TresSugar

Website du Jour: Stop Making That Duckface

TresSugar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 10:00:00 -0800

You know you've seen it. You might even be guilty of perpetrating it. I'm talking about what the site Anti-duckface.com calls the "duck face," which they describe as something between a kissy face and a pout.

Anti-duckface seems to blame MySpace for hosting duckfaces, admonishing its pouters to, "Stop doing it. It isn't sexy."

All this prompted me to ask: why duckface? My theory is that it's a mock sexy face. People want to look sexy, but they also want to appear modest, so duckface is some weird (failed) compromise. In any case, here's to hoping this is the first nail in the coffin of duckface. It's time to end this blight to humanity.

Sex Offenders Banned From Social Networking

TresSugar — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 12:15:00 -0700

No one likes the idea of sex offenders lurking around online communities. Thus, Illinois has passed a law that will make it a felony for registered sex offenders to use sites like Facebook or MySpace. One state lawmaker explained:

The idea was, if the predator is supposed to be a registered sex offender, they should keep their Internet distance as well as their physical distance.

While there's no doubt that sexual predators can use the Internet as a tool to find victims, it seems like this law could raise civil rights concerns. Do you think it should be a felony for already-convicted sex offenders to use social networking sites in an otherwise lawful manner?

Actually, whether or not there are laws making it criminal for them to log on might not make any difference. Last year, 49 state attorney generals got Facebook to agree to identify and remove profiles of all registered sex offenders.

At Least It's Not a Misspelled Tattoo

GiggleSugar — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 14:00:00 -0700

The awesome thing about this typo (or ESL issue?) is that it's kinda true.

Source

Front Page: Osama bin Laden Tape, Indictment in MySpace Case, Zimbabwe Names Date,

CitizenSugar — Fri, 16 May 2008 07:02:08 -0700

Osama bin Laden Tape: Osama bin Laden just released another audio tape to mark Israel's 60th anniversary. Bin Laden has placed growing emphasis on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, putting it at the heart of the Muslim battle and calling it an inspiration to the bombers who attacked US cities on September 11, 2001. In the tape bin Laden says, "we will continue, God permitting, the fight against the Israelis and their allies ... and will not give up a single inch of Palestine as long as there is one true Muslim on earth." The Israeli anniversary celebrations were his inspiration to say, "this is evidence that Palestine is our land, and the Israelis are invaders and occupiers who should be fought."
Indictment in MySpace Case: A federal grand jury indicted the Missouri woman accused of creating a fake MySpace identity to manipulate a 13-year-old girl, who then committed suicide as a result. The woman, Lori Drew, was charged with one count of conspiracy and three counts of accessing a computer without authorization and via interstate commerce to obtain information to inflict emotional distress. Each count carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison.
Zimbabwe Names Date: The run-off in Zimbabwe's disputed presidential election will be held on June 27. Though opposition leader Morgan Tsvangirai won the first round, the margin was not big enough to avoid a run-off. President Robert Mugabe called the poll "disastrous". Tsvangirai will compete in the second round, after originally threatening to boycott it.

Cyber-Bullying - Who's Responsible in Computer Tragedies?

CitizenSugar — Tue, 01 Apr 2008 08:11:51 -0700

This morning Good Morning America had an exclusive interview with Ashley Grills. If that name doesn't ring a bell, the story about the teenage girl who committed suicide after succumbing to a MySpace prank might. Grills, 19, admitted that she was part of the plan to create a fake persona on MySpace to start a fake online romance with a 13-year-old neighbor, Megan Meier.

Grills insisted that she was not the only adult involved in the tragic prank which led the vulnerable Meier to commit suicide after her fake online boyfriend and others began making nasty comments about her. Grills has testified to a grand jury that Lori Drew, 47, the mother of one of Meier's friends, was actively involved in creating the account and wrote some of the messages to Meier. Drew and her attorney deny that charge. To see why the case is being re-examined, read more.

