operation innocents

Pedophile Nation

2007-01-28T22:58:00.000-08:00

Here is another brilliant article from one of my favorite authors, Ben Stein. He wrote it following the Mark Foley scandal.

.....'But this is a nation endlessly selling teenagers -- sometimes younger than teenagers -- as sex objects. This is how teenagers are merchandised -- and watch the cheerleaders at any high school football game for more proof. It should not surprise us if, with all of that selling, there are buyers, both gay and straight for all of this selling''...

Read Entire Article....

My "Mommy Guilt" is Gone for a Moment

2007-01-15T20:42:00.001-08:00

I made it a goal this weekend to place a big-hearty checkmark by 10 of my "to-do's". That meant, cleaning the closet...organizing several cupboards...posting items on Ebay...sorting old clothes...decluttering the kitchen...cleaning the fridge, and more....

Well, I can proudly say, "I did it!" Woo hoo! But at the expense of my two preschool-aged children. Okay, before you think I am a horrible mommy, I did get them involved in the tasks and we had fun with it. My daughter sprayed a bottle of water as she helped me clean the fridge and my son ran around with a soaking wet sponge.

But, I did feel a tiny bit of "mommy guilt" when I let them watch four hours of Saturday morning cartoons and eat fruity-cheerios in ziplock bags.

Tonight, I was finishing up a few of my New Year's decluttering resolutions when I looked online for an activity for my preschool daughter. I was absolutely THRILLED when I found this site! It offers several books read aloud by celebrities! Not that my kids know who they are...but *I* think it is pretty neat, nonetheless! Now, when I am having a Saturday morning "Mommy Guilt" prop the kids in front of the TV set - moment...I am going to allow a celebrity to read them a few books while I clean. While I personally think Sponge Bob is a hoot...I feel much better about online story-time!

Check it out, and let me know what you think!

BookPALS Storyline Online

Miracle In Missouri - Boys Found!

2007-01-13T09:34:00.000-08:00

Breaking News: Shawn Hornbeck, Ben Ownby Found: A Missouri Miracle - The Post Chronicle

I have been fixated on the news all day. It isn't very often that you hear *good news* about a child abduction case but today is a new day. They found two children, alive and well in Missouri. Praise God.

Shawn's step-father is speaking at a news conference as I write this. Something he said struck a nerve with me. He looks like he is in his forties. He talked about how our society has changed. How, when he was a child, he could play outside all day and come in again in the evening without worrying about strangers, kidnappings or sex offenders lurking in our neighborhoods.

I am in my early thirties and it has changed for me as well. I remember long bike rides to the beach where my older sister and I would spend the day getting sunburned with our friends. I remember taking my allowance to a small-town grocery store where we would buy too much candy and sit at the local park and eat it until our bellies were sore. We would stay ourside until it was time to race the sunset on our banana-seat bikes.

I have a three year old son, and two year old daughter. It saddens me that they will not have memories like mine.

This is a miracle. This is a tremendous news story. I pray that it will reawaken us to the dangers our children face in our own backyards. I want my kids to have fun, to play and not to worry about strangers when they get off the school bus. At the same time, I am realistic.

One of the reports I read indicated that the man who took the boys was an unregistered sex-offender. Sadly, I am not surprised. When are we going to start taking these people seriously? When are we going to start "tagging" them like the animals that they are? GPS tagging technology works. We just need the manpower to monitor the monsters. Imprisonment works better. Don't let your lawmakers get away with minimum sentences. You can get involved. You MUST get involved.

Let's use this miracle as an opportunity to make some changes. Here are some related links that will help you get involved.

Online Amber Alert Systerm

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

Web-Links Project

Place a banner or a link to www.missingkids.com on your web site.

Wireless AMBER Alerts
Receive AMBER Alerts as text messages on your wireless device.

ID Events
Organize an ID event in your community.

Internship Opportunities
Become an intern at the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Missing Kids Online Alerts
Download this free program to be instantly notified of missing-children alerts issued by the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.
Pictures Work!
Join a campaign to raise awareness about the importance of pictures in recovering missing children.
Poster-Partner Program
Receive E-mail alerts about children who become missing in your area.
Volunteer Opportunities
Become a volunteer for the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children.

STOP Sex Offenders: Your Source for Child & Family Safety ...

National Sex Offender Registry

Technorati Tags: shawn, hornbeck, ben, owenby, missouri, abduction, michael, devlin, sex, offender, sex offender, registry, r

Body Image for Mothers and Daughters - FamilyEducation.com

2007-01-03T15:31:00.001-08:00

Body Image for Mothers and Daughters - FamilyEducation.com

When Laura M.'s daughter Jackie, age 7, complained that she didn't have a flat stomach, Laura was taken aback. When Jackie came home from school and said she thought her nose was too big, Laura was puzzled: Where was this coming from? But when her little girl began talking about the size of Britney Spears' breasts, Laura was totally floored.

