WHO@ Newsletter - July 27, 2009
I couldn't make this up if I tried. . .Talk about a groundhog day
NJ cops use pepper spray on aggressive groundhog
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_odd_groun
Police in northern New Jersey needed pepper spray to thwart a groundhog on the attack. Boonton resident Alex Scott told police the rodent chased him when he entered his garage and tried to get his truck. Police Sgt. Mike Danyo and Officer Paul Ryan said the groundhog went on the attack when they arrived.
Police said Danyo tripped and fell. His partner sprayed pepper spray into the groundhog's face, giving the officers time to snare it.
The animal was euthanized and its remains will be shipped to the state health department for rabies testing.
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Visit WHOA on the web at http://www.haltabuse.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NEWS TO USE AND PASS ALONG!
(DISCLAIMER: The following news items were found on the web and were not written or endorsed by WHO@; they are for informational purposes only)
Facebook deletes page named for Morristown's 'Mud Lady' - 07/27/09
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/2009
Marianne Boulard didn't know someone had started a Facebook page where anonymous people posted pictures of her and commented on her life. She's familiar with the Internet but never heard of Facebook, a social networking site.
AT&T Blocks 4chan, Stirs Internet Hornet's Nest - 07/27/09
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/2009
High on the list of Things Not To Do on the World Wide Web is "hack off 4chan," the anonymous Internet message board community that blurs the line between a low-filtered Internet sounding board and launching pad for hijinks, Rickrolls, and full-scale protests. If you surfed one of the site's gateways -- especially the notorious board for random posting, "/b/" -- you might understand why an average person could take offense to the kinds of humor, images, and messages that get posted in upwards of 150,000 to 200,000 times each day.
Facebook Friend Recommendations From The Grave - 07/27/09
http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/07/face
Every time you visit the Facebook homepage you receive recommendations about potential individuals that you should friend but what happens when the person being recommended is dead? That’s exactly what has been happening to one of my family members for the past week and when I asked her about it, the response was understandable, “It’s a little bit creepy!” She then asked me what to do to remove it.
Facebook: A new battleground for cyber-crime - 07/27/09
http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosoci
Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace will soon become the most insidious places on the Internet, where users are most likely to face cyber attacks and digital annoyances, according to Web security firm Sophos.
The Internet and how anonymity can affect you - 07/26/09
http://www.examiner.com/x-17334-Sacrame
Hidden behind every computer screen lies a Teacher, Student, Artist, Politician, Mechanic, Con-artist, Mother, Father, Son, Daughter, etc.. Behind the computer hides a blank shadow of a person, a blank canvas to paint yourself into who ever you want to be. A lot of websites require you to sign up for access to emails, games, or even forums. They all have one thing in common - choose a username. This may leave you with the question, "Who am i?".
Technology moves faster than the law - 07/26/09
http://www.northplattebulletin.com/inde
According to the United States Census Bureau, approximately 35 percent of people under 25 used the Internet in 1997. In 2007 that number had gone up to more than 70 percent.
Parents police social networking - 07/26/09
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/stor
Rakesh Kumar was worried what his teenage daughter was up to on social networking site Orkut. When he finally accessed her profile, he was shocked to find that she was in touch with absolute strangers. Now he has installed a software to keep her in check. Rakesh's 15-year-old daughter Akansha has around 2,500 profiles on her friends list on Orkut -- a third of whom are people she has never met.
Facebook, MySpace posts could hurt you in professional world - 07/25/09
http://www2.dothaneagle.com/dea/news/lo
Once upon a time, Anita Jobs could apply for work and know that with diligent interview preparation and an impeccable resume, she had a good shot at success. Today, however, she might not have as much success when her potential employer sees his Facebook profile picture of her wearing a beer helmet while riding a unicycle on Highway 231.
After inquiry, lights go out on cop Web site - 07/24/09
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/2
The controversial Web forum domelights.com has been disabled following a Police Department investigation into online threats made against the president of a black police officer's organization that sued the site for allowing users to leave racist remarks.
