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Archives > Volume 7 Issue 30 - April 29, 2009 Number of child porn websites drops 10%...
The number of international Web sites showing sexual abuse of children has fallen by about 10 percent, but the images on these sites are more violent, according to a British Internet watchdog. MSNBC News story here
The Internet Watch Foundation said increased vigilance by U.K. police and private groups that operate a series of hot lines has made it harder for commercial groups to operate child pornography Web sites. Illegal sites are often removed within hours, the group said. But those that remain online are more likely to use images involving torture and penetration, the report said. These types of graphic images were found in 58 percent of child pornography sites, compared to 47 percent two years ago. The report also finds that 24 percent of the children used in the photographs and videos appear to be 6 years old or younger. "These Web sites, although reducing in number, represent an extremely serious problem," said foundation Chief Executive Peter Robbins. "The extensive intelligence networks we have with partner hot lines and law enforcement colleagues around the world to support international action are making a real difference, but the sophisticated way these Web sites operate still makes it a highly complex and global challenge." The foundation, which is funded by the European Union and the U.K. Internet industry, found that fewer than 1 percent of child pornography sites are hosted in Britain. More information is available from the foundation online at http://www.iwf.org.uk. Symantec offers parents free software to track teens online... 
Parents habitually are warned to monitor their children's online activities. They are told to put the computer in a central location, limit kids' hours online and to warn them of the dangers of the Internet. ABC News story here
Many parents have taken the more invasive step of monitoring every click kids make with monitoring software that records Web sites visited, instant messaging and chat conversations, and e-mails. The problem here is that kids click around the Web at warp speed. A parent tracking all those sites, the extraneous ads that get listed and the endless drivel of teenage chats will eventually suffer from monitoring fatigue. Parents can't find meaning in the crush of data that monitoring software provides: too many Web sites and not enough time to figure out if the sites are appropriate. But a new free product from Symantec wants to help. OnlineFamily.Norton.com provides a free software program that streamlines the data from all your computers, so even nontechie parents can figure out if their kids are getting in trouble online. Instead of a confusing list of hundreds of web addresses, objectionable sites are highlighted for parents to review - and block. "Parents get the option here not only of seeing all the activity, but anything requiring parental attention shows up in red," said Symantec's Internet safety advocate Marian Merritt. The software is Web-based so parents can monitor computer activity from any computer, even from work. And it monitors in real time, so when an objectionable site is blocked on the home computer, parents are alerted. Girls Scouts of America and Microsoft have teamed up to offer 5 more tips to help keep your children safe online. ABC News story here For more information on online safety and social networking site safety visit eGuide/internet safety and eGuide/what you need to know about My Space. In other news... 
A West Virginia mother was in jail Friday, accused of trying to sell her 5-month-old son for $10,000 to get money for a new apartment. AP News story here Rebecca Sue Taylor, 19, of Charleston offered to sell her baby to another woman identified as Leigh Burr after saying she was unable to bond with the infant and needed money for a new apartment, according to a criminal complaint filed in Kanawha County Magistrate Court. Burr said Taylor later cut the asking price to $5,000. The women had been talking about Taylor serving as a possible surrogate mother for Burr when Taylor offered to sell her the baby she already had, police said in the criminal complaint. Charleston Police Sgt. E. L. Hodges said the child is in state custody. He said he did not know anything about the baby's father. Hodges said the two women were acquaintances, but he did not know the extent of their relationship. A felony charge of offering the purchase or sale of a child carries a fine of $100 to $2,000 and one to five years in prison.
A legal drug is soaring in popularity. CBS News story here It's called Salvia Divinorum and it's all the rage on YouTube. Users chew it, smoke it or brew it into a tea. "It is a strong hallucinogenic drug," said Carol Falkowski, the director of the Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division of the Minnesota Human Services department. "It produces profound hallucinations and out of body experiences," she said. Falkowski knows drugs. She's been researching drug and alcohol trends for years. She thinks Salvia should be outlawed. "I think it's something we should all be concerned about," said Falkowski. "If parents ever hear their children talk about Salvia Divinorum, they should try to get to the bottom of that quickly and find out where the source of that is." There are more than 4,000 videos about Salvia on YouTube, many of them showing people tripping on the plant. Salvia is sometimes called a "lunchtime" drug because the high lasts only a half hour or so.
Ever since campus counseling centers were established in the 1940s, college officials have known that the prevalence and severity of students' mental health problems were rising. They just didn't know by how much. MSNBC News story here A pilot study released by the Center for the Study of Collegiate Mental Health, at Penn State University, hopes to fill that void. Organizers call it a first-of-its kind effort by college counseling centers designed to get an up-to-date picture of mental health trends affecting higher education. Among the study's findings: One percent of students who answered a question about binge drinking reported going on a binge 10 or more times in the previous two weeks. Nearly half of those respondents said they had seriously considered suicide in the past. The vast majority (93 percent) of students who responded to a question about campus violence had little to no fear of losing control and acting violently. The 7 percent considered to have strong fears were most likely to be male and said they had previously harmed another person. They also tended to have experienced a cluster of other symptoms, such as a fear of having a panic attack or suicidal thoughts. The study is available online at http://www.sa.psu.edu/caps/pdf/2009-CSCMH-Pilot-Report.pdf.
Two Ohio men were arrested after Akron police found a 14-year-old girl dancing topless in a strip club. The Plain Dealer news story here Christopher J. Wier, 34, and Robert T. Mitchell, 34, were charged Friday with illegal use of a minor in a nudity oriented performance and two counts of child endangering. Akron police said Wier is the manager of the Play House on East Waterloo Road, and Mitchell is the owner. The vice unit conducted a search warrant at the club and found the girl dancing topless. Police said Wier hired the juvenile to dance. The girl has been turned over to Summit County Children Services. 
A cult leader jailed for sex attacks on children has escaped in a helicopter from a prison on the French Indian Ocean island of Reunion. Fox News story here Juliano Verbard was serving a 15-year term for rapes and assaults on kids. Two of his jailed followers were also hauled on board the aircraft that was hijacked by three accomplices, said senior official Jean-Frantois Moniotte. "All our search procedures have been put into action to find them," said Moniotte, who is chief of staff to Reunion's prefect and police chief on the island. The helicopter landed on waste ground a few hundred yards away and the gang escaped in a van that had been waiting for them, he said. The aircraft's two crew members were unhurt and are helping police. "One of them put a gun to my temple while another threatened to set fire to a bottle of petrol he had in his hand with a cigarette lighter," the pilot told a local broadcaster. Verbard was the guru of the self-styled Sorrowful and Immaculate Heart of Mary on Reunion. The cult has no connection to mainstream Catholic institutions.
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