"Someone told her at school that Britney Spears had something put in her breasts to make them bigger," Laura remembers. "I didn't want to put down Britney Spears, because my daughter loves her, but I said that sometimes women get infections from doing that or they can't nurse their babies. She was surprised to hear that."

Continue Reading...

Technorati Tags: body image, anorexia, eating disporders, mothers, daughters, teens, girls

State's highest court upholds internet child-sex laws

2006-11-16T14:41:00.000-08:00

TALLAHASSEE -- Two state laws designed to crack down on sexual predators who use the Internet to prey on children do not violate constitutional rights of free speech and interstate commerce, the Florida Supreme Court ruled Thursday.

The justices unanimously upheld statutes that make it a crime to use online services to lure or entice a child and transmit material harmful to a minor.

The state has a compelling interest in protecting the physical and psychological well-being of minors from harmful materials,'' Justice Peggy Quince wrote for the court.

Continue Reading...

This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner

Jame Lee Curtis Bares All

2006-10-29T01:20:00.000-07:00

Kudos to Jamie Lee Curtis for showing us that it takes a team of 13 hair-stylists, makeup artists...and more to make even the most beautiful women cover-girl worthy.

You can read more about her transformation here....

On a sidenote, my sister recently gave me a couple of children's books written by Jamie Lee. They are wonderfully engaging and cute stories that help promote self-esteem.

My favorite is...

I'm Gonna Like Me - Letting Off a Little Self-Esteem

Clearly, Jamie walks the walk.....

Teens' T-Shirts Make Educators Squirm

2006-10-29T01:01:00.000-07:00

Suggestive Messages Challenge Dress Codes

By Ian Shapira

Washington Post Staff Writer
Wednesday, September 27, 2006; Page A01

Ashli Walker rifled through a rack of designer T-shirts one recent afternoon, pondering which one she should buy and wear the next day to Eleanor Roosevelt High School in Prince George's County. The big black one that read, "TRUST ME..I'M SINGLE"? Or the snug white T-shirt emblazoned with, "I KNOW WHAT BOYS WANT"?

They're blatantly sexual, occasionally clever and often loaded with double meanings, forcing school administrators and other students to read provocations stripped across the chest, such as "yes, but not with u!," "Your Boyfriend Is a Good Kisser" and "two boys for every girl." Such T-shirts also are emblematic of the kind of sleazy-chic culture some teenagers now inhabit, in which status can be defined by images of sexual promiscuity that previous generations might have considered unhip.

This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner

Girls reporting high stress over looks, weight

2006-10-28T23:24:00.000-07:00

- Ilene Lelchuk, Chronicle Staff Writer
Sunday, October 29, 2006

Girls are more stressed than ever about their weight, grades and sex, according to three new studies by Girls Inc., which runs a collection of empowerment programs across the nation.

Calling it the "supergirl dilemma," researchers found that girls still feel pressure to please everyone and look perfect while also trying to seize opportunities their grandmothers might not have had, such as attending college and pursuing careers.

"One girl said, 'The problem is I can never be thin enough, I can never be pretty enough, and I can never be good enough.' It just kind of breaks your heart," said Pat Loomes, executive director of Girls Inc. Alameda County, who found the results surprising after four decades of feminism.

Another Reason I Love the Body Shop! Great Ad

2006-10-28T22:14:00.000-07:00

Send a Free Real Beauty E-Card

2006-10-28T22:01:00.000-07:00

True You - Dove's Mother Daugher Workbook

2006-10-28T21:54:00.000-07:00

Click the Photo to download a free Mother / Daughter Activity Guide from Dove.

Another Eye-Opening Dove Film

2006-10-28T21:37:00.000-07:00

Link to Dove's Real Beauty Campaign for Mother / Daughter Resources & More

Buying into Sexy: The sexing up of tweens

2006-10-28T21:12:00.000-07:00

Buying into Sexy: The sexing up of tweens
CBC NEWS
Broadcast: January 9, 2005

Advertisement showing three pre-teen girls posing in colourful,tight outfits. An advertisement for a pre-teen girls clothing company.

When you were nine, what did you want? A Barbie doll? A train set?

These days, young boys and girls are hungry for something else: padded bras and flirting tips, video games with bikini-clad babes and music videos that feature plenty of sexual innuendo.

Sex has always sold, but now it’s children that are buying. Tweens, kids aged eight to 14, are a hot target for companies. And now more than ever, sex is being used to get their dollars.

Continue Reading...

