
The answer is both — meaning both Republicans and Democrats are showing overwhelming support for these proposed pieces of legislation. If you need further proof, you should note who wrote the bills: SOPA was authored by Rep. Lamar Smith (R – Texas), while PIPA was authored by Sen. Patrick Leahy (D – Vt.). The White House has voiced its concerns about the legislation, but does agree that some kind of anti-piracy law is needed to protect American companies. It’s also worth noting that former sen. Christopher Dodd (D – Conn.) is now head of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA), which is one of the groups pushing for these bills to go through.
The bills allow the U.S. Department of Justice as well as copyright holders to seek out and prosecute foreign sites that commit acts of piracy. The DOJ needs a court order before it can proceed, which it can obtain if the site in question is operated by an organization outside of the U.S. or the owner of the website’s domain doesn’t have adequate contact information.
Once a court order has been served, there are three main tools these bills give the DOJ and copyright holders for blocking websites. The first involves having an internet service provider (like Comcast, for example) block the site’s Domain Name Service (DNS) record. To do this, ISPs would be required to lower the level of security needed to verify each site’s identity and protect against malicious hackers. This also means SOPA/PIPA actually make the internet far less secure than it currently is.
Authors of both bills have wavered on their stance when it comes to DNS blocking. Smith previously stated that he intends to remove the DNS blocking stipulation from SOPA. Leahy admitted that more study is needed regarding DNS blocking, but hasn’t gone as far as to say he will remove it from PIPA. Regardless of either author’s stated intentions, both bills in their current form still include DNS blocking as a means to stop piracy.
Even if DNS blocking is removed from both SOPA and PIPA, the legislation still offers two tools to block websites. The second method of blocking involves mandating that major search engines (Google, Bing, Yahoo) de-index an accused site from their search results. The logic behind this action is that if you can’t search for sites that commit acts of piracy, then most people won’t be able to find those sites, and they will eventually die.
And finally, the third way prohibits any site accused of piracy from doing business with other services, such as PayPal or any advertising platform. If organizations that are selling pirated goods can’t use secure transaction services to collect purchases, they can’t make money. The same is true for ad networks.
Contrary to much of the Internet hype, both the SOPA and PIPA bills would not be able to immediately shut down sites like YouTube and Reddit. The bills are going after sites that are operated by foreign organizations that are making money off of counterfeit goods and/or streaming media illegally. The bills, as written by their authors, won’t go after U.S. blogs or news sites. If a U.S. site is found violating copyrights, its subject to the laws that currently exist in the U.S., primarily the Digital Millennium Copyright Act (DMCA) (.pdf file) and prior copyright law.
Despite the foreign-site targeting, SOPA and PIPA could eventually turn into a huge nightmare for many U.S.-based sites, especially those with an audience that extend beyond the borders of this country. Since the definition for what’s considered a “foreign site” is vague within SOPA/PIPA, it could potentially allow some copyright holders to mount convincing legal attacks against some U.S. companies that operate internationally or allow foreign users to contribute to a U.S. site. That ambiguity alone has many Internet companies concerned.
Because of vague definitions for “foreign sites,” critics fear that SOPA/PIPA will allow larger companies to sue smaller startups over copyright violations. Even if smaller startups end up winning legal battles over whether or not they violated SOPA/PIPA, the mere threat of a battle has the potential to ruin a company.
For instance, Veoh founder Dmitry Shapiro recently explained how his former company was “litigated to death” after Universal Music Group filed multiple lawsuits claiming that Veoh had violated the DMCA. These lawsuits eliminated Veoh’s ability to attract new investors and spend lots of time and money fighting in the courtroom. Eventually, Shapiro said Veoh was forced to lay off the majority of its employees and sell itself at a low “fire sale” price. While the courts eventually ruled that Veoh hadn’t violated DMCA, the company was essentially ruined. If SOPA/PIPA is permitted to repeat history like DMCA lawsuits did with Veoh, future innovative startups may have a harder time achieving success.
As for Google, it doesn’t like SOPA/PIPA because it essentially allows the government to influence its search results. This is a dangerous precedent, even though the proposed legislation is only trying to de-index sites that commit acts of piracy. Google has already faced legal opposition overseas — for instance, China places restrictions on what content Google can present in search results — and a U.S. challenge would only lend credence to other nations’ attempts to limit what a search engine can do.
It’s easy to give a blanket statement about how members of Congress who support SOPA/PIPA are motivated by money from lobbyist groups that make large financial contributions to their re-election campaigns. That may be the case.
However, it also appears that they’ve been led to believe that these particular bills will thwart organizations operating in other countries that make money off of pirated content. They’d like to stop sites from stealing content and generating advertising revenue from it. It makes sense from this perspective, and piracy is a real and growing problem.
But SOPA/PIPA has the potential to go beyond limiting just foreign copyright pirates, which is why most of the tech business community is speaking out against it.
The majority of major media companies (Comcast, News Corp., Disney, Universal Music, Warner Music, etc.) and organizations that support media companies (MPAA, RIAA, etc.) are in favor of SOPA. OpenCongress has a up-to-date list of organizations supporting SOPA and PIPA.
As for congressional support, there are currently 33 co-sponsors for PIPA and 30 co-sponsors for SOPA. Many congressional contact pages were displaying “Technical Difficulties” messages during the height of the protests yesterday, according to The Verge, which is no doubt due to a high number of constituents wishing to voice their opinions on the matter to their representatives in Washington.
Plenty of organizations have come out in protest of the proposed bills, including (but not limited to) Google, Microsoft, Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Wikipedia, Cheezburger Network, WordPress, Mozilla, The Internet Archive and many others. We’ve also compiled a list of SOPA/PIPA protest screenshots from sites opposing the bills as well as a list of gaming companies opposing SOPA and PIPA. In addition to opposition through organizations and businesses, hundreds of people gathered to protest SOPA in New York City today and over 3 million people have signed an anti- SOPA/PIPA petition online.
The House has pushed back all markup (debate, amendments, rewrites) for SOPA until February. We don’t have an official date for when a vote will take place on SOPA beyond that. PIPA, on the other hand, will be sent to the Senate floor for a vote on Jan. 24.
The best way to make an impact regarding the future of SOPA and PIPA is to contact your local congressperson, as VentureBeat’s Jolie O’Dell previously outlined. Taking our own advice, we also decided to call Congress in this week’s VB Weekly webcast. –The Washington Post
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