CRIME_OSCAR PISTORIUS

In a case that has transfixed many in the sporting world and beyond, Oscar Pistorius, the double amputee who became an international track star, was indicted Monday in a South African court on a charge of premeditated murder in the shooting death of his girlfriend.
 
Mr. Pistorius, who has been out on bail since February, will remain free until his trial, which was set for March 3.

At the hearing Monday, the state prosecution released a copy of its lengthy indictment of Mr. Pistorius, outlining its case that he intentionally shot his girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, while she was behind a locked bathroom door on the morning of Feb. 14.

Prosecutors listed more than 100 witnesses to be called during the trial.

Mr. Pistorius has admitted opening fire in his upscale home in the South African capital, Pretoria, but he says he believed that he was shooting an intruder. The prosecution contends that Mr. Pistorius planned to kill whoever was behind the door, and that even if he mistakenly killed Ms. Steenkamp, he is still guilty of murder.

There is no death penalty in South Africa, where the mandatory sentence for premeditated murder is life, with a minimum of 25 years in prison.

As he waited for the brief court hearing to begin on Monday, Mr. Pistorius prayed with his family and wept openly. Close friends of Ms. Steenkamp’s sat on court benches a few feet away. Ms. Steenkamp, a model and a reality television star, would have turned 30 on Monday.

Defense lawyers have depicted the shooting as a tragic accident in which Mr. Pistorius, 26, believed that an intruder had entered his home, where Ms. Steenkamp, a law school graduate, was spending the night. According to defense testimony, Mr. Pistorius opened fire through a locked bathroom door, not realizing that Ms. Steenkamp was on the other side. She was hit by at least three bullets.

Before the shooting, Mr. Pistorius and Ms. Steenkamp were depicted as a gilded couple, featured in celebrity news coverage.

News reports in South Africa over the weekend said Mr. Pistorius might also face new charges of recklessly firing a weapon in public, related to accusations that he discharged a weapon in a restaurant in January and fired a gun from a car while driving home from vacation. Those reports have not been confirmed by the defense or the prosecution.

Mr. Pistorius, nicknamed Blade Runner for the prosthetics he uses to compete, has a reputation for outsize triumphs, not only against other disabled athletes but also against able-bodied competitors.

He won two gold medals and a silver at the Paralympic Games in London last September. In the Olympics the month before, he reached a 400-meter semifinal and competed in the 4x400-meter relay.

Ismael Derhali and Alfonso Hernández  

U.S. man released from death row

Click here and listen to the report

An American man, who spent nearly three decades on death row, was set free on Tuesday after being exonerated on new evidence. Glenn Ford walked out of a Louisiana State Penitentiary late Tuesday, 29 years after being convicted of armed robbery and first-degree murder and sentenced to death.

A judge exonerated Ford of all charges and ordered him released, based on new evidence that came to light last year.

Ford, now 64, told reporters “it feels good” to be released but he bears resentment for his imprisonment, which kept him from raising his family.

“I was locked up almost 30 years, I can’t go back and do anything that I should have been doing when I was 35, 38, 40, stuff like that. My son, when I left, was a baby and now he’s a grown man with (a) baby,” he said.

A jury had convicted Ford for the 1983 murder of Isadore Rozeman. The 56-year-old watchmaker, for whom Ford had done occasional yard work, was found shot to death in his jewelry shop.

Ford always maintained his innocence and had filed several appeals, most of which were denied.

But in 2000, the Louisiana Supreme Court ordered a hearing based on Ford's claim that the prosecution had suppressed favorable evidence related to two suspects initially implicated in the crime.

Last Thursday, prosecutors filed a motion, stating that “credible evidence” emerged in late 2013 “supporting a finding that Ford was neither present at, nor a participant in, the robbery and murder of Isadore Rozeman.”

Court records show that an unidentified informant in 2013 told prosecutors that Jake Robinson, one of the original suspects, had admitted to shooting and killing the victim.

Suspect of secretly recording Princess’s testimony arrested

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The police on Wednesday arrested the main suspect behind a surreptitious video recording of Princess Cristina as she testified in court on February 8 over her role in a tax fraud and money laundering case.

Francisco José Carvajal, a lawyer from Málaga, is suspected of being the person who recorded the statements, then distributed them. The recording, which shows very blurry images and has poor sound, was soon available on a video-sharing website named Wouzee. Later, the national newspaper El Mundo published a still image captured from this site.