Restraining orders ineffective at combating cyberstalking - 07/24/09
http://www.examiner.com/x-17770-Sacrame
California victims with domestic violence restraining orders are finding that protective orders are ineffective and useless at combating 21st century technology being utilized by batterers and stalkers. Domestic violence victims are reporting statewide that batterers are monitoring their on-line blogs and web sites yet the electronic monitoring of these women on-line by their batterers is not deemed to be a violation of a domestic violence protective order. Sound complicated? It is.
Police: Lawyer stalked family, posed as relatives on Internet - 07/24/09
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/st
State Police say a local lawyer stalked a Saratoga family – once sending 131 text messages in a single day and posing as family members on Facebook to learn secrets about the children.
Harassment suspect's Web sites now lead to city of Eagan's official site - 07/24/09
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_
After years of displaying political parody and news of small-business openings, the Internet addresses cityofeagan.org and city-of-eagan.com as of Friday redirect visitors to the city's municipal Web site.
The Web sites, however, remain under the control of an Eagan man facing felony charges.
Chicago lawyer accused of harassing woman - 07/23/09
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/w
A Chicago lawyer arrested and charged last year with criminal sexual assault, sexual abuse and unlawful restraint now faces charges of harassing his alleged victim and cyber stalking.
Update: Family speaks out against JoCo cougar - 07/23/09
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/07/pre
When police couldn't stop her son's harassment and cyberstalking from a Johnson County cougar, the boy and his mother, Joan, turned to the courts, Joan said in a press conference yesterday afternoon.
Man arrested on charge of stalking - 07/23/09
http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/loca
32-year-old Christopher Couture from Peru, Indiana was arrested yesterday by the Indiana State Police on a felony charge of stalking and a misdemeanor charge of harassment.
Web site proprietor charged with harassing couple online - 07/23/09
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_
For years, Emmett Salberg Jr. has been poking fun at the City of Eagan and its former mayor by posting unflattering parody on his Web site, cityofeagan.org.
City officials have long complained the Web address was too similar to the city's own, tripping up online visitors looking for information on municipal services. They privately labeled him a "1 percenter" one of a small group of residents who take up large chunks of city staff time with frequent requests for information about sometimes frivolous concerns.
Rhode Island Family Court bans woman from posting about her brother's case on Facebook - 07/23/09
http://www.examiner.com/x-14537-Al
In a statement released to the press yesterday, the Rhode Island ACLU annnounced that it has intervened in Family Court on behalf of a Barrington woman who has been barred by the Court from posting on the Internet any details about a pending Family Court custody proceeding in which her brother is involved. In a motion filed with the Court, Rhode Island ACLU volunteer attorney H. Jefferson Melish calls the ban a violation of Michelle Langlois’ First Amendment rights. The motion also argues that the Family Court had no jurisdiction to issue the order because the proceeding was filed in Kent County, even though neither party lives in that county.
MTA Apologizes To Wrongly Arrested Man - 07/23/09
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/marylan
The Maryland Transportation Authority has issued a public apology to a musician who was falsely accused of e-mailing a bomb threat to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Stalk Your Ex -- Legally! -- With Karen Berry - 07/23/09
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/j
Karen Berry got into private investigation the hard way: Somebody was stalking her, and she decided to take matters into her own capable hands. The 25-year Sunrise resident was working as property manager for a condo in Davie in the early '90s, living alone while her military husband was overseas serving in Desert Storm.
Jury Convicts San Antonio Man for Making Threats Over the Internet - 07/22/09
http://www.australia.to/index.php?optio
John E. Murphy, Acting United States Attorney announced that 32-year-old Steven Weste is in federal custody today after a jury in San Antonio found him guilty of making false statements to and concealing material facts from federal authorities and e-mailing threats to kill people including a person hired to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent, a Virginia police officer, and Weste’s former girlfriend.
