This is why MySpace scares me...

MySpace bars 29,000 sex offenders

The social networking website MySpace has reported a four-fold increase in the number of convicted sex offenders using its service.

The company found more than 29,000 convicted sex offenders in the United States had profiles on MySpace - up from a figure of 7,000 given in May.

MySpace said it was pleased it had identified and removed the profiles of the offenders.

Critics of MySpace call for new laws to make such sites safer for children.

MySpace is a personal website tool allowing people to post blogs, music, and videos. More than 80 million people have registered a MySpace page. News Corp bought the site for $580m last year.

'Screams for action'

The new figures were first released by officials in two states - North Carolina and Connecticut - which have been pressing MySpace to reveal data about sex offenders found to be using the site.

"The exploding epidemic of sex offender profiles on MySpace - 29,000 and counting - screams for action," said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.

In North Carolina, Attorney General Roy Cooper wants a state law that would require children to obtain parental permission before creating profiles on sites such as MySpace, and require the site to check parents' identity.

He said such a law would mean "fewer children at risk, because there will be fewer children on those web sites".

Under current rules, users must be over the age of 14 to register with MySpace.

In a statement, MySpace said: "We're pleased that we've successfully identified and removed registered sex offenders from our site and hope that other social networking sites follow our lead." There are about 600,000 registered sex offenders in the United States.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/technology/6914870.stm

Published: 2007/07/25 02:04:53 GMT
© BBC MMVII

What is going on?!

Everyday I make time to read the daily news headlines...usually BBC...because my job focuses on countries in Asia, so they have more up-to-date international news. Well today I decided to change it up a bit and catch up on what's going on in my own country. I went to Fox news and now I'm in complete shock. What the heck is going on in this country?!

Look at these headlines of incidents happening in Florida, Colorado, Texas, California, Washington, and Ohio:

1. Mom Beat Kids on Flight, Threatening Attendant
2. Florida Man Guilty of Leaving Child to Gator
3. California Mother Drove Son to Gang Hit
4. Texas Man Suspected of Setting 3 Women on Fire
5. Woman Attacked for Cutting Line at Magic Kingdom
6. Teen Girls Charged as Burned Cat Clings to Life
7. Teen Charged as Adult in Toilet-Training Murder of Tot
8. Woman Pleads Guilty to Sex Assault of Infant, Videotaping Husband's Child Sex Acts
9. Hummer Gets Eco-Vandalized in Washington Suburb <-- compared to the others, this one is kinda funny! :)

Disappointment

I am disappointed in the Pope's recent comments. The Christian church needs to unite, not divide. We are the body of Christ, we need each other. Hands and legs trying to do the work of the eyes or ears doesn't work very well...

Commentary: Pope's comments irrelevant to non-Catholics

By Roland S. Martin

CNN Contributor

Non-Catholics who are up in arms of the proclamation by Pope Benedict XVI that the only true church in the world is that of Catholicism shouldn't even bother getting upset. Just chalk it up to an old man trying to get a little attention.

For him to even suggest that only the Catholic Church can provide true salvation to believers in Christ shows that he is wholly ignorant of the Scriptures that I have known all my life.

Sorry, let me take that back. I've really only known the Bible for the last 13 of my 38 years. That's because

those first 25 years were spent as a die-hard Catholic.

That's right, I was born and raised in the Catholic Church. One of the first meetings to build the church I was raised in -- Our Lady Star of the Sea in Houston -- took place in my grandparents' living room. Many of my Saturdays and Sundays were spent serving as an altar boy, Catholic Youth Organization leader, dedicated student of Catechism, and constantly reciting the Holy Rosary.

And the reality is that we were never really encouraged to study the Scriptures. The standard practice was for all of us to read the same pamphlets passed out by the church, recite the readings from the New and Old Testaments, listen to the Scripture chosen for us in the Gospel and hear a normally bland homily.

