HARTFORD, Conn. --Connecticut and more than a dozen other states are considering whether to require convicted sex offenders to register their e-mail addresses as part of efforts to combat online sexual predators.
Three states -- Virginia, Arizona and Kentucky -- already require sex offenders to provide law enforcement with their e-mail addresses as well as their home addresses.
The bills have support from the popular social networking site MySpace.com, which has been under increasing pressure to ferret out convicted child molesters and stop them from creating online profiles.
Connecticut's proposal, which passed the state House of Representatives 149-0 on Thursday, would expand the state's version of Megan's Law, named after Megan Kanka, a 7-year-old New Jersey girl who was raped and murdered in 1994 by a sex offender who lived across the street.
"Megan's Law is based on keeping track of where sex offenders reside. So it makes sense to track their location in cyberspace," said Connecticut House Speaker James Amann, D-Milford, who championed a 1995 bill requiring sex offenders to register their home addresses. "The Internet represents a new frontier of sex predators."
Connecticut's bill would require sex offenders to register any e-mail addresses, instant message addresses or other Internet identifiers with the state police. Those who don't report the information would face up to five years in prison.
It also makes it a Class C felony, punishable by up to 10 years in prison, for any person to misrepresent his or her age to entice a minor on the Internet to engage in sexual activity.
The bill awaits action in the Senate.
MySpace is lobbying for similar legislation on both state and national levels. The company's chief security officer, Hemanshu Nigam, appeared at a state Capitol news conference with Amman on Thursday.
"Our laws need to change with the times," he said. "We can no longer unwittingly provide an advantage to predators online."
Besides Connecticut, MySpace said California, Colorado, Florida, Illinois, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, and Texas have considered or are considering legislation that requires registered sex offenders to report their e-mail addresses.
Typical MySpace profiles include photos, music and personal information, including hometowns and education. Users can send messages to one another and, in many cases, browse other profiles.
The company said Thursday that it has removed 7,000 registered sex offenders' profiles from its site after hiring a software company to identify them. It is providing the information to law enforcement and state attorneys general.
"Mandatory sex offender e-mail registration legislation would significantly expedite this process and help keep sex offenders off our sites," Nigam said.
Under the bill, whenever MySpace determines that one of Connecticut's approximately 4,100 registered sex offenders is using the site, it must contact state police.
The bill has support from Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal, who, along with six of his counterparts in other states, demanded this month that MySpace turn over the names and information of the identified sex offenders on its site. But he said more needs to be done.
"This one step alone is insufficient," Blumenthal said. "Many predators have never been convicted of any sexual offense, and many more use aliases and fake information. Against this threat, we need age verification, identity checks and other measures to protect children on social networking sites."
Connecticut's bill also adds people paid to repair computers to the list of those required by law to report suspicions of child abuse they come across while on the job.
Thirty-seven professions in the state are required to report child abuse, including teachers, medical personnel and counselors. People in those professions who report abuse in good faith are immune from civil and criminal liabilities. Failure to notify the state Department of Children and Families could lead to fines up to $500.
© Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Friday, May 25, 2007
Coke agrees $4.1bn Glaceau buy
Coca Cola said it had agreed to buy Glaceau, the maker of Vitamin Water, for $4.1bn in the latest stage in the drinks giant's efforts to expand its portfolio of still drinks and give a lift to its struggling north American business.
Coke has been slower than PepsiCo, its fierce rival, to extend its reach beyond fizzy drinks into non-carbonated beverages, such as bottled water and energy drinks.
The market for still and energy drinks has been growing much faster than the mature carbonated market in north America. Increasingly health conscious consumers have started to shun products they perceive to be bad for them.
In an effort to catch up, Coke has been focusing on developing new products and on acquisitions.
"This will help us with our clearly declared goal of winning in north America," said Neville Isdell, chief executive.
Tata, the Indian conglomerate, bought a 30 per cent stake in Glaceau last year for $677m, based on an enterprise value of $2.2bn for the company, Coca-Cola said.
Muhtar Kent, Coke's chief operating officer, said: "Of course it's a high price, you may think". But the company said that it saw great growth potential for Glaceau in the south and centre of the US, as well as internationally. It already has a big presence on the east and west coasts.
