The proliferation of computer technology and emergence of the Internet has enhanced the lives of children and adults. Increasing productivity and efficiency, the Internet is a powerful educational tool, and it provide youths a vast amount of information. That said, it is important to remember that the Internet can also be very dangerous. Criminals are using modern technology to prey on innocent victims. According to research, one in five youths, ages 10-17, were approached online sexually or were sexually solicited. The tool for the solicitation was the Internet. In fact, 89% of those solicitations occurred via chat rooms or with predators using instant messaging. Additionally, nine out of ten children online, ages 8-16, have viewed pornography online. In most cases the children unintentionally encountered pornography while searching for an alternate item, but the statistic is very telling. In many ways, the Internet has made the predators job easier, as the predators can hide behind pseudonyms and screen names. The danger of the Internet is persistent and very real because the Internet provides predators anonymity. Online victimization differs little from traditional victimization that happens in person, the process is essentially the same. The perpetrator uses information to target a child. Often solicitation begins in the form of friendship, sharing hobbies and interests. The predator then adapts the persona of who their young victim wants them to be. Online predators will often spend considerable time befriending a child. The predator builds a level of trust with the victim. No family is immune to the possibility that their child will become an online victim. Older children are at an increased risk, because they are often online unsupervised. Teens or adolescents, who are particularly rebellious or searching for their identity, are often more susceptible to Internet predators. Sadly, in almost all cases the interaction begins as a harmless camaraderie and it evolves into inappropriate sexually explicit conduct. Online crimes often transcend jurisdictional boundaries, making it difficult to prosecute or even track. And while cross-agency support has been growing, its growth can not keep up with the abundance of online crime. The Internet has no boundaries, and there is not a centralized legal body regulating crime on the Internet. Remember, physical contact between a child and perpetrator does not necessarily need to occur for a crime to have been committed. In many cases, digitally explicit material is emailed back and forth. Educating our children is critical to keeping them safe. If you are aware of an incident that involves child exploitation via the Internet contact the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children at 800.843.5678.
About the Author:
Sharon Housley manages marketing for FeedForAll http://www.feedforall.com software for creating, editing, publishing RSS feeds and podcasts. In addition Sharon manages marketing for NotePage http://www.notepage.net a wireless text messaging software company.
Showing posts with label Safety. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Safety. Show all posts
Monday, November 14, 2011
Verizon Supports Rockefeller Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Bill
WASHINGTON – January 25, 2011 –
Sen. John D. (Jay) Rockefeller IV, D-W.Va., chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee, on Tuesday (Jan. 25) introduced the Public Safety Spectrum and Wireless Innovation Act (S. 28). The following statement should be attributed to Peter Davidson, Verizon senior vice president, federal government relations:
"This year marks the tenth anniversary of the events of 9/11, and as a nation we must work together to ensure that the year does not end without addressing the significant communications challenges of the public-safety community. Verizon applauds Chairman Rockefeller for his leadership in addressing this challenge, and we look forward to working with Congress to provide America's first responders with the resources they need to ensure effective, reliable communications now and in the future."
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Saturday, July 9, 2011
Treasuries Gain as Jobs Data, European Debt Turmoil Spur Demand for Safety - Bloomberg
Treasuries climbed, pushing five-year note yields to the biggest weekly loss in more than a year, as investors sought safety amid European sovereign-debt turmoil and data showing the lowest U.S. job gains in nine months.
Benchmark 10-year note yields dropped the most in almost three months as the U.S. unemployment rate unexpectedly rose to the highest level in 2011. China raised interest rates for the third time this year, spurring concern growth will slow. The Treasury will auction $66 billion in notes and bonds next week as the Aug. 2 debt-ceiling deadline looms.
“Concerns coming from overseas have been exacerbated by concerns at home after the jobs report, and Treasuries have rallied,” said Larry Milstein, managing director of government and agency debt trading in New York at R.W. Pressprich & Co., a fixed-income broker and dealer for institutional investors. “It seemed like we were coming through the economic rough patch, but this certainly takes the legs out of that hope.”
