Showdown

...as South Carolina's Attorney General hates on Craigslist



South Carolina Attorney General Henry McMaster said May 6th that Craigslist must remove its Erotic Services from the South Carolina portions of its Web site in ten days or face prosecution for allowing the solicitation of prostitution and the dissemination and posting of graphic pornographic material.

Fortunately Craiglist isn't intimidated by the blustering threats of the censors. From their blog,

"...we see no legal basis whatsoever for filing a lawsuit against Craigslist or its principals and hope that the Attorney General will realize this upon further reflection.

Craigslist has been working closely with law enforcement on these very issues, and by all objective measures has decreased misuse dramatically (approximately 90%) since Craigslist and 43 attorneys general entered into a joint statement less than 6 months ago."

Craigslist's very defensible position in a nut shell is... they tell people that they cannot use their site to engage in illegal activities, when people flag them for doing so they take their ads down, they can't be held responsible for the fact that they can't stop them completely. People use the phone to arrange prostitution engagements but the South Carolina AG isn't suing the cellphone carriers to stop them.

We will keep you posted on the way things play out.

Google profiler

A face with a name?

Has Google decided to enter the arena of social networking? After a poor showing with "Lively" (Google's attempt at a 3D virtual world), Google is now offering the opportunity to create a profile to accompany vanity/ego searches. That is to say, when one searches for one's name on Google, or more likely one's ex, a person now has the opportunity to post a profile that can found at the bottom of the "name-query" page searched. Google may be vying to take on, rather than buy, MySpace and Facebook.

Google claims, "when searching for yourself to see what others would find, results can be varied and aren't always what you want people to see. We want to make that better and give you more of a voice." The profile service is a way to influence the information displayed when one's name is queried. However, it is also widely suspected that Google can use information connected to profiles to mine for more connected relationships and searches likely of value to advertisers and marketers.

Google could personalize advertisements and search suggestions for profilers and those who search for and look at their profile. And if in creating the profile one gives personal info to Google (links to friend networks, interests, etc.) its pipes will not only become the precursor to finding those one is searching for, but could potential interlink one's entire social network.

As usual with the internet, user be wary.

Bring on the goats

Google's newest subcontractors

In a move typical of Google's adaptability and demonstrative of their commitment to responsible environmental behavior, the company has ditched gas guzzling, CO2 emitting lawnmowers for goats at their Mountain View, California headquarters.

In California, the high rate of brush fires makes it a legal requirement that landowners remove excess brush from their land. Google has hired a company called California Grazing, 200 goats and a border collie to do what they do best: eat brush.

According to Google's own blog the goats and a herder spend roughly a week with Google, eating the grass and fertilizing at the same time. The goats are herded with the help of Jen, a border collie. And best of it costs them about the same as mowing.

Facebookers beware

Here is one more reason to be wary on social networking sites, this is especially for our younger readers. The Los Angeles Times cites a new report by the National Association for College Admission Counseling, which says that about a quarter of U.S. colleges reported doing some research about applicants on social networking sites or through Internet search engines.

The LA Times quotes David Hawkins, the director of public policy and research for the group, "Don't post anything that you don't want your mother or father or college admission officer to see."

Food for thought.

Queda Prohibido

This magnificent image was sent to us by a reader in Buenos Aires accompanied by the poem, "Queda Prohibido" or "It is now Forbidden" written Pablo Neruda. [Ed. note: one of our brilliant readers alerted us to the controversy over the authorship of this delightful poem. It is quite likely not by Neruda, but rather Alfredo Cuervo Barrero.] It is the promotional poster for Bogota’s 2009 Book Fair.

"Queda Prohibido"

authorship disputed

Queda prohibido llorar sin aprender,
levantarte un dia sin saber que hacer,
tener miedo a tus recuerdos.

Queda prohibido no sonreir a los problemas,
no luchar por lo que quieres,
abandonarlo todo por miedo,
no convertir en realidad tus sueños.

Queda prohibido no demostrar tu amor,
hacer que alguien pague tus deudas y mal humor.

Queda prohibido dejar a tus amigos,
no intentar comprender lo que vivieron juntos,
llamarles solo cuando los necesitas.

Queda prohibido no ser tú ante la gente,
fingir ante las personas que no te importan,
hacerte el gracioso con tal de que te recuerden,
olvidar a toda la gente que te quiere.

Queda prohibido no hacer las cosas por ti mismo,
no creer en Dios y hacer tu destino,
tener miedo a la vida y a sus compromisos,
no vivir cada dia como si fuera un ultimo suspiro.

Queda prohibido echar a alguien de menos sin alegrarte,
olvidar sus ojos, su risa, todo,
porque sus caminos han dejado de abrazarse,
olvidar su padado y pagarlo con su presente.

Queda prohibido no intentar comprender a las personas,
pensar que sus vidas valen mas que la tuya,
no saber que cada uno tiene su camino y su dicha.

Queda prohibido no crear tu historia,
dejar de dar las gracias a Dios por tu vida,
no tener un momento para la gente que te necesita,
no comprender que lo que la vida te da, tambien te lo quita.

Queda prohibido no buscar tu felicidad,
no vivir tu vida con una actitud positiva,
no pensar en que podemos ser mejores,
no sentir que sin ti este mundo no sería igual.



"It is now Forbidden"

(loosely translated by a Crazy Colombian)

It is now forbidden
to cry without learning;
to wake up one day
and no longer have dreams;
to become afraid
of your own memories…

It is now forbidden
to not smile
in the face of adversity;
to stop fighting
for those who you love;
to abandon it all
because of your fears;
or to give up in making
your own dreams come true.

It is now forbidden
to pretend we don’t need
understanding each other;
to place less value
in the lives of others;
to ignore each of us
has a unique path to joy…
It is now forbidden
to give up on happiness,
to abandon optimism,
to quit improving ourselves;
to believe the world
will be a better place without you.


Read another translation here.

Taurus in Spring...

Guest poetry for your pleasure.

"Taurus in Spring..."

the post office is sunday quiet and closed
and this hot june sun in april,
is a suitor coming on
too early and hot for the season;
And finding sanctuary this lover comes
as a pilgrim into the commons,
this high-ceilinged foyer
of hushed walls with rows
of chaste communicants;
but for this one here
her secrets are meant for me
and fingering the key
that finds and fits, slides and turns
she offers her missives from Spain,
wishing we had walked the karst,
Torcal de Antequera; Andalusia's
olive and orange plantations spread
below the snows of Sierra Nevada.
And as lovers watching the bulls
of Ronda's Plaza de Toros.
But these are just footprints from then
and there the scent is fresh
and I am snorting dust,
thick-necked, horned and hot on your trail...

Darwin Awards, new nominee

And we wonder why people poke fun of Alabama? A 24-year-old Northport, Alabama man who was sleeping with his gun was wounded after police said his 40-caliber pistol discharged and hit him in the shoulder. Brilliant! The Atlanta Constitution Journal reported that, "The shooting at his apartment complex was ruled an accident."

Perhaps sleeping with the gun under the pillow wasn't such a good idea after all.