The agreement to buy Glaceau, also known as Energy Drinks, comes shortly after the purchase of Fuze Beverages, a US maker of teas and juices, to close the gap with PepsiCo's broader portfolio.
The main products of Glaceau, which was set up in 1996, are "enhanced water" products and Smartwater, a bottled water brand. It will operate as a separate business unit within Coca Cola's north American branch. The top three executives at Glaceau will stay on for at least 3 years after the deal.
The all-cash deal is expected to close in mid-June, and Coke said it would add to earnings by the end of next year.
Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
Coke has been slower than PepsiCo, its fierce rival, to extend its reach beyond fizzy drinks into non-carbonated beverages, such as bottled water and energy drinks.
The market for still and energy drinks has been growing much faster than the mature carbonated market in north America. Increasingly health conscious consumers have started to shun products they perceive to be bad for them.
In an effort to catch up, Coke has been focusing on developing new products and on acquisitions.
"This will help us with our clearly declared goal of winning in north America," said Neville Isdell, chief executive.
Tata, the Indian conglomerate, bought a 30 per cent stake in Glaceau last year for $677m, based on an enterprise value of $2.2bn for the company, Coca-Cola said.
Muhtar Kent, Coke's chief operating officer, said: "Of course it's a high price, you may think". But the company said that it saw great growth potential for Glaceau in the south and centre of the US, as well as internationally. It already has a big presence on the east and west coasts.
The agreement to buy Glaceau, also known as Energy Drinks, comes shortly after the purchase of Fuze Beverages, a US maker of teas and juices, to close the gap with PepsiCo's broader portfolio.
The main products of Glaceau, which was set up in 1996, are "enhanced water" products and Smartwater, a bottled water brand. It will operate as a separate business unit within Coca Cola's north American branch. The top three executives at Glaceau will stay on for at least 3 years after the deal.
The all-cash deal is expected to close in mid-June, and Coke said it would add to earnings by the end of next year.
Copyright The Financial Times Ltd. All rights reserved.
Smooth-E "Contemporizes" Blake Lewis
Blake Lewis isn't this season's "American Idol," but that's no reason not to make fun of him -- and Eric Schwartz aka Smooth-E is up to the idol lampooning tricks again!
Remember the Sanjaya Anthem and how Smooth-E captured the essence of little Sanjy? In this new video, E hilariously transforms into the beat-boxing loser. This video has it all, from battling brides to hamster funerals ... even drinking priests.
Somebody needs to give this guy a show. Smooth-E, not Blake.
"Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End"
Some movies are too much of a good thing; others are too much of a bad thing. And some, like "Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End," are too much of nothing -- very expensive nothing.
The third and (please God) final entry in this screamingly successful Disney franchise is, like its predecessors, big on spectacle: There's so much to look at that you never know where to look. Director Gore Verbinksi and writers Ted Elliott and Terry Rossio have shoehorned so much action, movement and manufactured dazzle into the picture -- all cued by Hans Zimmer's hyperventilating music -- that the thing never simply breathes. This is a glazed, inhuman, cluttered piece of work, a storytelling mishmash that buries the considerable charms of its actors under heavy drifts of silt. It will make heaps of doubloons, but at this point, the "Pirates" franchise is essentially collecting a tax from moviegoers: See it and like it, matey, or you'll be out of step with the whole universe! And who wants that?
review Games
Abra Academy
Wanda's lifelong dream is to become a witch. Help her make it to graduation by finding magical objects hidden throughout the Abra Academy. Every room will test her witching skills, and the more items she finds, the faster she will reach her goal. There are fairies to help find those difficult items and bonus games to test your fast-thinking. Keep the cauldron fire burning by finding hidden wooden matches in every room! Let the spells begin with Abra Academy!
reflexive: Games
Big City Adventure: San Francisco
Join the Big City Adventure treasure hunt and search for thousands of cleverly hidden items! Travel to all of the most famous (and not so famous) locations around the cosmopolitan city of San Francisco! Discover 60 fascinating and obscure facts about the city and its history, plus earn cool mementos from the 20 amazing locations you'll visit! Collect coins to get additional hints, time bonuses and a big score boost! The trip of a lifetime awaits you in Big City Adventure: San Francisco!
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