News of Note

Sex Education Gets Directly to Youths, Via Text

(También en Español)

News of Note: Sex Education Gets Directly to Youths, via Text – NYTimes.com

“While heading to class last year, Stephanie Cisneros, a Denver-area high school junior, was arguing with a friend about ways that sexually transmitted diseasesmight be passed along.

Ms. Cisneros knew she could resolve the dispute in class — but not by raising her hand. While her biology teacher lectured about fruit flies, Ms. Cisneros hid her phone underneath her lab table and typed a message to ICYC (In Case You’re Curious), a text-chat program run by Planned Parenthood of the Rocky Mountains.

Soon, her phone buzzed. “There are some STDs you can get from kissing but they are spread more easily during sex,” the reply read. “You can get a STD from oral sex. You should use a condom whenever you have sex.”

Ms. Cisneros said she liked ICYC for its immediacy and confidentiality. “You can ask a random question about sex and you don’t feel it was stupid,” said Ms. Cisneros, now a senior. “Even if it was, they can’t judge you because they don’t know it’s you. And it’s too gross to ask my parents.”…

“Real Talk held a classroom contest to see which student could send the most texts containing this prevention message: “ROFL!!!” (Translation: rolling on the floor laughing). “STDs and HIV can spread as fast as this message. Still laughing? Pass on the message not HIV/STDs. 518-HIV-TEST.” Within an hour, the message had been sent to nearly 450 phones.”

Services like ICYC are innocent and valuable tools; they are available to anyone searching for information and unlike Google, they have the advantage of being targeted at young people. Viral text messages, about sex between curious teens, is a great thing.

It is quite disheartening to contemplate a young person’s first glimpse at sex, though, being a warning message about dangerous and life threatening diseases. Until society’s leaders are replaced by people who do not fear and repress their own sexuality, and old systems of racial and sexual oppression disappear, this growing access to information via the Internet and even cellphones is vitally important. I hope everyday that involuntary ignorance becomes a thing of the past, don’t you?

Creative Commons image: Source

in News of Note  by 03 Jan 2012 0 comments

Japan leads the way in sexless love

News of Note: Japan leads the way in sexless love

Why the generational malaise and indifference to sex? Theories abound. The most provocative to me, a Japanese-American and longtime Tokyo resident, is that Japanese women have become stronger socially and economically at the very same time that Japanese men have become more fully absorbed in virtual worlds, satiated by the very technological wizardry their forebears foisted upon them, even preferring them to reality. “I don’t like real women,” one bloke superciliously sniffed on Japan’s 2channel, the world’s largest and most active internet bulletin board site, “They’re too picky nowadays. I’d much rather have a virtual girlfriend.”

Virtual girlfriends became a sensation last summer, when Japanese game-maker Konami released its second-generation of its popular Love Plus, called, aptly, Love Plus +, for the Nintendo DS gaming system. Konami skillfully arranged for an otherwise deadbeat beach resort town called Atami to host a Love Plus + holiday weekend. Players were invited to tote their virtual girlfriends, via the gaming console, to the actual resort town to cavort for a weekend in romantic bliss. The promotion was absurdly successful, with local resort operators reporting that it was their best weekend in decades.

A virtual relationship (including cybersex) with a computer program may sound quite different from a long distance one with another human being, but in the future you might not be able to tell the difference. Text based intimacy is quite prevalent in MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games), and we already have computers that can mimic it well, just look at Cleverbot, the most advanced chat bot that has hosted over 65 million conversations since 1997.

The lack of physical contact may be the greatest criticism against virtual relationships, but that doesn’t necessarily make it wrong. The depths that people can reach through their minds both emotionally and physically are profound, even without physical touch. As technology continues to enable people to find the fulfillment they seek in easier ways, why not?

CC Image source: Jmho

in News of Note  by 29 Dec 2011 0 comments

HIV vaccine developed in Canada approved for human studies

News of Note: HIV vaccine developed in Canada approved for human studies

A Canadian-developed vaccine to prevent HIV has been given the green light for testing in human clinical trials.

The vaccine, developed by researchers at the University of Western Ontario, has been approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to start being tested in humans in January.

It is the first preventive HIV vaccine approved for clinical trials to use a whole HIV-1 virus, which has been both killed and genetically engineered, to activate immunity. In this way, the new vaccine is much like the killed whole virus vaccines that are successful against polio, rabies and influenza.

This is yet another huge step towards the cure for HIV. A future without sexually stigmatizing diseases looks more realistic everyday. Keep an eye on VenusPlusX for continuing coverage of these exciting breakthroughs.

in News of Note / Videos  by 21 Dec 2011 0 comments

Congress to Resume SOPA Hearings Wednesday


News of Note: Congress to Resume SOPA Hearings Next Week (This Wednesday)

The U.S. House of Representatives Judiciary Committee will continue its hearing on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) on Wednesday, not until after Congress’ holiday break, as originally believed.

Late Friday, Representative Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican and committee chairman, scheduled a continuation of the hearing to amend the bill for this Wednesday at 9 a.m., even though many members of the committee may be out of town for the holidays. Representative Darrell Issa, a California Republican and opponent of the bill, tweeted the hearing announcement late Friday.

