The data in the government report shows that the rising number of Hispanic children would help lower the rate of smoking among teens. However, teen pregnancy rates would rise and the percentage of students completing high school would fall without changes occurring, said Dr. Duane Alexander, director of the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, one of several federal agencies that contributed to the report.

"The people who follow population demographics and health disparities are very concerned about this," Alexander said.

The report also found that Hispanic children are more likely to live in poverty and to be overweight.

That's got to be the most depressing information about a demographic that it's members can receive. The study indicates that the only thing most Hispanic children have to look forward to in their teens is living in poverty with their children while obese and without a high school education. Their only positive benefit -- by virtue of the increased birthrate and not their ideals -- is to lower the percentage of smoking teens.

Sheesh, what a bum rap. I have an overwhelming desire to change this outlook, and I'm not even Hispanic.

We need the increased birthrate to deal with the Baby Boomers retirement problem, but at the same time need productive members of society, not an increased drain on society's resources and a bigger gap between the racially-perceived "haves" and "have nots". And changing the tide starts in middle school. While President Bush pushes abstinence, a more realistic approach would be that of the health center at Georgia Tech: a great big bowl of condoms and tons of STD pamplets with scary pictures.

-janelane, econdomizer

CNN.com - Report: Hispanic children's health lags - Jul 20, 2005

USC learned of the breach June 20 when it was tipped off by a journalist, Harrington said. It has since shut down the Web site and has notified people whose names and Social Security numbers were in the database of the security breach.

The university was not able to identify exactly which records may have been exposed.

Notifying people whose data could have been stolen? Fuck Yeah!

-janelane, approvingly

CNN.com - USC�says database hacked - Jul 19, 2005

With regard to credit-report freezes, the bill would require one consumer-reporting agency to notify all other reporting agencies when it receives a freeze request from a consumer, relieving consumers of that burden. Agencies would have five days to apply the freeze and three days to lift a freeze once a consumer provided proper identification. The bill allows reporting agencies to charge "a reasonable fee" for the service, but only for people who have not been victims of identity theft. The latter would get a freeze for free after providing a police report documenting the theft.

Montezemolo said that five days to implement a freeze was too generous -- especially since a lot of damage could be done in that time. She also wanted credit-reporting agencies to make it easier for consumers to unfreeze data, rather than having to wait three days.

One thing the freeze doesn't do is prevent creditors from issuing pre-approved instant credit applications in the mail, which makes it easy for identity thieves who rummage through mail or garbage to find the applications and open credit accounts in a victim's name. The bill provides a special exception to the freeze to allow creditors to access credit reports to prescreen applicants.

A Senate source told Wired News that federal lawmakers adopted the exception for prescreening from a similar clause in the California legislation.

"That's a state statute that tried to balance the consumer-protection issues and the concerns of businesses to be able to market (to consumers)," the source said.

Fuck businesses, especially credit card companies with their pre-screened mail-in applications. It doesn't take a genius to realize that they are entirely profit-driven and, instead of protecting me, would prefer isntead to prey on the hapless consumer who catches the Debt psuedo-virus. What really ticks me off is that they could just as easily mail an information flyer without the added candy for dumpster divers.

-janelane, unimpressed

Wired News: Bill Strives to Protect Privacy

Spyware impairs "users' control over material changes that affect their user experience, privacy or system security; use of their system resources, including what programs are installed on their computers; or collection, use and distribution of their personal or otherwise sensitive information," according to the Anti-Spyware Coalition, which includes Microsoft, EarthLink, McAfee and Hewlett-Packard.

The group hopes the definitions will clear the way for anti-spyware legislation and help create a formal, centralized method for companies to dispute or change their software's classification.

There's been a lot of talk about this in recent weeks, especially the Microsoft bid for adware/spyware/crapware giant Claria (among others, I think). I have to say anyone honestly believing Microsoft would work to create a definition that would pave the way for restrictive legislation needs to pull their head out of the sand. Luckily, Wired includes this little nugget of innuendo later in the article...

Software companies like Claria, which distribute their pop-up advertising software by bundling it with free programs such as peer-to-peer software, adamantly deny their products are "spyware." They point out that users can usually find a definition of the programs' effects deep in the user agreement.

It is unclear what effect the new definitions will have on current anti-spyware programs, such as Lavasoft's Ad-Aware and Microsoft's free AntiSpyware tool.

Recently, Microsoft downgraded the default program action for Claria's software from "Remove" to "Ignore," which prompted widespread criticism.

Microsoft responded by saying that it had changed the handling of "Claria software in order to be fair and consistent with how Windows AntiSpyware (beta) handles similar software from other vendors."

Microsoft is in negotiations to buy venture-capital-backed Claria, according to The New York Times.

But, honestly, what's the worse case scenario here? I mean, could the legislature (or Supreme Court, depending on which side of the barnyard fence you're on) really be so grossly swindled by this collaboration that it passes laws based on their partisan definition? I'm inclined to agree with the article that, at best, such legislation will secure a stamp of approval for these types of bullshit programs. At worst, however, I think that it could give truly malicious programs a narrowly defined facade of legitimacy in the face of supposedly adequate filtering software.

-janelane, subversively

Wired News: Giving New Meaning to 'Spyware'

(CNN) -- A study released Tuesday said drivers who use cell phones -- even hands-free models -- are four times as likely to be involved in wrecks involving a serious injury than are drivers who do not use cell phones.