Cyber bullying ends in tragedy - 07/22/09
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/sto
CHANELLE Rae was beautiful, bubbly and a devoted fan of the Geelong Football Club. And on Friday night she became the fourth student of the same state high school to commit suicide this year, raising serious concerns about cyber-bullying and copycat suicides.
How Easy Is It To Get the Private Cell Phone Records and Address of Verizon's CEO? - 07/22/09
http://www.zug.com/pranks/verizon/
Even if you have an unlisted number, chances are that all your personal data -- your cell phone number, who you called, where you live, and the number of your private sex therapist -- are all up for sale somewhere on the Internet.
Teen gets probation for texting pics of ex - 07/21/09
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/fl
A teenager who twice forwarded a cell phone image of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend's breasts will serve one year on probation. Under a plea bargain agreement with prosecutors, 18-year-old Bryce Aaron Dixon pleaded no contest to one first degree misdemeanor count of cyberstalking.
'I'm proud it cost police £10,000', says teenager whose Facebook party became a riot - 07/21/09
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
A teenager whose party became a riot after it was gatecrashed by 150 revellers who saw it advertised on Facebook has boasted about how much it cost to break up.
Yakuza try matchmaking business to make ends meet - 07/21/09
http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuch
These are hard times for us all; hardest of all, says Spa! (July 21), for the yakuza. Once, organized crime bands pursued glory, as they saw it. Now it’s a brute, inglorious hustle for mere survival. Nothing’s beneath them, as long as it pays. Couple this fact with a surging marriage boom, and you get… yakuza infiltrating the matchmaking business? Sure enough, the magazine finds.
NJ cops use pepper spray on aggressive groundhog
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/us_odd_groun
Police in northern New Jersey needed pepper spray to thwart a groundhog on the attack. Boonton resident Alex Scott told police the rodent chased him when he entered his garage and tried to get his truck. Police Sgt. Mike Danyo and Officer Paul Ryan said the groundhog went on the attack when they arrived.
Police said Danyo tripped and fell. His partner sprayed pepper spray into the groundhog's face, giving the officers time to snare it.
The animal was euthanized and its remains will be shipped to the state health department for rabies testing.
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Visit WHOA on the web at http://www.haltabuse.org
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
NEWS TO USE AND PASS ALONG!
(DISCLAIMER: The following news items were found on the web and were not written or endorsed by WHO@; they are for informational purposes only)
Facebook deletes page named for Morristown's 'Mud Lady' - 07/27/09
http://www.dailyrecord.com/article/2009
Marianne Boulard didn't know someone had started a Facebook page where anonymous people posted pictures of her and commented on her life. She's familiar with the Internet but never heard of Facebook, a social networking site.
AT&T Blocks 4chan, Stirs Internet Hornet's Nest - 07/27/09
http://tech.yahoo.com/news/pcworld/2009
High on the list of Things Not To Do on the World Wide Web is "hack off 4chan," the anonymous Internet message board community that blurs the line between a low-filtered Internet sounding board and launching pad for hijinks, Rickrolls, and full-scale protests. If you surfed one of the site's gateways -- especially the notorious board for random posting, "/b/" -- you might understand why an average person could take offense to the kinds of humor, images, and messages that get posted in upwards of 150,000 to 200,000 times each day.
Facebook Friend Recommendations From The Grave - 07/27/09
http://www.allfacebook.com/2009/07/face
Every time you visit the Facebook homepage you receive recommendations about potential individuals that you should friend but what happens when the person being recommended is dead? That’s exactly what has been happening to one of my family members for the past week and when I asked her about it, the response was understandable, “It’s a little bit creepy!” She then asked me what to do to remove it.
Facebook: A new battleground for cyber-crime - 07/27/09
http://www.euractiv.com/en/infosoci
Social networking websites such as Facebook, Twitter and MySpace will soon become the most insidious places on the Internet, where users are most likely to face cyber attacks and digital annoyances, according to Web security firm Sophos.