This article is copyrighted material, the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. We are making such material available in our efforts to advance understanding of environmental, political, human rights, economic, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues, etc. We believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of any such copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner

Study: Sex-filled media linked to promiscuity

2006-10-28T20:57:00.000-07:00

Sexual content in music, movies, TV can lead to intercourse at younger age

Updated: 11:36 a.m. MT April 3, 2006

CHICAGO - Sexually charged music, magazines, TV and movies push youngsters into intercourse at an earlier age, perhaps by acting as kind of virtual peer that tells them everyone else is doing it, a study said on Monday.

“This is the first time we’ve shown that the more kids are exposed to sex in media the earlier they have sex,” said Jane Brown of the University of North Carolina, chief author of the report.

Dove Evolution Video

2006-10-27T07:39:00.000-07:00

Please show this to your daughters. It is amazing.

Kudos to Dove - Little Girls Ad

2006-10-27T07:34:00.000-07:00

Teenage Girls + Media = Low Self-Esteem

2006-10-26T12:55:00.000-07:00

By Kelly Nault
Is it really true that teenage girls + media = low self-esteem?

The issue of media's impact on teenagers has generated a lot of interest in the last decade. Despite contradictory findings, all researchers agree that teenage girls as a group are focused on their looks—especially on what they don’t like about themselves! Marketing departments and ad agencies spend millions each year targeting teenage girls who spend much of their hard-earned dollars (and their parents’ hard-earned dollars!) on looking good. Although the message of “girl power” is prevalent in today's marketing messages, so is the irrefutable idea that “sexy” and “thin” are in!

The dieting industry alone generates 40 billion dollars per year in America. If you believe diets are just for adults, you will be shocked to learn that a Harvard study (Fat Talk, Harvard University Press) published in 2000 revealed that 86% of teenage girls are on a diet or believe they should be on one. Diets are common among both teens and children. According to the National Eating Disorders Association, 51% of 9 and 10-year-old girls actually feel better about themselves when on a diet. As a society, our obsession with thin is relatively new. Most people (especially teens) are shocked to find that sex icon Marilyn Monroe actually wore a size 14!

But pick up a fashion magazine today and you'll find models who are thinner than 98% of all the girls and women in America. Turn on a television and see 'sexy' celebrities such as Shania Twain, Britney Spears and Pamela Anderson baring their flesh. It is these role models who have become the standard of what is in vogue in the twenty-first century.

Do Teenage Girls have Low Self-esteem because of Media?

One of the most fascinating shows on self-image for teens was aired on Discovery Channel’s “Sex Files” program (Episode 12: Girl Power). During the show, they reported on eating disorders on the island of Fiji. In 1995, this tropical paradise had only 3 percent of girls with eating disorders in 1995.

Then western television programs were introduced, including “hits” such as ER, Melrose Place and Xena: Warrior Princess. Three years later, the eating disorders in girls on the island rose to 15%. A surprising follow-up study reported 74% of Fijian girls feeling “too fat or big” and 62% had dieted in the last month—surprising in a culture that typically upholds curvaceous women as beautiful.

Five Ways to Ensure Media Does Not Contribute To Low Self-esteem in Teenage Girls

Fortunately, parents have a huge impact on a teenage girl’s self-esteem—more so than even the media. Thus, there is much we as parents can do to ensure our teenage girls' self-esteem soars! Here are five helpful parenting tips:

1. Encourage and Support Your Daughter’s Achievements and Passions. Focus on what it is that your teenage daughter is good at. If she enjoys math, animals or singing, support her. Acknowledge the presence of pretty girls in the media with, “Obviously outward beauty is one of her gifts. You’ve got many gifts yourself!” Then name these gifts as well as you can.

2. Help your Daughter Get in Touch with Reality. We are bombarded with perfect idealized models of what a woman should look like. But the fact is less than 1% of the girls out there will ever become a super model. Besides, no one can compete with computer airbrushing! Share these facts with your daughter. And please note that if you are complaining about your own “thunder thighs”, this message is going straight to your daughter’s heart. Make a commitment to raise your own self-image. No one, including you, is perfect. It is our imperfections that actually make us human. Having the courage to be imperfect makes our life easier and much more joyful.

3. Focus on a Healthy Lifestyle – The less junk food you keep around the house, the less you and your family will eat it! Do you and your family a favor—stock up on the healthy stuff and refrain from insisting on second helpings. If the scale in your home is a bit of an obsession, consider tossing it out. Instead focus on how well and how healthy each of you feels instead.

4. Contribute to Others – Our preoccupation with our own weight can be positively transformed when we start focusing on others. Volunteerism boosts self-esteem. Volunteer as a family, bring a smile to others, and you'll all be reminded of how truly fortunate you are.

5. Encourage Dad to Pay Attention in a Positive Way – Help Dad understand how detrimental well intentioned teasing about weight or looks can be. Encourage him to spend time with his daughter focusing on all the things that she is great at.