At the urging of some SOPA opponents, Smith said Friday he will consider a hearing or a classified briefing on the bill’s impact on cybersecurity. More than 80 Internet engineers and cybersecurity experts have raised security concerns about the bill, which would require Internet service providers and domain name registrars to block the domain names of foreign websites accused of copyright infringement.

It’s unclear how Wednesday’s hearing will affect any future hearings on SOPA, which is sponsored by Smith and 31 other lawmakers.

Continuing the markup hearing on Wednesday, when many lawmakers had planned to be out of Washington, D.C., “demonstrates a clear desire to continue dodging the questions raised by experts, members, and the public,” said Sherwin Siy, deputy legal director of Public Knowledge.

This unwillingness to take expert evidence, listen to constituents, or conduct due diligence in investigating the extraordinary harms risked by SOPA shows a process divorced from representation, responsibility, and reality,” Siy said in a statement.

The most scary thing of all is how little these congressmen actually know about the Internet and technology. It can be compared to putting toddlers at the control of a 747 aircraft. Here we are with the greatest innovation in human history and it’s about to be sold out by a bunch of old guys who don’t know how to use a keyboard. When everyone thought the bill was tabled for at least a few weeks, it is both irresponsible and crooked to squeeze it in again right before Christmas. What can you do? Contact the media, post on Facebook, Twitter, sign this petition, contact SOPA’s supporting companies and urge them to withdraw their support. Everyone’s help is valuable, please join in and share.

Creative Commons: Title and Slideshow image source

in Campaigns / News of Note / Public Information  by 19 Dec 2011 0 comments

SOPA would “criminalize” the Internet

News of Note: Google chairman says online piracy bill would ‘criminalize’ the Internet

An online piracy bill in the House [US House of Representatives H.R.3261] would “criminalize linking and the fundamental structure of the Internet itself,” according to Google Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt.

Schmidt said the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) would punish Web firms, including search engines, that link to foreign websites dedicated to online piracy. He said implementing the bill as written would effectively break the Internet.

“By criminalizing links, what these bills do is they force you to take content off the Internet,” Schmidt said, calling it a form of censorship.

I firmly believe that the Internet is mankind’s greatest tool for exposing truth and eliminating corruption. Recent revolutions in other countries like Egypt and Libya and even our own Occupy movement are fueled by the Internet, and in a way not possible for previous generations, and in ways not permitted by foreign repressive regimes. Right now we are facing both SOPA and the similar US Senate proposed bill (Bill S.968), PROTECT IP Act, two bills that will utterly destroy YouTube, Twitter, Wikileaks, and other valuable websites that we need for communication.

What do you think is going to happen? Will Americans eventually submit to this loss of freedom or will we reject this sort of treatment by any means necessary?

in News of Note / Public Information  by 15 Dec 2011 0 comments

WikiLeaks: Hacking iPhone, Gmail, BlackBerry, Skype and more

News of Note: Assange: Using iPhone, Gmail, BlackBerry? You’re Screwed!

Here is an issue that is certain to affect everyone.

WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange says that governments worldwide have been using electronic devices, such as smart-phones and computers, to monitor what people are saying, where they are going and what they are writing.

The controversial journalist spoke at a panel of the Bureau of Investigative Journalism held at the City University in London on Monday. The panel inaugurated WikiLeak’s new project: the Spyfiles. They provide details on the deals private surveillance companies made with various governments all over the globe to design monitoring software integrated into electronic devices, which could be used to monitor the activities of whoever these governments want to keep track of.

“Who here has a BlackBerry? Who here uses Gmail? Well you are all screwed!” Assange exclaimed. “The reality is intelligence contractors are selling right to countries around the world mass surveillance systems for all of those products.”

I suggest taking a look at Wikileaks’ website for the most concrete details. The simple truth is, your email and communications are not secure. This type of hacking is a growing business and one that I imagine is only gaining momentum. Keep your eyes open for further “Spyfiles” news as Wikileaks continues to reveal more information.

in News of Note / Videos  by 13 Dec 2011 0 comments

Porn Sites go .XXX

You may have heard of the new .xxx domain names being created for porn sites. They finally went live this Tuesday and the controversy hasn’t stopped.

“By applying for a .xxx site, webmasters, adult performers, studios, and others become part of a “sponsored community,” agreeing to operate legally and within agreed-upon business standards. Each .xxx site will be scanned daily with McAfee protection tools, which ICM (the registry that is responsible for handing out the .xxx domains) says will help make them among the Web’s safest destinations.

But as you might expect, not everyone is pleased with the move.

Some religious organizations have argued against the new .xxx names, saying that creating them amounts to an endorsement of porn.

