Jack Diehl

Wikileaks: US Threatened Spain For Not Implementing Internet Blacklist

News of Note: US Threatened To Blacklist Spain For Not Implementing Site Blocking Law

In a leaked letter sent to Spain’s outgoing President, the US ambassador to the country warned that as punishment for not passing a SOPA-style file-sharing site blocking law, Spain risked being put on a United States trade blacklist . Inclusion would have left Spain open to a range of “retaliatory options” but already the US was working with the incoming government to reach its goals.

Yet again we have Wikileaks to thank for revealing the truth. Citizens of Spain can fall asleep knowing that their loss of freedom was largely caused by the United States Government. Here we are worried about SOPA being passed in our own country and our government is running around policing the world with similar bills. What is happening to this country? The whole world needs to stand up and pay attention to America’s behavior; this sort of thing should not be ignored or tolerated.


in Events / News of Note  by 07 Jan 2012 0 comments

Can cutesy pet names ruin your sex life?

News of Note: Sweetie turns sour – NYTimes.com
Using a cutesy pet name or baby talk with your partner can cause sex life to dwindle 

According to self-help authors Maggie Arana and Julienne Davis, “Calling your partner honey is the first step down the slippery slope toward a bland or nonexistent sexual relationship.”

And it’s not just “honey.” Any endearing nickname — “sweetie,” “darling,” “pookie,” “pumpkin” and Jerry Seinfeld’s gag-reflexive “schmoopie” — they say, will open the “Pandora’s Box of non-sexuality,” which also contains other bad habits of over-familiarity that, over time, can turn lovers into roommates…

“Names have a very deep impact subconsciously, especially when they are repeated day after day, year after year,” Davis, a reformed user of “pookie,” says during a phone interview. Both women currently live in Los Angeles with their “non-honey” partners.

That age-old, enduring “honey,” is an androgynous word that erodes each partner’s individuality and sexuality, she says, inadvertently turning him or her into a cuddly friend. As the book says: “Honey is great at spooning under the covers, but no so great for hot, passionate sex under the covers.”

I’m not so sure that “honey” will literally ruin your sex life, but the subtle effects of pet names on relationships remain quite interesting. Do repeat users of cutesy and non-sexual names seek the familiar, the informal, and the immature?

This is a sensitive subject, one that I imagine could easily put some couples on the defensive. When you examine yourself, have pet names affected your relationship? Let us know what you think!

Creative Commons image: source

in News of Note  by 05 Jan 2012 0 comments

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