After being interrogated for an hour and a half, Carvajal was arrested on charges of disobedience. He was later released on his own recognizance. Examining Judge José Castro had specifically forbidden any recording devices in the room and decided that the testimony by King Juan Carlos's youngest daughter would not be officially captured on video either, only as a voice recording. Security measures at the door of the Palma de Mallorca courthouse were extreme, with guards on the lookout for hidden cameras.The spot where Carvajal sat in the courtroom coincided with the angle of the images seen on Wouzee. Prior to the arrest, the police had interrogated all the lawyers and public servants present in the room, to determine where each one had sat during the six and a half hours that Doña Cristina answered the judge's questions. The angle suggested that the recording was made from the area reserved for lawyers and civil servants, behind Doña Cristina.
Over 200 agents had been deployed by the Interior Ministry to prevent such a circumstance. There were metal detectors and an X-ray tunnel at the door, and some people were frisked for recording devices. While the princess testified, the police emitted special frequencies to inhibit cellphones and other forms of wireless communications. Bags were searched, and zealous agents even took apart the pen brought in by the anticorruption attorney in the Balearics, Pedro Horrach.

Cristina was testifying in connection with her husband Iñaki Urdangarin's dubious business practices. He and a business partner are believed to have diverted millions of euros from no-bid contracts earned through a phoney non-profit from the governments of Valencia and the Balearics. A lot of the money was channelled to private companies, including Aizoon, owned jointly by Urdangarin and the princess. Infanta Cristina's credit card history shows she used part of this money to pay for private expenses.

http://elpais.com/elpais/2014/02/26/inenglish/1393431298_058978.html

Arrest: to deprive (a person) of liberty by taking him into custody, esp under lawful authority- arrestar/ detener
Suspect  (n) a person who is under suspicion (v) to believe guilty of a specified offence without proof- sospechoso, sospechar
Testify:  to declare or give (evidence) under oath, esp in court - testificar/ declarar
Court : tribunal
Tax fraud :  crime of deception to evade taxes) - fraude fiscal
Money laundering: Legitimization (washing) of illegally obtained money to hide its true nature or source- blanqueo de dinero
Lawyer: a member of the legal profession - solicitor- abogado
Be suspected of:  believed guilty of- ser sospechoso de
Statement:  something that you say or write in a formal or official way- declaración
Interrogate:  to ask (someone) questions in a thorough and often forceful way-  interrogar 
Be arrested on charges of : ser detenido bajo cargos de / ser detenido acusado de…
Charge: official accusation- cargo 
Released on his own recognizance: puesto en libertad bajo palabra/ fianza
Testimony: evidence given by a witness- testimonio, declaración 
Courthouse: law court building- juzgado
On the lookout for :be vigilant /to be alert for, keep an eye open for- estar atentos / en alerta para / a la caza de 
To interrogate: to question (a witness in court, spy, etc) closely- interrogar 
Public servant/ Civil servant: a person who works for the government /a person who works in the civil service / a government official or employee- funcionario público 
Deploy : to organize and send out (people or things) to be used for a particular purpose- desplegar 
Metal detector
Be frisked for Sth / frisk: to search (someone) by feeling for concealed weapons, etc- cachear, registrar
Zealous: enthusiastic, filled with or inspired by intense enthusiasm- entusiasta, fervoroso, ferviente 
Attorney: lawyer- abogado
Testify: give evidence in court- testificar
Dubious: marked by or causing doubt- dudoso 
Business practices: prácticas comerciales
Business partner: socio
Divert: to turn from one course or use to another- desviar
No-bid contracts: contratos sin licitación contratos a dedo
Phoney : not true, real, or genuine : intended to make someone think something that is not true- falsa
non-profit : not run to make money - sin fines lucrativos , sin ánimo de lucro
Be channelled to: canalizado hacia
Jointly: in collaboration, together- cojuntamente
Private expenses: expense: an amount of money that must be spent especially regularly to pay for something- gastos privados 

Five arrested in Spain’s first case of human organ trafficking

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In the first bust of its kind in Spain, judicial police in Valencia arrested five people – all non-Spaniards – who were allegedly involved in a major human organ trafficking ring. 