Yields on the five-year note tumbled 20 basis points, the most since the five days ended May 7, 2010, to 1.58 percent in New York, from 1.78 percent on July 1, according to Bloomberg Bond Trader prices. The 1.5 percent security due in June 2016 gained 31/32, or $9.69 per $1,000 face amount, to 99 5/8.
The benchmark 10-year note yield dropped 16 basis points, or 0.16 percentage point, the most since the week ended April 15, to 3.03 percent. Two-year yields slid eight basis points, also the biggest drop since April 15, to 0.39 percent.
Treasuries erased early losses yesterday after Labor Department data showed U.S. payrolls rose by 18,000 positions last month, versus a 105,000 gain forecast in a Bloomberg News survey. The jobless rate rose to 9.2 percent, from 9.1 percent.
May’s employment gain was revised to 25,000 jobs, less than half the advance initially estimated. Private hiring, which excludes government agencies, rose by 57,000 jobs, the weakest since May 2010. ADP Employer Services said on July 7 companies added 157,000 jobs in June.
The payrolls report “forces all the bond bears back to the drawing board,” said George Goncalves, head of interest- rate strategy at Nomura Holdings Inc., one of 20 primary dealers that trade Treasuries with the Federal Reserve. “This confirms that the data will remain soft and weak.”
President Barack Obama said in a televised appearance at the White House after the report the U.S. still has “a big hole to fill” in replacing jobs lost in the recession.
The data may add urgency to talks tomorrow, when Obama and Republican and Democratic congressional leaders will try again to agree on cutting deficits and raising the government’s $14.3 trillion debt ceiling. The Treasury says an accord is needed by Aug. 2 to avert a default on U.S. debt.
“There’s not much confidence that there’s a working plan to get the economy back on track, or confidence that there’s progress on the debt ceiling,” said Anthony Cronin, a Treasury trader at the primary dealer Societe Generale SA in New York.
U.S. lawmakers are likely to raise the nation’s debt limit by $1 trillion as part of a compromise that would include an equal amount in budget cuts, according to Citigroup Inc.
An agreement of that size would have “negligible” market impact because monthly government expenditures are about $107 billion, New York-based Citigroup Global Markets strategist Neela Gollapudi wrote in a research note yesterday to clients.
As the deadline approaches, the U.S. will sell $32 billion of three-year notes on July 12, $21 billion of 10-year debt on the following day and $13 billion of 30-year bonds on July 14. The sizes are unchanged from the June sales of the securities.
The Fed has held its target for overnight lending between banks at zero to 0.25 percent since December 2008 to support the economy. It completed a $600 billion bond-purchase program in June to stimulate growth and continues to reinvest maturing bond proceeds into the market.
Treasuries rallied for two days, with 10-year notes ending a five-day rout, after Moody’s Investors Service cut Portugal’s credit rating on July 5 to Ba2, or junk. The move stemmed partly from “the growing risk that Portugal will require a second round of official financing before it can return to the private market,” Moody’s said.
The Iberian nation followed Greece and Ireland in seeking a bailout from the European Union. Treasuries fell last week as Greek lawmakers approved an austerity plan to win more aid.
Three-month Treasury bill rates dropped below zero this week for the first time since 2008. They reached negative 0.0051 percent before trading at 0.0203 percent yesterday.
“People came to the conclusion that this situation in Europe is not going away any time soon,” said Charles Comiskey, head of Treasury trading at Bank of Nova Scotia in New York.
China raised rates to combat inflation. Its one-year deposit rate rose to 3.5 percent from 3.25 percent, the People’s Bank of China said on its website. The one-year lending rate will increase to 6.56 percent from 6.31 percent.
“The China story is obviously a component to the nerves in the market,” said Paul Horrmann, a broker in New York at Tradition Asiel Securities Inc., an interdealer broker.
Treasuries have returned 0.7 percent in July after falling 0.3 percent in June, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch’s Treasury Master index. The S&P 500 has gained 1.8 percent this month after falling 1.7 percent in June.
To contact the reporters on this story: Cordell Eddings in New York at ceddings@bloomberg.net; Susanne Walker in New York at swalker33@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Dave Liedtka at dliedtka@bloomberg.net
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