That isn't always the case at some Catholic churches. If you visit St. Sabina in Chicago, Father Michael Pfleger will surely have your soul jumping with his strong sermons and willingness to engage the community to get involved in direct action.

Yet as I reflect on my years as a Catholic, it pretty much was a wasted experience, as there was more identification with the church, and not with Christ.

And that's why Pope Benedict XVI is meaningless, along with his decision to re-state the primacy of the Catholic Church. This week, the pope released a document correcting interpretations of the Second Vatican Council, which some say modernized the church. But for hardliners like Pope Benedict XVI, the liberals went too far in some of their declarations.

But what ticked folks off was his assertion in the 16-page document by the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith that the only denominations that can call themselves true churches are ones that can trace their roots back to Jesus Christ's original apostles. He even suggested they suffer from defects.

This is nothing but a naked attempt by Pope Benedict XVI to "own" Jesus by virtue of the Catholic Church considering the apostle Peter as its leader. He refuses to acknowledge the reality that Jesus didn't consider a church to be most important. What was? The Great Commission.

The Bible records in Matthew 28:16 that Jesus called his 11 disciples (the other, Judas, hanged himself after betraying Jesus) to Mount Galilee and decreed, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age." (New International Version).

It doesn't matter what Pope Benedict XVI has to say, or for that matter, any other religious leader. A Christian believes in Jesus Christ and what He had to say, not what a man of God has to say. This is not an attempt to completely dismiss religious leaders, but is further evidence of what happens when ego is more important than the work of Christ.

John 14:6 says, "I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me." Nowhere does it say that Peter, Pope Benedict XVI or anyone else can supplant Jesus as the leader of the church.

It is these kinds of missives by Pope Benedict XVI that do nothing to support or build the community of faith. All it does is divide.

Protestant leaders: Don't buy into the foolishness. Let Pope Benedict XVI keep running off at the mouth and making pointless declarations. If you keep bringing good news to the poor, setting the captives free and assisting those who seek to know Jesus, then you'll make more headway in doing the work of Jesus than any 16-page document will.

Find this article at: http://www.cnn.com/2007/US/07/13/martin/index.html#cooliris

© 2007 Cable News Network.

How Deep The Father's Love For Us

"See how great a love the Father has bestowed on us, that we would be called children of God; and such we are. For this reason the world does not know us, because it did not know Him." 1 John 3:1

"In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another." 1 John 4:10-11

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock; if anyone hears My voice and opens the door, I will come in to him and will dine with him, and he with Me." Revelation 3:20

His pursuit

"For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor any other created thing, will be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 8:38-39

Another coworker's genius word creation

Alicia wrote this during our writer's meeting when we each received a scenario to write about for 5 minutes to get our writer-brains started...her topic was , write about the failed marriage between Goldilocks and Jack Sprat.

Failed marriage between Goldilocks and Jack Sprat

Childhood fairytales evoke a sense of wonder and longing for yesteryear in the hearts of people of all ages. Yet little is known about the tragic and often dysfunctional backgrounds of numerous stories we have all come to love. Among the most tragic is the story of Jack Sprat and his failed marriages. As the nursery rhyme alludes, Jack was a small fellow with a rather large wife. Since Jack was a shallow fellow consumed with outward appearances, eventually his wondering eye led him to a young lady named Goldilocks, the famous heroine of another beloved fable. Now a grown woman—blond, slender and strikingly beautiful, Goldilocks turned the heads of everyone from Jack Sprat to Shrek. After a secret lovers tryst, Jack eventually deserted his fat wife and married Goldilocks. However, after bearing 14 children to Jack, Goldilocks herself gained lovehandles and a rather large middle. Eventually, Jack left Goldi with the kids and hotly pursued Little Red Riding Hood. The moral of the story is, eat lots of fat and don’t be consumed with outward appearances.

HA HA HA!

"It appears that many individuals could benefit from reduced cat ownership and exposure."