The case broke after a rich 61-year-old Lebanese man had tried to use the organization for a liver transplant. It was not immediately clear when the arrests were made. 

In 2012, an NGO alerted authorities that a group was offering high sums of money to migrants without papers to purchase their vital organs, such as kidneys and sections of liver. Around the same time health authorities in Valencia detected that a group of people was undergoing complicated procedures at a private clinic. 

A 2010 Penal Code reform prohibits anyone in Spain from buying or selling human organs. All such procedures are regulated by the National Transplant Organization (ONT), which compiles waiting lists and seeks donors. Under the law, organs can be donated by family members of dead loved ones or by people who wish to leave them when they die. But the ONT has strict guidelines for such transplants as well as for donors. 

Last year, more than 4,200 legal transplants were conducted in Spain with kidneys and liver the organs most frequently substituted. 

The man from Lebanon, who was not identified but was also arrested in the sting , holds an important political position in his country and had traveled to Spain after he reportedly contacted the group. Lebanese health professionals had told the man of the advanced organ transplant procedures that take place in Spain. 

A number of people – the exact figure was not given by sources in the case – underwent tests that cost as much as €15,000 at the private clinic to determine their compatibility with those needing transplants. 

The majority of the migrants who offered their vital organs were poor. One woman was a perfect match and was willing to donate part of her liver for the sick man in exchange for €40,000. At first, the Lebanese man was happy with the deal but backed down when he found out the donor was a woman; he considered that accepting the transplant would be going against his Islamic beliefs. 

The Lebanese man was eventually able to receive his transplant in a legal operation – one of his children donated part of their own liver – but he was arrested in Madrid after traveling there to undergo medical examinations after the procedure.

VOCABULARY
BUST: raid, arrest (redada)ALLEGEDLY: supuestamente
INVOLVED IN: involucrado en
MAJOR:  large (gran)
RING: banda
UNDERGO: pass through, experience (someterse a) 
PROCEDURE: series of steps (procedimientos) 
COMPILE: collect , gather(recopila)
CONDUCT: carry out (llevar a cabo) 
STING: operación encubierta
REPORTEDLY: allegedly (supuestamente , según consta)
WILLING TO: ready, favourably disposed (dispuesto a) 
DEAL : trato
BACK DOWN : echarse atrás

Lebanese mayor arrested in Spain, accused of offering £33,000 to anyone who could get him a liver for a transplant

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The wealthy mayor of a Lebanese town has been arrested in Spain over allegations he offered to pay poor migrants 40,000 euros (£33,500) for a liver transplant. 

The 61-year-old was arrested in January at Manises Airport, Valencia, and is on bail in the country facing preliminary charges of alleged organ trafficking.

Authorities would not release his name, nor those of his alleged accomplices, because the suspects were the subjects of an ongoing court investigation.

'The main message is that no country is totally free of this problem, so that everybody should be alert,'

'Organ trafficking is more or less like slaves of some centuries ago. It's the way some people really control other people. It's exploitation of human beings.'

Police say the mayor enlisted four alleged accomplices - three Lebanese and a Palestinian - who recruited nine poor people to have liver compatibility tests at a clinic in Valencia last summer.

Just one, a Romanian immigrant, proved to be a match. But when he went with the Lebanese mayor to a Barcelona transplant clinic, medical workers blocked the procedure, police said.

Spanish rules stipulate that organs must only be donated for altruistic reasons by donors who are family members or close friends of the recipient.

Hospital staff quickly discovered that the Lebanese mayor did not have that kind of relationship with his Romanian donor.

The mayor eventually got his liver transplant using tissue donated by his son, who had earlier been turned down after tests in Lebanon where medics had told him he was too young.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2579827/Lebanese-mayor-arrested-Spain-organ-trafficking-allegations-Police-say-offered-pay-poor-people-liver-tissue.html

Police arrest man who held nine-year-old Catalan girl captive in Bolivian jungle

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Grover Morales, who allegedly kidnapped the youngster, wanted to marry her

Police on Thursday announced the arrest of a 35-year-old man in Bolivia who had been wanted for kidnapping a young girl in L’Hospitalet de Llobregat (Barcelona) and holding her captive in a jungle.

According to authorities, Grover Morales had been hiding out with the nine-year-old girl for the past seven months, holding her hostage in at least three different areas of a Bolivian rain forest before authorities caught up with him.

