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Access to online pornography is changing the way young people learn about sex, a trend that has many parents worried. But German experts believe many of their fears are unfounded. Instead of trying to prevent porn consumption, parents should focus on teaching healthy sexual values, they say. Carl was 13 the first time he watched porn. His best friend showed him a video on the website Youporn that showed a woman being penetrated inside a tent. The boys giggled a bit, finding the situation embarrassing. A couple weeks later, Carl decided he needed his own Internet connection. Until then, he'd...

There’s a two bedroom basement apartment for rent in Toronto’s northwest end —one bathroom, newly painted and renovated with a side entrance. The ad, posted on popular classified site Kijiji.ca, comes with the typical caveats —no pets allowed, no smokers. And then, a less common request: Only Muslims need apply. It’s the exact kind of specifications the Ontario Human Rights Commission recently warned landlords against putting in their online classified ads —any denial of a prospective tenant due to race, ethnic origin, religion, sex, sexual orientation, age and disability, among other things, is grounds for discrimination according to the Ontario...

If I sell online, can I get scammed if they pay me thru Paypal?

<p>WASHINGTON -- The White House is making it easier for people to press the federal government to act.</p> <p>It is bringing that age-old constitutional right to petition one's government into the digital age with a new webpage, "We the People," where members of the public will be able to create and sign petitions seeking the government's action on a range of issues.</p>

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid has said that his debt ceiling bill, in a bow to Republicans, includes no tax increases. But does it really? An analysis from the Republican Senate Budget Committee staff shows that Reid’s bill includes gimmicks that, if passed, would account for approximately $3.8 trillion in revenue — or tax increases. The maneuvering is complicated; but when explained properly, it becomes clear. Reid’s proposal includes a provision that “deems” budget resolutions for fiscal years 2012 and 2013, but Senate Democrats have not yet produced a 2012 budget proposal, much less one for 2013. Within those anticipated...

G-rated, too... I just wonder what the shirt says: Speakers on? Then click this guy to open in a new window...  then try to put your cursor on his nose! _____________________________________________ -h/t P.L.-

"Swift justice demands more than just swiftness." When U.S. Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart penned those words from the bench in 1958, there wasn't much chance he could have envisioned how quick "swift" could be 53 years later. Nor could he have imagined that swiftness — not necessarily in a legal sense, but in one every bit as important: Reputation. The fact is, throughout history, it has always behooved people to rectify misconceptions or misrepresentations of their character or reputation as quickly as the message spreads. The longer a falsehood permeates the public discourse — even if the truth eventually...

(AP) -- How do you write a new constitution in the 21st century? You go where the people are - online. That was the decision of tiny but tech-savvy Iceland, which is overhauling its constitution in the wake of an economic catastrophe, and has turned to the Internet to get input from citizens. The 25-member council drafting the new constitution is reaching out to Icelanders online, especially through social media sites Facebook and Twitter, video-sharing site YouTube and photo site Flickr. Iceland's population of 320,000 is among the world's most computer-literate. Two-thirds of Icelanders are on Facebook, so the constitutional...

Congressman Weiner admits online affairsBy Mark Egan Reuters – 2 hours 9 minutes ago **SNIP** "Certainly he can forget about mayor," said Doug Muzzio, a professor of public affairs, at Baruch College in New York, adding that while Weiner might weather the storm, he will likely face a tough challenge if he seeks re-election in 2012. House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi called for an ethics probe "to determine whether any official resources were used or any other violation of House rules occurred." Weiner said in a statement, "I welcome and will fully cooperate with an investigation by the House Ethics...

Arizona lawmakers want to erect a fence along the border with Mexico - whether the federal government thinks it's necessary or not. They've got a plan that could get a project started using online donations and prison labour. If they get enough money, all they would have to do is get cooperation from landowners and construction could begin as soon as this year. Governor Jan Brewer recently signed a bill that sets the state on a course to building a permanent barrier along its borders, and a website is being launched to raise money for the work.

Amazon all but told South Carolina goodbye Wednesday after the online retailer lost a legislative showdown on a sales tax collection exemption it wants to open a distribution center that would bring 1,249 jobs to the Midlands.

