27 arrested in Child Porn ring

Is it more then a coincidence that shortly after Google is forced to give up it’s records that the government makes a remarkable break in a child porn ring? It has been said that the actual investigation into the site started about 10 months prior to any arrest being made. As much as putting a stop to such sites is important, are the details fact or another form of our government displaying its image as “the all protecting government”. If the details are factual, then why didn’t they do something sooner?

The 10-month investigation was said to include law enforcement officials from outside the United States in the investigation. However the time frame involved before making arrest allowed one of the chat room hosts to purge her computer of pornographic images.

The victims involved in the ring included four children under 12 years old as well as one that was under 18 months according to the Justice Department. The chat room from which they were exploited was described to be, "molestation on demand” by Julie Myers (Immigration and customs Assistant Secretary). Among the videos that were listed in the indictment were two that were very explicit, one of which suggested the victim was a female 7 years old.

The 27 arrested included 13 from the United States, 9 from Canada, 3 from Australia and 2 from England. Though most were charged with possession, receipt, distribution, manufacturing of child pornography and other offenses, four were accused of actual molestation. One man was in Bartlett, Illinois even accused of producing video of himself molesting and performing oral sex on an infant.

Regardless of the facts behind how the arrest came about the importing fact remains, molestation of any kind is wrong and must be stopped. As part of the battle to prevent molestation or any other kind of sexual crime, we must also take affirmative action against those who file false accusations. The laws have to work to protect the people not as a weapon for those who choose to use it in that manner.

Should you come across material on the Internet that is related to or promoting child porn,
please report it at one of the following web sites:

ACPO www.antichildporn.org

CyberTip www.cybertip.ca

Child Safe www.childsafe.netsocorp.com

Should you know of other sites to report child porn or any other kind of illegal porn, please post the address by adding a comment.

Written by A. Wallace

New proposal could restart New York WTC talks

NEW YORK (Reuters) - The developer of New York's World Trade Center site offered a proposal on Friday on how to rebuild the area destroyed by the September 11 attacks and called on the land owner to revive stalled negotiations.

The Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which owns the land, responded that many aspects of the new proposal were unacceptable and that it planned a counterproposal.

Talks between developer Larry Silverstein and the Port Authority broke down early on Wednesday amid acrimony and bickering over money, casting uncertainty over the $7.3 billion project.

Silverstein's overture on Friday addressed the Port Authority's demand for a formal new proposal as a condition for starting talks anew. Silverstein previously wanted to pick up negotiations where they left off.

"The proposal is comprehensive. It deals with all the unresolved issues that were being negotiated on Tuesday," Janno Lieber, senior vice president of Silverstein Properties, told Reuters. "If offering a new proposal is what it takes, we're happy to oblige."

Port Authority spokesman Tony Ciavolella said, "Silverstein Properties has attempted to provide a revision to their proposal of last Tuesday night, however many aspects remain unacceptable. Port Authority staff will develop a counterproposal that we believe will work for both parties to get this deal done." He did not elaborate.
A deal is crucial to Silverstein getting $3.4 billion in tax-exempt Liberty Bonds, half each from the state of New York and New York City, which he needs to finance the project.

At issue is who will build which skyscrapers at the site to replace the lost 10 million square feet of lost office space, what rent to charge, and how to divide up Silverstein's $4.6 billion in insurance proceeds.

Construction is due to begin next month on the 1,776-foot-tall (540-metre-tall) Freedom Tower, which will replace the Twin Towers in the Manhattan skyline.

After talks broke down, Gov. George Pataki, Mayor Michael Bloomberg and U.S. Sen. Charles Schumer called on Silverstein to make a better offer.

Pataki, a Republican considering a 2008 White House bid, is eager that rebuilding at the site be well under way before he leaves office at the end of the year.

Lieber denied the new proposal was a response to the criticism. "We don't stand on ceremony," he said. "We're builders, we're not politicians."

Silverstein acquired a 99-year lease to the site two months before the September 11 attacks.

By Daniel Trotta
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060318/us_nm/property_wtc_dc_1

Seeking Book Donations

The New Orleans Public Library
(New Orleans LA)

The New Orleans Public Library is asking for any and all hardcover and paperback books for people of all ages in an effort to restock the shelves after Katrina.

The staff will assess which titles will be designated for its collections. The rest will be distributed to destitute famillies or sold for library fundraising.

Please send your books to:

Rica A. Trigs, Public Relations
New Orleans Public Library
219 Loyola Avenue
New Orleans, LA 70112

If you tell the post office that they are for the library in New Orleans, they will give you the library rate which is slightly less than the book rate.

From The New York Foundation for the Arts at http://www.nyfa.org/

Posted by A. Wallace

How to Repair Your Credit

If you're struggling with debt, here are few steps you can take to repair or rebuild your credit on your own before accepting one of the many "debt consolidation" offers or resorting to bankruptcy.

Steps:

1.Create a budget. Calculate your income and your expenditures. Figure in your bills such as car and house payments, utilities, and other bills that you can't be late on. Find out how much money is going to waste for leisure activities and going out to eat. Then figure out how much money you can set aside each month to whittle down your debt. There is a lot of free budgeting software out there, just look.