Morales allegedly forced her to walk for days in dense areas in which he literally had to clear a path with a machete, police said.

Spanish Civil Guard officers spent four months tracking Morales in the Yunga de Totora jungle and sought help from coca growers in the region.

Police sources said Morales decided to keep the girl to himself and eventually wanted to marry her

On March 8, authorities found the girl sleeping on a dirt floor in a shanty community.

“She started crying when she heard us speaking a language she was familiar with,” said Civil Guard Captain Álvaro Moreno during a press conference.

He explained that the coca growers were interested in helping authorities capture Morales because they didn’t want police snooping around in the area.

The girl, of Moroccan origin, was subjected to hellish living conditions, being given poor food and having to work with her captor in the coca plantations, Moreno said.

Jordi Domènech, an inspector with the Catalan Mossos d’Esquadra police, said that the girl was allowed to travel with the 27-year-old Morales last August but on the condition that he would return her in seven days. When he didn’t show up with the girl, the parents filed a complaint on September 5.

In an interview with Bolivian reporters, Morales said that the girl’s parents allowed him to take her in exchange for gold he was expected to bring back. The two traveled to Madrid from Catalonia by bus and boarded a plane to Bolivia.

But police sources said that Morales had decided to keep her to himself and eventually wanted to marry the girl. They haven’t ruled out sexual abuse.

The Mossos were reluctant to give many details about the case or say whether the girl’s parents are also under investigation.

Even though the man – a Bolivian national – was arrested in his own country, Civil Guard officials said they held little hope that he would be extradited to Spain to face charges.

Morales had been a neighboUr to the girl’s parents and gained their trust, convincing them that he had converted to Islam. He had reportedly been living in Spain under a false identity.

Police said that he had been charged in Bolivia for raping his two sisters but the case fell through when their mother convinced them not to testify against their brother.

The girl was being held in a juvenile center, waiting to be returned to her parents in Spain.

Vocabulary:

hold someone captive/ hostage: tener a alguien en cautiverio, como rehén, secuestrado

rainforest: selva tropical

clear a path: abrir camino

allegedly: presuntamente

sought: past of seek - buscar

shanty community: poblado de chabolas

snoop around: husmear

show up: presentarse, aparecer

file a complaint: presentar una denuncia

in exchange for: a cambio de

rule out: descartar

be reluctant to do sth: ser reacios a

hold little hope: tener pocas esperanzas

face charges: enfrentar a los cargos

be charged for doing sth/ be charged with + noun : ser acusado de…

fall through:  quedar en nada, venirse abajo

Oscar Pistorius murder trial begins, with South Africa transfixed

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The murder trial of Oscar Pistorius begins today as South Africa prepares for what is expected to be a marathon legal battle that throws a spotlight not just on the world-famous double-amputee athlete, but on his homeland's criminal justice system and gun culture.

The trial, which has been compared to that of the OJ Simpson case in the United States 20 years ago, has led to the establishment in South Africa of a unique cable television channel dedicated to it.

The 24-hour channel, called The Oscar Pistorius Trial – A Carte Blanche Channel, launched on Sunday night with footage of the sportsman's girlfriend, Reeva Steenkamp, who was shot dead by him in the early hours of the morning on February 14 last year at his home. While the Olympian denies murder and says that he mistook Steenkamp for an intruder, the prosecution maintains that he intentionally shot her several times after an argument.

State prosecutors are expected to paint an unflattering portrait of Pistorius as reckless, hot-headed and obsessed with guns, and have lined up 107 witnesses for the trial, including Pistorius's ex-girlfriends Melissa Rom and Samantha Taylor, whose mother welcomed the end of their relationship. Erin Stear, who has denied reports she had an affair with Pistorius, will also take the stand, as will the former footballer Mark Batchelor, who has claimed that Pistorius threatened to "break my legs" because he was a close friend of Steenkamp, a law graduate, model and reality TV star.

Police have said they found unlicensed .38-calibre ammunition in Pistorius's house, while his Twitter account revealed he had boasted of going into "full attack recon mode in the pantry" after thinking an intruder was in his home.

The court will hear how, in one incident, Pistorius accidentally discharged a pistol under the table in a Johannesburg restaurant. He also put a bullet through the sunroof of a girlfriend's car in a fit of rage.