Online poker players in the United States will be able to withdraw money from accounts associated with two Internet poker companies recently indicted for bank fraud and money laundering, federal authorities said Wednesday. The U.S. government has agreed to allow PokerStars and Full Tilt Poker, two of the three largest Internet poker companies, to resume use of domain names that had been shut down last week. Under the “domain name use agreements“ the companies will be able to reactivate pokerstars.com and fulltiltpoker.com to “facilitate the withdrawal of U.S. players’ funds held in account with the companies.“ The agreement also allows...

The founders of the three largest online poker sites were indicted by the FBI on Friday in what could serve as a death blow to the thriving industry. Eleven executives at PokerStars, Full Tilt Poker and Absolute Poker were charged with bank fraud and money laundering in an indictment unsealed in a Manhattan court. Two of the executives were arrested on Friday morning in Utah and Nevada. Federal agents are searching for the others. Prosecutors are seeking to immediately shut down the sites and to eventually send the executives to jail and to recover $3 billion from the companies. By...

How much should a college education cost? According to the College Board, the average cost of earning a degree at a private, 4-year university is now more than $100,000. If tuition prices continue to rise as quickly as they did during the past decade, a college degree will cost more than $200,000 by the time today’s third-graders are applying. That price tag is enough to cause most parents to break into a sweat. Is a college degree really worth this cost? Some bright minds think Americans are paying way too much. In fact, Bill Gates--one of the country's most famous...

A bipartisan group of House lawmakers is drafting a bill that would require Internet service companies to maintain the computer identification records of users for the FBI to work with in investigating child-pornography suspects. Democratic Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (Fla.) has thrown her support behind the measure, which, with its sponsor, Republican House Judiciary Committee Chairman Lamar Smith (Texas), could prove to be one of the rare pieces of legislation that manages to find bipartisan support in an increasingly divided House. The bill, which Smith is planning to introduce in the next several weeks, would require Internet service providers (ISPs)...

NEW YORK -- The rapid growth of smartphones and electronic tablets is making the Internet the destination of choice for consumers looking for news, a report released Monday said. Local, network and cable television news, newspapers, radio and magazines all lost audience last year, according to the Project for Excellence in Journalism, a research organization that evaluates and studies the performance of the press. News consumption online increased 17 percent last year from the year before, the project said in its eighth annual State of the News Media survey.

I recently saw an online ad that touted a guy who bought a brand new Apple iPad for just under $21. Since they retail for around $500, I thought I'd check it out. The company is QuiBids (quibids.com) and it's legit. The way it works is that you buy the number of "bids" you want. For example, you can buy 45 bids for $27, which works out to 60 cents per bid. At any given moment, there are dozens of items being auctioned, from iPads, TV's, gift certificates, golf clubs, you name it. You find an item you're interested in...

I'm posting this to encourage others to make the effort to amplify their influence like I do. Ever since I began contributing to Free Republic, I made a conscious decision to establish commenting accounts at media websites from which original articles were sourced to FR postings, and then cut and paste my comments written for Free Republic to those sites where it made sense to do so. In that way, I felt that I could increase my own tiny influence just a little bit more. I would encourage everyone here not already doing this to consider it for themselves. It...

Weymouth school board bans online friendships between students and teachersBy Ed Baker Wicked Local Weymouth Posted Dec 20, 2010 @ 10:50 AM Weymouth — Teachers will not be allowed to share personal information with students at online social websites like Facebook under a policy unanimously approved by the school committee. “I support the policy,” said member Gerald T. Murphy during a Dec. 16 meeting at Weymouth High School. “There should be levels of professional boundaries between students and teachers.” Mayor Susan Kay, who serves on the committee, said that the policy is meant to protect teachers from false accusations of...

Russ Walker, online news editor for Politico, is confused why the government can mandate one type of insurance and not another Leave it to one of the wizards of allegedly objective Politico to trot out this tired analogy. Russ Walker, who describes himself as an editor and a Politico employee, declared his confusion why it was “constitutionally OK” to mandate auto insurance but not health insurance after a federal judge deemed the mandatory health insurance provision of ObamaCare unconstitutional.