The Internet and how anonymity can affect you - 07/26/09
http://www.examiner.com/x-17334-Sacrame
Hidden behind every computer screen lies a Teacher, Student, Artist, Politician, Mechanic, Con-artist, Mother, Father, Son, Daughter, etc.. Behind the computer hides a blank shadow of a person, a blank canvas to paint yourself into who ever you want to be. A lot of websites require you to sign up for access to emails, games, or even forums. They all have one thing in common - choose a username. This may leave you with the question, "Who am i?".
Technology moves faster than the law - 07/26/09
http://www.northplattebulletin.com/inde
According to the United States Census Bureau, approximately 35 percent of people under 25 used the Internet in 1997. In 2007 that number had gone up to more than 70 percent.
Parents police social networking - 07/26/09
http://www.expressbuzz.com/edition/stor
Rakesh Kumar was worried what his teenage daughter was up to on social networking site Orkut. When he finally accessed her profile, he was shocked to find that she was in touch with absolute strangers. Now he has installed a software to keep her in check. Rakesh's 15-year-old daughter Akansha has around 2,500 profiles on her friends list on Orkut -- a third of whom are people she has never met.
Facebook, MySpace posts could hurt you in professional world - 07/25/09
http://www2.dothaneagle.com/dea/news/lo
Once upon a time, Anita Jobs could apply for work and know that with diligent interview preparation and an impeccable resume, she had a good shot at success. Today, however, she might not have as much success when her potential employer sees his Facebook profile picture of her wearing a beer helmet while riding a unicycle on Highway 231.
After inquiry, lights go out on cop Web site - 07/24/09
http://www.philly.com/dailynews/local/2
The controversial Web forum domelights.com has been disabled following a Police Department investigation into online threats made against the president of a black police officer's organization that sued the site for allowing users to leave racist remarks.
Restraining orders ineffective at combating cyberstalking - 07/24/09
http://www.examiner.com/x-17770-Sacrame
California victims with domestic violence restraining orders are finding that protective orders are ineffective and useless at combating 21st century technology being utilized by batterers and stalkers. Domestic violence victims are reporting statewide that batterers are monitoring their on-line blogs and web sites yet the electronic monitoring of these women on-line by their batterers is not deemed to be a violation of a domestic violence protective order. Sound complicated? It is.
Police: Lawyer stalked family, posed as relatives on Internet - 07/24/09
http://www.timesunion.com/AspStories/st
State Police say a local lawyer stalked a Saratoga family – once sending 131 text messages in a single day and posing as family members on Facebook to learn secrets about the children.
Harassment suspect's Web sites now lead to city of Eagan's official site - 07/24/09
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_
After years of displaying political parody and news of small-business openings, the Internet addresses cityofeagan.org and city-of-eagan.com as of Friday redirect visitors to the city's municipal Web site.
The Web sites, however, remain under the control of an Eagan man facing felony charges.
Chicago lawyer accused of harassing woman - 07/23/09
http://www.thetelegraph.com/news/w
A Chicago lawyer arrested and charged last year with criminal sexual assault, sexual abuse and unlawful restraint now faces charges of harassing his alleged victim and cyber stalking.
Update: Family speaks out against JoCo cougar - 07/23/09
http://blogs.pitch.com/plog/2009/07/pre
When police couldn't stop her son's harassment and cyberstalking from a Johnson County cougar, the boy and his mother, Joan, turned to the courts, Joan said in a press conference yesterday afternoon.
Man arrested on charge of stalking - 07/23/09
http://www.wlfi.com/dpp/news/local/loca
32-year-old Christopher Couture from Peru, Indiana was arrested yesterday by the Indiana State Police on a felony charge of stalking and a misdemeanor charge of harassment.
Web site proprietor charged with harassing couple online - 07/23/09
http://www.twincities.com/localnews/ci_
For years, Emmett Salberg Jr. has been poking fun at the City of Eagan and its former mayor by posting unflattering parody on his Web site, cityofeagan.org.