Pistorius will also come face to face with Steenkamp's mother, June, who made her feelings clear in a TV interview last year, recalling an incident in which Steenkamp phoned her from Pistorius's car. "She was afraid," June said. "She was so afraid. She said, 'Mummy, I'm in the car with Oscar and he's driving like a lunatic. Like a lunatic.' So I said, 'Will you just give him the phone?' She gave the phone to Oscar straight away. And I said, 'If you hurt my baby, I will have you wiped out.'"

Mobile phone records could be key during the trial, potentially indicating evidence of a fight. Steenkamp is said to have had her phone with her in the toilet when she was shot. Police have been trying to gain access to Pistorius's iPhone, which might contain evidence of a fight in the form of text messages.

Another key piece of evidence, according to experts, may be the blood-spatter analysis of the inside of the toilet cubicle, which could give an indication of Steenkamp's position when she was shot, including whether she was sitting on the toilet, or hiding behind the door, as prosecutors suspect.

Pistorius faces charges of murder, illegal possession of ammunition, and two additional counts relating to shooting a gun in public in two separate incidents before last year's Valentine's Day killing.

Criminal law experts believe that if the prosecution fails to prove premeditated murder, firing several shots through a closed door could bring a conviction for the lesser charge of culpable homicide, a South African equivalent of manslaughter covering unintentional deaths through negligence. Sentences in such cases range from fines to prison. They are left to courts to determine and are not set by fixed guidelines.

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/03/oscar-pistorius-trial-begins

More on this story:

Oscar Pistorius bail hearing: Conflicting accounts
Oscar Pistorius accused of premeditated murder of girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp by South Africa prosecutors
Weeping Pistorius faces life in prison in shooting

Predators on Social Networks. Sexual Predators and Child Molesters Find Easy Prey

Social networking is all the rage. Various web sites have sprung up for the sole purpose of providing a place for users to express themselves, share with like-minded individuals, discover new things, and communicate with others. Even I have a Myspace profile and a LinkedIn profile. 

The concept of social networking has also been extended to other areas. For example, Youtube (also picked up by Google), provides users with the ability to express their creativity, network, rate their favorite video clips, etc. Some sites like Flickr, DropShots, or PhotoBucket provide users with the ability to post and share photos and family videos. 

The bottom line is that social networking is hugely popular and it is big business. Unfortunately, child molesters, sexual predators, and scam artists have discovered that these sites can also be exploited to find victims. 

There have been numerous instances of sexual predators and child molesters posing as children to network with young victims on MySpace.com. MySpace was also recently discovered to be compromised by attackers spreading malware on exploited profile sites. MySpace has taken steps and implemented security measures to minimize this problem, but users should still be cautious and aware. 

While not directly related to a social network, Craigslist, the popular regional classified listings site, was recently used by a predator to lure a victim to her death. After listing a job opening for a babysitter / nanny, and arranging a meeting with the potential nanny, the killer then murdered the prospective nanny. 

Photo sharing sites are used by thousands of families to post and share family photos. It is possible to restrict access and only let users you identify view the pictures, but many users are proud of their kids and their photographic skills and allow the general public to view the photos as well. Child molesters and sexual deviants can search through these sites and bookmark their favorite photos of young boys and girls. 

Follow these steps to use social networking sites responsibly and avoid becoming a victim: 

Be Skeptical. At least be cautious. The point of social networking is to find people who share your interests and establish a network of friends, but don't let down your defenses too easily. Just because someone claims to like the same music as you, or share a passion for scrapbooking, doesn't mean it is true. These new "friends" are virtual and faceless and you can't completely trust that they are what they say they are. 

Be Diligent. Knowing that the potential exists for scam artists or sexual predators to be lurking about, keep an eye on your profile and be diligent about who you allow to connect with your profile. For photo sharing sites like Flickr, check out the users who are marking your photos as their Favorites. If some stranger is marking all of the pictures of your 7-year old son as their Favorites, it seems a little creepy and may be cause for concern. 

Report Suspicious Behavior. If you have reason to believe that someone is a sexual predator or scam artist, report it to the site. If you look at the profile of the user marking your son's photos as their Favorites, you might find that they have marked hundreds of other young boy's photos as their Favorites. Flickr, and other such sites, should take action against this sort of suspicious behavior. 