“The establishment of a .xxx domain would increase, not decrease, the spread of pornography on the Internet, causing even more harm to children, families and communities,” said Patrick Trueman, CEO of Morality in Media and former chief of the U.S. Department of Justice Child Exploitation and Obscenity Section, when ICANN (the international not-for-profit that coordinates Web addresses) was voting on the plan.” (On Tuesday, porn sites set to go .XXX)

At first I was all for porn sites getting new .xxx domain names; they sound cool, they are totally honest and up front about their content, everything sounds good. The more I thought about it though, the more I have to stay on the fence about the issue. I’m sure many adult websites will buy the .xxx domain names and simply have them re-direct to their already established sites. We already have many safe search options, parental controls, and blacklists available for people who don’t want to see adult content. If traditional domains (.com) are more familiar and less likely to be automatically blocked, I don’t see the incentive for only using a .xxx domain. The thing to remember here is, .xxx domains are entirely voluntary;  so what happens if they ever become mandatory?

Think of the Internet like a country without borders, one global community. If we start dividing it up based on certain criteria, and governing each section with various rules, that removes control from the user and gives it to a higher authority. If we give an authority the ability to impose restrictions, we create the unnecessary potential for abuse. As long as these domains remain voluntary I have no problem at all.

Creative Commons image source: quinn.anya

in News of Note  by 11 Dec 2011 0 comments

Prosecuting Wall Street

News of Note: 60 Minutes: Prosecuting Wall Street


” Two whistleblowers offer a rare window into the root causes of the subprime mortgage meltdown. Eileen Foster, a former senior executive at Countrywide Financial, and Richard Bowen, a former vice president at Citigroup, tell Steve Kroft the companies ignored their repeated warnings about defective, even fraudulent mortgages. The result, experts say, was a cascading wave of mortgage defaults for which virtually no high-ranking Wall Street executives have been prosecuted.” (CBS News)

It’s a huge relief to see bank corruption being exposed on mainstream television. As much as people don’t want to hear the truth, this isn’t something that can be swept under the rug. I’m hoping that 60 Minutes has opened up Pandora’s box. Family and friends of mine who normally have no interest in the economy are coming to me flabbergasted and actually angry at what they heard. Yes, banks are breaking the law and making billions by driving our entire economy into the ground. This is a perfect example of how whistleblowers are one of our greatest assets for exposing corruption and bringing forth change.

Slideshow image source: Truthout.org

in News of Note  by 07 Dec 2011 0 comments

Gene Therapy Protects Against HIV

News of Note: Gene therapy can protect against HIV

“The road to a vaccine against HIV has proved to be far longer than originally anticipated. More than 2 million adults are newly infected with HIV every year and, nearly three decades after the virus was first identified, researchers haven’t found a reliable way to prevent infection. The classic vaccine approach, which uses all or part of an inactivated virus to induce immunity, has yielded little success because HIV has managed to disguise most of the easily-recognised external structures that antibodies would target. Researchers have thus had a tough time finding a molecule that can induce even moderately broad responses against the virus in all its different mutations. So although it might sound extreme to use gene therapy as a preventative treatment for HIV/AIDS, the method could provide a much-needed alternative.”

“David Baltimore, a virologist and HIV researcher at the California Institute of Technology in Pasadena, and his colleagues used a genetically altered adenovirus to infect muscle cells and deliver DNA that codes for antibodies isolated from the blood of people infected with HIV. The DNA is incorporated into the muscle cells’ genome and programs the cells to manufacture the antibody, which is then secreted into the bloodstream…

“Baltimore and his colleagues tested five different broadly neutralizing antibodies, one at a time, in mice with humanized immune systems. Two of the antibodies, called b12 and VRC01, proved completely protective — even when the mice received doses of HIV that were 100 times higher than a natural infection. After 52 weeks, the levels of antibody expression remained high, suggesting that a single dose would result in long-lasting protection. “We showed that you can express protective levels of antibodies in a mammal and have that expression last for a long period of time,” Baltimore says. “It sets the stage for human trials.”

I’m almost convinced that there will be a cure for HIV within my lifetime; considering the frequency of studies like this one, it sounds more than likely. In a world without HIV, not only will 33+ million people no longer have to suffer needlessly, the movement for sexual freedom will have conquered one of it’s greatest enemies. Disease and suffering being attributed to sex will become a thing of the past.

in News of Note  by 05 Dec 2011 0 comments

Kentucky church bans interracial couples

News of Note: Kentucky church bans interracial couples

“A small church in Pike County, Kentucky has voted to ban interracial couples from most church activities “to promote greater unity among the church body…

“Parties of such marriages will not be received as members, nor will they be used in worship services and other church functions, with the exception being funerals. All are welcome to our public worship services. This recommendation is not intended to judge the salvation of anyone, but is intended to promote greater unity among the church body and the community we serve.”

Harville told The Kentucky Herald-Leader that the decision is an embarrassment to God, the church and the whole community.

“It sure ain’t Christian,” she explained. “It ain’t nothing but the old devil working.”

I’m absolutely dumbfounded that this type of discrimination still happens in America. Did we just take a step 100 years backwards? I don’t want this to be news. I don’t want to pay attention to this short of behavior, but we can’t just sweep it under the rug. It’s groups just like this that continue to embarrass America in front of the eyes of the world. These people even vote — how does that make you feel?

in News of Note / Videos  by 03 Dec 2011 0 comments