City officials have long complained the Web address was too similar to the city's own, tripping up online visitors looking for information on municipal services. They privately labeled him a "1 percenter" one of a small group of residents who take up large chunks of city staff time with frequent requests for information about sometimes frivolous concerns.
Rhode Island Family Court bans woman from posting about her brother's case on Facebook - 07/23/09
http://www.examiner.com/x-14537-Al
In a statement released to the press yesterday, the Rhode Island ACLU annnounced that it has intervened in Family Court on behalf of a Barrington woman who has been barred by the Court from posting on the Internet any details about a pending Family Court custody proceeding in which her brother is involved. In a motion filed with the Court, Rhode Island ACLU volunteer attorney H. Jefferson Melish calls the ban a violation of Michelle Langlois’ First Amendment rights. The motion also argues that the Family Court had no jurisdiction to issue the order because the proceeding was filed in Kent County, even though neither party lives in that county.
MTA Apologizes To Wrongly Arrested Man - 07/23/09
http://www.myfoxdc.com/dpp/news/marylan
The Maryland Transportation Authority has issued a public apology to a musician who was falsely accused of e-mailing a bomb threat to Baltimore-Washington International Thurgood Marshall Airport.
Stalk Your Ex -- Legally! -- With Karen Berry - 07/23/09
http://blogs.browardpalmbeach.com/j
Karen Berry got into private investigation the hard way: Somebody was stalking her, and she decided to take matters into her own capable hands. The 25-year Sunrise resident was working as property manager for a condo in Davie in the early '90s, living alone while her military husband was overseas serving in Desert Storm.
Jury Convicts San Antonio Man for Making Threats Over the Internet - 07/22/09
http://www.australia.to/index.php?optio
John E. Murphy, Acting United States Attorney announced that 32-year-old Steven Weste is in federal custody today after a jury in San Antonio found him guilty of making false statements to and concealing material facts from federal authorities and e-mailing threats to kill people including a person hired to be a U.S. Border Patrol agent, a Virginia police officer, and Weste’s former girlfriend.
Cyber bullying ends in tragedy - 07/22/09
http://www.australianit.news.com.au/sto
CHANELLE Rae was beautiful, bubbly and a devoted fan of the Geelong Football Club. And on Friday night she became the fourth student of the same state high school to commit suicide this year, raising serious concerns about cyber-bullying and copycat suicides.
How Easy Is It To Get the Private Cell Phone Records and Address of Verizon's CEO? - 07/22/09
http://www.zug.com/pranks/verizon/
Even if you have an unlisted number, chances are that all your personal data -- your cell phone number, who you called, where you live, and the number of your private sex therapist -- are all up for sale somewhere on the Internet.
Teen gets probation for texting pics of ex - 07/21/09
http://www.miamiherald.com/news/fl
A teenager who twice forwarded a cell phone image of his 16-year-old ex-girlfriend's breasts will serve one year on probation. Under a plea bargain agreement with prosecutors, 18-year-old Bryce Aaron Dixon pleaded no contest to one first degree misdemeanor count of cyberstalking.
'I'm proud it cost police £10,000', says teenager whose Facebook party became a riot - 07/21/09
http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/news/arti
A teenager whose party became a riot after it was gatecrashed by 150 revellers who saw it advertised on Facebook has boasted about how much it cost to break up.
Yakuza try matchmaking business to make ends meet - 07/21/09
http://www.japantoday.com/category/kuch
These are hard times for us all; hardest of all, says Spa! (July 21), for the yakuza. Once, organized crime bands pursued glory, as they saw it. Now it’s a brute, inglorious hustle for mere survival. Nothing’s beneath them, as long as it pays. Couple this fact with a surging marriage boom, and you get… yakuza infiltrating the matchmaking business? Sure enough, the magazine finds.
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