Communicate. Parents who have children that surf the Web and frequent these social networking sites should communicate with their children. Make sure your children are aware of the threat, and that they are educated about how to use the Web safely. Make sure that they understand the risks and that they know they can talk with you about suspicious or malicious activity they encounter. 

Monitor. If you want additional peace of mind, or you don't fully trust that your children will stay within the guidelines you have laid out, install some monitoring software to watch their online behavior. Using a product like eBlaster from SpectorSoft, you can monitor and record all activity on a given computer and keep an eye on your children.
http://netsecurity.about.com/od/newsandeditoria2/a/socialpredators.htm

FIND WORDS AND EXPRESSIONS IN THE TEXT THAT MEAN:

• es el último grito / es muy popular
• con el único propósito
• lo esencial / el punto fundamental es
• pederasta
• depredador sexual, pedófilo
• estafador
• hacerse pasar por
• marcar como favorito
• pervertidos, depravados sexuales
• no bajes tus defensas/ la guardia
• estar al acecho
• vigilar
• asqueroso, repulsivo
• actividad maliciosa o sospechosa
• tranquilidad

Misuse of Girls’ Pictures On Social Networking Websites

Girls are uploading their pictures on social networking websites like Facebook, Orkut, etc, to be accessed by everyone. What is happening is that many people are taking those pictures and misusing them by creating fake profiles to defame the girls. On some, inappropriate messages about the girl are written. On others, the picture is altered with a nude body of someone else added to the face of the girl. 

Many webmasters of adult websites use girls’ pictures from social networking websites to promote their business, with things like, “these girls are available.” In reality, those girls don’t even know that their picture is on a website of such a nature. Pimps are also hovering on social networking websites, trying to find pictures of good looking girls for their business. Many prostitutes also use those pictures for personal gain. 

Many girls’ cell phone numbers are put on websites after being taken without their consent. Some websites have pictures along with the cell numbers. In reality, those pictures do not belong to the person whose cell phone number has been posted. The pictures have been taken from social networking websites. 

Below is some basic common sense that girls should follow. 

- Never upload your picture on social networking websites. If you have to use a picture, use a non-animate one. 

- If you have to share your picture with a relative, send it through e-mail. 

- If you are in an internet cafe, please make sure you are logged out. 

- Please use features such as ‘Ignore User’ and ‘Report Abuse’ if you ever get unwanted invites or messages. 

According to police Sub Inspector Ravindra Chavan, “Orkut users should not put up their photographs on the site. They should not reveal personal information in their profile. Also, no cell phone numbers or identity should be mentioned in the scrap book, as it is open to all.” 

Below are some real life stories of girls who went through a lot of misery because of photo tampering and fake profiles. 

- The father of a South Delhi school girl suffered from the fake profile of his daughter posted on Orkut that not only described the teenager as a ’sex teacher’, but also contained obscene photographs and her contact details. The teenager’s family had received the first call where the caller wanted to speak to the girl. Similar calls poured in later, the police said, adding all the callers referred to Orkut. Father of the girl lodged a complaint with the Cyber Cell of the Delhi Police’s Economic Offences after his family started receiving calls following the appearance of the fake profile. 

- An air-hostess had moved a court here alleging that someone has opened an account in her name on Orkut wherein she is being described as a “sex struck woman”. The family had a harrowing time when two strangers knocked at their door a fortnight ago and told them the girl had invited them for sex, they added. Police said a case has been registered and investigations were on. The air-hostess claimed that act has lowered her reputation in the eyes of her family members and neighbors. She also said that she had written to the national commission of the women ministry against her criminal defamation, but no actions have been taken so far. 