Grills said, "we were just combining ideas about how we can figure out what Megan was saying about Lori's daughter. It was all three of us - me and Lori and her daughter." Drew was never charged with a crime in the initial case, but now may be facing federal fraud charges. Grills said she did the interview to show, "that I'm not heartless. I do know what I did and I take responsibility for it every day."

Megan Meier's mother has said, "It's pathetic. It's pathetic that we as a society do not have laws to protect our children or to protect us in general from somebody being able to hide behind a computer and do these despicable things." Meier's mother has turned her MySpace page into a memorial.

Are laws the answer? Is it even possible to determine in sad cases like this, who is responsible? Should networking sites like MySpace have tighter controls? Should parents more closely monitor relationships their children have online, or should there be tight minimum age controls on networking sites? Is the government responsible for prosecuting fraud when tragedy strikes?

Source

Exclusive! NY Times Copy and Pastes Call Girl MySpace Page

LibertySugar — Thu, 13 Mar 2008 03:00:28 -0700

I feel sort of icky writing about this, but I suppose the damage is already done. "Kristen" - the high-end prostitute employed by ex-Governor Eliot Spitzer - has been found. At 22 years old, this young woman is not much older than Spitzer's teenage daughters.

Thank you to the New York Times for telling the story that obviously needed to be told. By telling the story, I mean copying and pasting her MySpace page.

I wonder how Spitzer's teenage daughters feel about seeing pictures of the attractive woman their father paid for sex splashed all over the newspaper and internet. This just highlights the countless victims of Eliot Spitzer and the American obsession with sex scandals. With spurious reporting, comes great responsibility. And of course, to see my full reaction, check out my MySpace page.

Source

Should Public Officials Get Private Lives?

CitizenSugar — Thu, 28 Feb 2008 09:00:37 -0800

Arlington, OR, Mayor Carmen Kontur-Gronquist was recalled by voters who disapproved of her less-than-professional pictures posted on her MySpace profile. The pictures were snapped before she took office and she stands by her right to strictly draw a line between public and private life. She says she doesn't regret posting the photos, saying that essentially that, it's my. space. That's why they call it MySpace. She also said,

"My reaction is that the democratic process took place, and that is a good process that we have in the United States, and it's fair."

The situation does call to mind the Monica Lewinsky snafu. What if she'd had a Facebook page in 1998? No "pokes" jokes I promise.

And finally, here's a sample of headline jokesters:

Oregon Mayor Stripped Of Office After Posing In Underwear
MySpace Mayor: Kontur-Gronquist Loses Job After Losing Clothes
Busty Mayor Stripped of Office
Lingerie MySpace Mayor Recalled...

But the serious question remains: do voters have the right to consider the whole picture of a candidate, public and private life, when choosing a leader?

Yay or Nay: MySpace Friends With a Candidate?

LibertySugar — Thu, 31 Jan 2008 00:06:02 -0800

Practically every presidential candidate has a MySpace page. (Do you think Rudy's friends will flee now that he's dropped out? Maybe they'll just go be McCain's friends instead!)

The big question is, would you put your favorite candidate in your Top 8?

Tila Tequila: A Shot at Love

GiggleSugar — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 09:00:00 -0700

Tila Tequila, the MySpace ~~phenomenon~~ sleaze, has ridden on Paris Hilton's bedraggled and infested coattails all the way to her own reality television show, where sixteen men and sixteen women have a shot at "love" with the famed bisexual. The Soup spoofs this alleged bisexuality (eh-I'm sure it's of the Girls Gone Wild, let's titillate straight men variety) and imagines all the permutations that TT love could take...

Dr. Phil and the MySpace Mom

GiggleSugar — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 11:00:00 -0700

Sounds like a modern day fairy tale, right? Wroong. Dr. Phil is pretty conservative when it comes to women, but I gotta agree with him on this one. It's pretty gross to have children, post a MySpace page with racy pictures of yourself, and to fill in your mood as "horny." Ewwww.....