Prime minister supports Mothers’ Union report, but insists change comes through ‘social responsibility, not state control’ David Cameron has given strong backing to proposals to shield children from sexualised imagery across the media and tackle the commercialisation of childhood, but insisted that the way to bring about change is through “social responsibility, not state control”. An independent report by Reg Bailey, the chief executive of the Mothers’ Union , a Christian charity, will today set out a range of proposals to tackle the sexualisation and commercialisation of childhood. Retailers will be asked to sell “lad’s mags” in brown sleeves, the Advertising Standards Authority will look at ways to discourage billboards near schools and music videos will be given age-appropriate ratings under the plans , which were first revealed by the Guardian at the weekend. But Cameron appears to have rejected a recommendation to enforce the proposals with legislation if they were not voluntarily embarked on by retailers and publishers within 18 months. The prime minister today wrote to Bailey thanking him for his report. “I very much agree with the central approach you set out,” the letter says. “As you say, we should not try and wrap children up in cotton wool or simply throw our hands up and accept the world as it is. Instead, we should look to put ‘the brakes on an unthinking drift towards ever-greater commercialisation and sexualisation’.” But he does not commit to legislation with any of the recommendations, including toughening up the TV watershed. Bailey’s report asks for government and business to work together to tackle the problem – for example, by ending the sale of inappropriately “sexy” clothing for young children, such as underwired bras and T-shirts with suggestive slogans. But Bailey recommends that if progress is not made the government should force retailers to make the changes in 18 months. Cameron’s letter says: “I note that many of the actions you suggest are for business and regulators to follow rather than for government. I support this emphasis, as it consistent with this government’s overall approach and my long-held belief that the leading force for progress should be social responsibility, not state control.” Cameron highlights recommendations to reduce on-street advertising containing sexualised imagery near schools, moves to make it easier for parents to block adult and age-restricted material across all media, and a crackdown on companies paying children to promote their products in “peer-to-peer marketing”. He has called a meeting at Downing Street, to which retailers, advertisers, broadcasters, magazine editors, video games manufacturers, music producers, internet and phone companies and regulators will be invited to discuss progress on specific recommendations. In the meantime, a “whistleblowing” website for parents will be set up to inform them what they can do if they feel a programme, advertisement, product or service is inappropriate for their children. Children Child protection David Cameron Magazines Advertising Family Parents and parenting Polly Curtis guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Passwords stolen from 180 members of non-profit organisation InfraGard, including military users and cybersecurity companies A US private sector affiliate of the FBI has become the latest target of a hackers’ collective, which recently penetrated the online security defences of Nintendo and Sony. Nearly 180 passwords belonging to members of the Atlanta chapter of InfraGard were stolen, according to the non-profit organisation, which connects businesses with law enforcement authorities. Copies of the passwords – which appeared to include users from the US military, cybersecurity organisations and major communications companies – were posted online by the anonymous hacking collective, Lulz Security . “Someone did compromise the website,” the Associated Press was told by InfraGard Atlanta president, Paul Farley. “We do not at this time know how the attack occurred or the method used to reveal the passwords.” InfraGard started out as an FBI programme and now works with the bureau in the exchange of information concerning terrorism, intelligence, criminal and security matters. Lulz Security claimed, in a statement, to have used one of the passwords to steal nearly 1,000 work and personal emails from the chief executive of Unveillance LLC , a data leak intelligence company based in Delaware. The group claimed it was responding to a recent report that said the Pentagon was considering whether to classify some cyberattacks as acts of war. The FBI said on Sunday it was aware of the incident and that steps were being taken to mitigate the damage. Details of the attack on InfraGard came after Nintendo said it had been targeted by Lulz Security , which describes itself as a collective of hackers who attack weakly protected websites for fun. The group published a server configuration file purportedly from a Nintendo secure server on the internet after a separate security breach. A Nintendo spokesman said on Sunday: “We are always working to make sure our systems are secure.” Nintendo is preparing to launch a new online service this week at E3, the annual video games conference in Los Angeles. On Thursday, Lulz Security boasted of a major breach in which tens of thousands of Sony users’ details were posted to the internet. Sony has contacted the FBI . The incidents are the latest in a series of high-profile hacking attacks. The military firm Lockheed Martin and the US public news service PBS have also come under attack recently. Hackers thought to be based in China last week broke into Gmail accounts used by US government officials while Anonymous, the hackers’ collective that launched a series of attacks against financial institutions, recently made public more than 10,000 emails it stole from Iran’s ministry of foreign affairs. Hacking Data and computer security Internet Anonymous FBI United States Ben Quinn guardian.co.uk
Continue reading …Click here to view this media Now that Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann has thrown her hat in and said she’s participating in the GOP New Hampshire debate coming up this month, I guess we can expect more of this sort of lying demagoguery from her once those debates get started. Bachmann made an appearance at Ralph Reed’s event, the Faith and Freedom Coalition where apparently not just Bachmann, but just about every one of their party leaders showed up to kiss the feet of someone that I keep wondering why isn’t in prison right now due to his associations with Jack Abramoff. Bachmann decided to push the already discredited talking point that Planned Parenthood was involved in sex trafficking to throw some red meat to the crowd there, and apparently neither Bachmann or her audience have much use for the truth in this matter. If Bachmann thinks trafficking in lies such as this is a way to lead her to winning the GOP’s nomination for president, all I can say to her is good luck because I don’t think this sort of blatant lie will even make it past our sorry excuse for a corporate media once she enters the Republican debates or has the unfortunate incident of finding at least a few honest people in that corporate media willing to report on her lie here. That didn’t stop her from throwing this red meat to the audience there, added commentary mine. BACHMANN: And recently, this also I think has given rise to the steam that’s behind the issue of defunding Planned Parenthood. In a time when President Obama is calling on the Congress to give him authority to increase borrowing money that we don’t have, so borrow another, raise the debt ceiling by borrowing another 2.4 trillion, and we’re giving money to corrupt organizations like Planned Parenthood, that are committing crimes and enabling young minor girls and covering up issues I don’t even want to talk about it because it’s so distressing. (But of course she’s going to talk about the lie anyway, as “distressing” as it may be to her.) But this organization has by their own record performed 324,008 abortions in 2008 and 2009. And that’s in addition to the trafficking of under age girls that have gone on under Planned Parenthood’s nose. You think maybe we could start here by defunding this organization? I think so too. It couldn’t come soon enough. They’re a billion dollar a year organization. They need to stand on their own. Media Matters has more on why her attack on Planned Parenthood is bogus — HOAX VIDEO EXPOSED: Planned Parenthood Already Reported “Sex Trafficking” To FBI Of course what’s really disgusting about the GOP’s attack on Planned Parenthood is what they’re really attacking is the largest organization in the country that makes sure poor women have access to basic health care services and birth control. Every time I hear someone like Bachmann ranting on as she did here, I’m reminded of Al Franken’s statement that Republicans believe life begins at conception and ends at birth. Or as Randi Rhodes puts it, love the fetus, hate the child. These immoral Republicans who proclaim themselves to be “pro-life” like Bachmann have no care whatsoever for anyone in the working class after they’re born when you take a good look at their policies which do nothing at all but serve the will of their wealthy corporate campaign donors at the expense of the rest of us.