- It was one of those normal evenings when *****, a software engineer in Chennai, logged on to Orkut to unwind from work and catch up with friends. But one and a half minutes later, the evening turned shocking and miserable for her. What she saw was a cheeky scrap and forward to a profile that had her semi-nude photo in another girl’s profile, tagged as her sister who flagged joint hints of intimate advances and indecent invites. Her photo had been brazenly and easily tampered with. After many weeks of tension and repeated requests to Orkut, the ID was removed. She vowed never to be vulnerable again. 

http://www.chowrangi.com/misuse-of-girls-pictures-on-social-networking-websites.html

FIND EXPRESSIONS THAT MEAN THE FOLLOWING:

• hacer un mal uso, difamar
• disponible
• chulo, proxeneta
• merodear, rondar
• beneficio personal
• cerrar sesión
• álbum
• pasarlo fatal
• manipulación de fotos
• presentar una queja/ reclamación
• alegar
• acceder a
• desconectar del trabajo
• ponerse al día con los amigos
• descarado
• etiquetar
• descaradamente

Girls’ Cell Phone Numbers on Social Networking Websites

Girls are uploading their pictures and many leave their cell phone numbers and other personal information on social networking websites like Facebook, Twitter, Orkut etc, to be accessed by everyone. 

It is dangerous to leave personal pictures on social networking websites, or anywhere for that matter, because they can be misused if they fall into wrong hands. What is equally condemnable is girls leaving their personal information, including their cell phone number, on social networking websites.

One reason why girls face harassment on cell phones is because they take little precaution, if any, to make sure that their number is not available to strangers. Also, why do girls (and boys) need a cell phone in the first place? For idle gossip. Research, although questionable, has linked excessive cell phone use to brain cancer.

There are groups on social networking websites which invite girls to join and share their personal information, especially their cell phone number. Others ask for friendship. Girls are naive and trusting by nature. They start a friendship with anyone who may appear to be nice and sweet, and the next thing they know, they are headed for disaster.

In all fairness, some girls actually want this so called friendship to get boys to pay their cell phone bills. Other girls want to have a good time. This is a major problem. These so called friendships end up nowhere. Not one has ended in marriage. Girls should avoid visiting such websites and groups which needlessly ask for personal information.

Some people have made videos on YouTube with dirty music playing in the background with pictures of girls which looked like they were taken from Facebook. These girls are unaware. Also, anyone’s face can be added to anyone’s body to create a nude picture. Girls should remove their pictures and personal information from social networking websites.

http://www.chowrangi.com/girls-cell-phone-numbers-on-social-networking-websites.html

EU seeks 'ban on all currently available e-cigarettes' with video

EU wants all electronic cigarettes removed from shop shelves because they 'normalise the action of smoking'

NEW YORK – New York City's new ban on electronic cigarettes in public places is part of a growing national trend toward regulating the devices.

Thursday, council members in the nation's largest city voted to extend a ban on smoking traditional cigarettes in public places, restaurants, bars and in private office buildings to include e-cigarettes. New Jersey, Utah and North Dakota already ban the use of e-cigarettes where smoking is prohibited, while Los Angeles and Chicago also are considering such bans, officials said.

Supporters of the bills say e-cigarettes may cause people to start toxic addictions and may pose unknown health risks to the public. Opponents argue that they help people stop smoking and do not contain the same chemicals that make regular cigarettes dangerous.

"These are being touted as safer than cigarettes, but we don't really know that," said Councilman James Gennaro, who co-sponsored New York City's bill. "Just seeing people smoking things that look identical to cigarettes in subway cars, colleges and public libraries will tend to re-normalize the act of smoking and send the wrong message to kids."

He and others fear youngsters may take up e-cigarettes, become addicted to nicotine, and may even graduate to smoking traditional cigarettes without knowing the full health effects of their actions. Others agreed, with New York's ban passing by a 43 to 8 vote.

Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who backed the bill, is expected to sign it into law before leaving office. Several e-cigarette manufacturers have come out against these regulations saying the items should be reserved for adults but not banned in public places. "The states are grouping e-cigarettes with traditional cigarettes without understanding differences between the two and the positive benefits e-cigarettes can provide," said Rick Zhu, who in 2010 founded California-based Apollo Electronic Cigarettes. He argues that e-cigarettes are less expensive, produce little smell through the vapors emitted and allow people to control their habit by letting them regulate how much nicotine they take in with the items. 
Studies vary on whether e-cigarettes can be harmful, said Caroline Rickards, a physiology professor and scientist with the University of North Texas Health Science Center. She will be starting a $30,000 collaborative study on the acute health effects of e-cigarettes next month. While the devices don't have the same chemicals as traditional cigarettes, they do contain nicotine, which can elevate a person's blood pressure and heart rate, Rickards said. "New York is taking a conservative approach," Rickards said. "I just don't think there's been enough work done to understand what the long-term effect is if you have a lifetime of e-cigarette smoking." 