"There was no safety benefit whatsoever from using a hands-free phone," said Anne McCartt, one of the authors of the study, which was published in the British Medical Journal and paid for by the Insurance Institute for Highway Safety.
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The Cellular Telecommunications & Internet Association, a Washington-based trade group, downplayed the findings, saying the distractions associated with mobile phones are no different from those encountered by drivers who eat or talk with passengers as they drive.
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The CTIA contends that following these guidelines can minimize risk:

# Assess whether a given call can wait.

# Do not take notes while driving.

# Do not talk while in heavy traffic.

# If possible, pull off the road and park in a safe location to use a mobile phone.

So what the CTIA is basically saying is don't talk on your cellphone while driving. Brilliant!

-janelane, amused

CNN.com - Study: Drivers on cells more likely to crash - Jul 12, 2005

OSLO: Inuit hunters threatened by a melting of the Arctic ice plan to file a petition accusing Washington of violating their human rights by fuelling global warming, an Inuit leader said on Wednesday.

Sheila Watt-Cloutier, chair of the Inuit Circumpolar Conference (ICC), also said Washington was hindering work to follow up a 2004 report by 250 scientists that said the thaw could make the Arctic Ocean ice-free in summer by 2100.

Watt-Cloutier, in Oslo to receive an environmental prize, said the Inuits' planned petition to the 34-member Organization of American States (OAS) could put pressure on the United States to do more to cut industrial emissions of heat-trapping gases.

Yeah bloody right. I'm so sure that their little petition is going to finally pursuade Bush to quit dicking around with big business and get serious about greenhouse gas emissions. I can admire their dedication and that the height of their naivety is unmatched.

-janelane

ENN: Environmental News Network [[Today's News Full Story ]]

LAKE BUENA VISTA, Florida (AP) -- A 4-year-old boy died after passing out while aboard Walt Disney World's "Mission: Space" attraction -- a ride that has caused previous concerns because of its intensity.
/
Paramedics tried to revive him, but he died about 5 p.m. at Celebration Hospital.

The sheriff's office said the boy did meet the minimum 44-inch height requirement for the ride at the Epcot theme park, which simulates twice the normal force of gravity

I was nauseous for the entire afternoon after riding that ride a couple of weeks ago. Its a hell of a good ride though; you'd swear you were taking off in a spaceship.

-janelane

CNN.com - Boy, 4, dies after riding Epcot attraction - Jun 14, 2005

The system melds the best elements of high- and low-tech, combining the immediacy of store rentals with the information and marketing of online services. Customers can see what's available and check for special offers online at Redbox. They can find locations, get maps and driving directions and, through a partnership with Yahoo, link to movie reviews. They can sign up for special offers by e-mail.

But even the digitally clueless won't have trouble finding participating stores. They'll have only to look behind the Playland posters or under the roof banners -- or in some cases the 68-foot inflatable vending machines perched above the golden arches. Think of it as a variation on the giant doughnuts and colossal hot dogs of Googie architecture.

Rentals are primarily the top 40 new releases, cost $1 a night for each (paid by credit card only) and are due by 10 p.m. the following day. If a customer keeps the disc, they are charged $1 a day until the disc is returned or 25 days have passed, when the renter becomes the owner.

Blockbuster could learn something from this late-return policy, however I am curious about what possible financial gain could result from putting $1 on your credit card to pay for them...don't the credit card companies charge ~5% of sales just to tap into their system? Shouldn't cash be encouraged? I'm not entirely sure how it works, however I do know a liquor store that has different prices for cash vs credit purchases.

At any rate, long live laptop DVD players.

-janelane

Wired News: Order Your Big Mac and DVD to Go

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Most American consumers don't realize Internet merchants and even traditional retailers sometimes charge different prices to different customers for the same products, according to a new survey.

The study, "Open to Exploitation," found nearly two-thirds of adult Internet users believed incorrectly it was illegal to charge different people different prices, a practice retailers call "price customization." More than two-thirds of people surveyed also said they believed online travel sites are required by law to offer the lowest airline prices possible.

The study, expected to be released Wednesday by the Annenberg Public Policy Center of the University of Pennsylvania, is the latest to cast doubt on the notion of sophisticated consumers in the digital age.

Ha! Sophisticated consumers! That's an oxymoron if I ever heard one.

For you techno-heads out there, the article mentions basically data gathering to determine a shopper's habits. Is this how they use cookies and/or registering? I've always thought so, but I've never investigated it in this context.

-janelane

CNN.com - Shoppers naive about retail prices online - Jun 1, 2005

I returned to my co-op job with the federal government for an internship before grad school to discover this little gem in my Inbox:

///

For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
May 3, 2005

National Day of Prayer, 2005
A Proclamation by the President of the United States of America

Since our Nation's earliest days, prayer has given strength and comfort to Americans of all faiths. Our Founding Fathers relied on their faith to guide them as they built our democracy. Today, we continue to be inspired by God's blessings, mercy, and boundless love. As we observe this National Day of Prayer, we humbly acknowledge our reliance on the Almighty, express our gratitude for His blessings, and seek His guidance in our daily lives.

//

My immediate observation was "what the fuck?!" followed by dumbfounded disbelief which was immediately replaced by a flood of anger and an overwhelming sence of injustice. For W., I have just a few questions: What about atheists? What about transcendentalists? What about separation of church and state? What about getting your head out of your self-righteous ass and running the damn country FORWARDS instead of using your religion as a tool for regression?

I may have said this before, but I hate our president.

Oh, and one more observation that comes after watching primetime TV, commercials, and presidential speeches...if I hear the word "family" used again in any context, I think I might snap and climb a tall tower with a high-powered rifle and attempt to take a good number of people to hell with me.

Yay for going back to work. -janelane