Continue reading …On Thursday, Philip Klein at the Washington Examiner publicized a whopper from Obama’s solicitor general Neal Katyal defending ObamaCare (and Mark Levin teed it up and whacked it to the fairway on the radio). But it was blacked out by all the networks – and all the major newspapers and wire services. Get a load of this: “President Obama's solicitor general, defending the national health care law on Wednesday, told a federal appeals court that Americans who didn't like the individual mandate could always avoid it by choosing to earn less money.” What? Would the president really like to tell a press conference that one can exercise their God-given liberty to avoid the individual mandate by putting oneself in the poorhouse and claiming a “hardship exemption”? Here’s how Klein reported the argument unfolded: During the Sixth Circuit arguments, Judge Jeffrey Sutton, who was nominated by President George W. Bush, asked Katyal if he could name one Supreme Court case which considered the same question as the one posed by the mandate, in which Congress used the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution as a tool to compel action. Katyal conceded that the Supreme Court had “never been confronted directly” with the question, but cited the Heart of Atlanta Motel case as a relevant example. In that landmark 1964 civil rights case, the Court ruled that Congress could use its Commerce Clause power to bar discrimination by private businesses such as hotels and restaurants. “They're in the business,” Sutton pushed back. “They're told if you're going to be in the business, this is what you have to do. In response to that law, they could have said, `We now exit the business.' Individuals don't have that option.” Katyal responded by noting that there's a provision in the health care law that allows people to avoid the mandate. “If we're going to play that game, I think that game can be played here as well, because after all, the minimum coverage provision only kicks in after people have earned a minimum amount of income,” Katyal said. “So it's a penalty on earning a certain amount of income and self insuring. It's not just on self insuring on its own. So I guess one could say, just as the restaurant owner could depart the market in Heart of Atlanta Motel, someone doesn't need to earn that much income. I think both are kind of fanciful and I think get at.” Sutton interjected, “That wasn't in a single speech given in Congress about this…the idea that the solution if you don't like it is make a little less money.” Klein added that this “neat idea” from Team Obama may not actually work out: “The so-called 'hardship exemption' in the health care law is limited, and only applies to people who cannot obtain insurance for less than 8 percent of their income. So earning less isn't necessarily a solution, because it could then qualify the person for government-subsidized insurance which could make their contribution to premiums fall below the 8 percent threshold.”
Continue reading …Type: DVD Title: Back to the Future: 25th Anniversary Trilogy (+ Digital Copy) [Blu-ray] See all customer reviews Product Description: Experience one of the most popular movie series of all time like never before with the Back to the Future 25th Anniversary Trilogy! Join Marty McFly (Michael J. Fox), Doc Brown (Christopher Lloyd) and a time traveling DeLorean for the adventure of a lifetime as they travel to the past, present and future, setting off a time-shattering chain reaction that disrupts the space time continuum! From filmmakers Steven Spielberg, Robert Zemeckis and Bob Gale, these timeless films feature all-new 25th Anniversary restorations for enhanced picture and sound plus hours of exciting bonus features. Actors: Michael J. Fox Adrian Paul Christopher Lloyd See the details
Continue reading …Rafael Nadal won his record-equaling sixth French Open title today, beating Roger Federer 7-5, 7-6 (3), 5-7, 6-1 in the final. It was the fourth final at Roland Garros between the two players, and the fourth won by Nadal.
Continue reading …It’s questionable why anyone would pay $200 for used underwear, but the definition of “collector’s item” sank even to that level yesterday as the contents of Bernie Madoff’s Palm Beach mansion went on the auction block. “It’s history! It’s the big thing! It’s the biggest thing of the century!” said…
Continue reading …Radio and television anchors are no longer allowed to use the names of the social networking sites in their broadcasts. The script has become overly trite – the phrase that begins “Social networking sites like…” is almost always followed by the words “Facebook and Twitter.” But now the French are turning up their noses at
Continue reading …Stereo Skyline – Kiss Me In The Morning (NEW SONG!) WWE One Night Stand 2007: BOTCHY LASHLEY!!! Movie on 2011-06-05 at 11.55.mov Martinberkhan says: A Closer Look At The Glycemic Index | LIVESTRONG.COM http://bit.ly/mI9rXb Debunks some myths about high/low-GI carbs.
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