Watch the video and try to answer the following questions:

• What did NY city council vote last Thursday? 
• What does this imply? 
• What did Mayor Michael Bloomberg also try to ban? 
• What does LA already regulate? 
• What is LA considering? 
• What do advocates of the e-cigarette ban say? 
• What do those against the ban say? 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/usanow/2013/12/20/e-cigarette-bans-considered-across-the-country/4143993/  

The Advantages and Disadvantages of Electronic Cigarettes

Smokers around the world enjoy their traditional tobacco cigarettes because it delivers a rich and satisfying experience regardless of the apparent risks. It’s been scientifically proven that prolonged use of traditional tobacco cigarettes can cause a plethora of health conditions ranging from arrhythmia, to deadly respiratory diseases, cancer, and even premature death. Many who try to quit tobacco smoking come to find that their cessation methods are hard to cope with leading to an agonizing withdrawal period in which some smokers come to the realization that they can’t live without smoking tobacco.

The electronic cigarette aims to solve this problem by giving smokers an alternative means of enjoying a tobacco cigarette without actually having to smoke one. Many may be skeptical by the claim that rechargeable electronic cigarettes can replace traditional tobacco but these devices are known to garner critical acclaim for their ability to deliver an uncompromising experience that rivals their conventional counterpart. Below, we’ve taken a look at the advantages and disadvantages that come with electronic cigarettes.

Advantages of Using An Electronic Cigarette

There are a number of benefits to using an electronic cigarette over a traditional tobacco cigarette including:

• A Lack of tar, ash, and smell 

Electronic cigarettes, unlike tobacco products utilize e-Liquid for operation in lieu of tobacco and leaves. Electronic cigarettes, therefore, fail to have the ashy residue that comes with traditional tobacco but also fail to produce tar in the smoker’s lungs leading a cleaner, healthier experience. Even the smells and odors that plague traditional smokers are nonexistent with e-Cigarette smokers as the vapor is clean and odorless.

• Excellent Alternative to Other Smoking Cessation Products 

Nicotine is one of the main components of tobacco cigarettes that leads it to be an addictive habit for many to break. Despite being a product of e-Liquids, nicotine in electronic cigarettes are concentrated and contain virtually half if not less than their traditional tobacco counterparts. Using an electronic cigarette doesn’t just mean that you’re using a healthier and cleaner alternative but also drastically reducing your nicotine content as well.

For those trying to quit altogether, electronic cigarettes have been proven to be more reliable at helping smokers quit than patches or gums. Many smokers who are allergic to patches find solace in being able to curb their dependency on tobacco cigarettes by using a cigarette-like device.

• Flexibility 

Traditional tobacco cigarettes come in a variety of flavors but can only be enjoyed one at a time and never in packs with different flavors. Electronic cigarettes have the flexibility to have variable amounts of nicotine strengths and flavors (with some companies offering packs of cartridges or cartomizers in special mix and match packs).

• Cost-effective 

The main draw that many smokers look toward when transitioning from traditional tobacco cigarettes is that they have the potential to save hundreds if not thousands of dollars a year. By using an electronic cigarette, cartomizers and cartridges cost $2 and less over traditional cigarette packs that are priced at a bare minimum of $5 each. With proper maintenance and upkeep, electronic cigarette users can keep their devices running strong for years to come.

A Few Disadvantages

There aren’t many disadvantages of using an electronic cigarette but there a few notable problems. For instance, there haven’t been any concrete studies truly guaranteeing electronic cigarette’s efficacy as tobacco substitute. Adding to that, nicotine is still a potent chemical used in electronic cigarettes and despite being of low concentrations what’s to stop electronic cigarettes from being just as addictive as traditional tobacco cigarettes which could potentially put a dent in the claim of it being a definitive smoking cessation device. Furthermore, the fact that it’s electronic leads many to question the reliability of a cigarette that requires power.

Obviously, electronic cigarettes have a few complaints and issues that have yet to be taken care of in the short term. That being said, it’s safe to say that there are tremendous benefits to be had when using an electronic cigarette. If you’re looking for a cleaner alternative that gives you the option to kick if not limit your smoking habit, consider giving electronic cigarettes a try today!

 http://www.cigtec.com/health-blog/the-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-electronic-cigarettes/