2.Be aware of what's in your credit report. Surf the web for the latest free offers, but read the fine print. Some "free" offers automatically enroll you in a monthly or annual program that costs money. Or, visit the websites of Equifax, Experian, or Trans Union to obtain a free report.

3.Contact your creditors. Not after months of harassing calls, but as soon as you realize you won't be able to make the requested payments. Most creditors are not as cut-throat as you think, and they will work with you to schedule smaller payments that fit your budget. Look at it from their point of view. They'd much rather receive $20 payments for the next year than get nothing if you have to file for bankruptcy. Let them know you're trying to repair your credit, and offer to pay them a percentage of your balance. Most agencies will accept 30 - 40% of your debt.

4.Get any agreement in writing. Once you pay off your debt, make sure you get a settlement letter and send it to the credit bureaus so they can amend your credit report.

5.Cut up the cards. Keep a few of the accounts open. Having 5 accounts with zero balance on four and $500 on one lowers your credit risk, as opposed to 2 accounts with a $250 balance each.

6.Get a secured credit card. You're unlikely to be turned down for one because you supply the money up front. For instance, you pay $300 for a secured card, and every time you make a purchase, the amount comes out of the balance, at the same time rebuilding your credit. It's all the benefit of a regular card with none of the risk.

7.Join a credit union. They're more likely to give you loans in the future than a regular bank.

8.Make all payments on time. Don't arrange a lowered settlement amount if you can't pay it. Don't get a secured credit card if you won't be able to make those payments on time. It will only reflect badly on your credit.

9.Recognize that bankruptcy shows up on your credit for 10 years. Don't take the easy way out now, you'll pay for it later. It takes a lot more hard work and dedication to rebuild your credit than it does to declare bankruptcy, but you'll be glad you did.

By Imperatrix
http://wiki.ehow.com/User:Imperatrix

Americans protest across country against US-led war in Iraq

NEW YORK (AFP) - Thousands of people marched in several US cities against the US-led war in Iraq

The protests, held to mark the third anniversary of the war that toppled the Saddam Hussein regime, come at a time when anti-war sentiment in the United States is at an all-time high and the popularity of US President George W. Bush, the architect of the war, has plummeted.

The demonstrations, held in New York as well as Washington, San Francisco, Los Angeles and dozens of small and mid-sized US cities, were organized by several groups including the ANSWER (Act Now to Stop War and End Racism) coalition.

About 1,000 protestors gathered near New York's Times Square at a rally where speaker after speaker denounced the Bush administration and the continuing US troop presence in Iraq.

The demonstration, organized by the group Troops Out Now, called for an immediate, complete and unconditional US military withdrawal.

"Public opinion is now overwhelmingly on our side as it becomes clearer every day that this occupation itself is the source of the violence in Iraq," said organizer Dustin Langley.

"But politicians of neither party are going to end the war, so we have to get back on the streets," Langley said.

Organizers had intended to rally at a military recruiting station in Times Square, but were denied permission by the New York Police Department.

The angry demonstrators ended up being penned in behind police barriers along the side of the road several blocks away.
Later in the day, they planned to march to the United Nations for a further rally.

Small-scale anti-war protests and meetings were scheduled all over New York at the weekend, and on Monday REM frontman Michael Stipe was to headline a "Bring 'Em Home Now!" concert in the city.

The anti-war movement is "is going into cities, towns and neighborhoods in decentralized actions," said ANSWER coalition national coordinator Brian Becker in a statement ahead of the protests.

The group has vowed "more than 300 actions in the United States alone" between Saturday and Monday.

Another anti-war group, United for Peace and Justice -- which claims to be the largest US anti-war coalition -- promised more than 500 events in all 50 states.

The anti-war movement will "send a clear message to Congress and the White House: after three years of a failed policy, the Iraq war must end," read a group statement.

Bush, in his weekly radio address, insisted that invading Iraq was "the right decision," and vowed to overcome violence there that has killed some 2,300 US soldiers and countless Iraqi civilians.

"We will finish the mission," said Bush. "By defeating the terrorists in Iraq, we will bring greater security to our own country."
Bush did not mention the failure to find Iraq's alleged arsenal of nuclear, biological and chemical weapons that was the core of his public case for war.

In San Francisco hundreds of protesters milled about in front of City Hall as the anti-war protest got under way there late Saturday morning.

Banners included "Bring our troops home now" and "Bush is the symptom, capitalism is the disease, and revolution is the cure."
In a Newsweek poll released Saturday, 65 percent of 1,020 American adults polled disapproved of Bush's handling of the situation in Iraq. Just 29 percent approved.

Only 36 percent approved of Bush's overall performance as president, the poll showed.

A Gallup survey published Thursday showed support for keeping US troops in Iraq had reached its lowest point since the March 20, 2003, US-led invasion.

From http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=2628&ncid=2628&e=4&u=/afp/20060318/ts_alt_afp/iraqwaranniversary_060318215112