It is sad that many teenage girls and women believe that they need to be someone other than who they truly are. It is time to come clean for ourselves, for the race of woman and for our children, by beginning to love the person we are—flaws and all. Embracing our imperfection gives us the opportunity to see all the awesome things about ourselves: to acknowledge that we do have nice eyes, nice breasts, nice legs, nice whatever! And as we stop hiding our flaws, suddenly our psychological zits will become the beauty marks that make us stand out from the crowd.

Kelly Nault, MA author of When You’re About To Go Off The Deep End, Don’t Take Your Kids With You inspires moms to put themselves first—for the sake of their children. She shares time-tested tools that motivate children to want to be well behaved, responsible and happy! Sign up for her free online parenting course here.

You are free to print or publish this article provided the article and bio remain as written and include a link to http://www.mommymoments.com as above.

© 2005 UltimateParent.com - All rights reserved.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Kelly_Nault

Teen Marketing And Body Image

2006-10-26T12:41:00.000-07:00

By Mary Desaulniers

You see them everywhere—magazines featuring emaciated teen models with brash, defiant looks that say “We express ourselves,” their arms and ankles glistening with fashion accessories. The definition of “cool chick” in another magazine is a glossy-lipped, half-woman, half-child peeking ambivalently behind a set of heavily mascared eyes.” I am confection,” she seems to say, her body eloquently displaying a padded push up bra. Such teen marketing tactics have succeeded in making their point. Girls, as young as ten, have made the word “diet” part of their vocabulary and the La Senza part of their identity.

Body image and weight control have occupied mainstream culture since the beginning of the 20th Century when film and media images created prototypes of ideal male and female bodies—men with swashbuckling muscles and women with slender waists and boyish hips. The effect of teen marketing and media images on our teenage population cannot be overstated. It is not surprising then that teenagers of both genders have distorted body images that often lead to unhealthy behaviors.

One study of adolescent girls shows that 53% of American girls are unhappy with their bodies. This figure grows to 78% by the time the girls reach seventeen—a situation which accounts for the 5-10 million girls and women who are struggling with eating disorders.

In another study of over 10,000 teenagers, researchers noted that a large proportion of boys are unhealthily preoccupied with body building. Boys are preoccupied with defining muscles through weight gain, a goal that often leads to harmful use of supplements such as creatine, amino acids, growth hormone and steroids. This is not surprising considering the teen marketing of brawns and tight abs on Much Music videos which are broadcast on weekdays between 4:30-8pm when most teens and children are home from school.

What is even more disturbing is the number of cosmetic procedures that have been performed on teens. According to a report published in www.mediafamily.org, in 2003, more than 223,000 cosmetic procedures were performed on patients 18 years of age or younger and 39,000 of those were surgical procedures that were incidental in nature—nose-shaping, breast lifts, breast augmentation, liposuction and tummy tuck. The author who reported on these procedures stated emphatically that media programs are responsible for distorted teen body image. Programs such as “extreme makeovers” have given our teenagers an unrealistic view of what constitutes “normal appearance.”

Ironically, however, children’s eating habits have run amok, even in the midst of a cultural obsession with thinness. According to one study, the average child watches 10,000 food advertisements per year on television, most of which are commercials for fast food and junk food. Recent statistics indicate that 14% of children are now seriously overweight and 60% of overweight children between ages 5 and 10 have shown at least one risk factor for heart disease.

Given the mixed messages and signals North American teens are getting about their bodies and food, what can we, as parents and professionals, do to help rectify the situation?

First and foremost, we need to challenge the teen marketing goal of thinness and foster a concept of fitness that goes beyond the parameters of weight. A fitness regimen that includes a wide variety of enjoyable activities such as dancing, yoga, pilates, swimming, walking would put the “fun” back into activity rather than isolating exercise as a workout to be endured for the “perfect body.”

Secondly, we need to challenge the whole concept of weight loss and weight gain. The real issue here is not weight, as Los Angeles psychologist, Keith Valone suggests, but body composition. By taking the focus away from body weight to body composition, we can perhaps promote a better understanding of what a healthy and fit body means.

Thirdly, we need to provide role modes for our teens that go beyond body consciousness. We need to provide them with media images of strong, empowered men and women who eat well, exercise regularly and who are more concerned with living their truth than following the narrow market conceptions of beauty. It is encouraging to note as well that many publishers have already taken the initiative to profile heavier models in their magazines.

Fourthly, we need to lobby for more responsible and ethical teen marketing. It is not surprising that pedophiles and child molesters have become such a significant problem online considering the fact that teen marketing of “sexiness” to children and teens seems to be an accepted business strategy in our culture.

Copyright 2006 Mary Desaulniers

A runner for 27 years, retired schoolteacher and writer, Mary is helping people reclaim their bodies. Nutrition, exercise, positive vision and purposeful engagement are the tools used to turn their bodies into creative selves. You can visit her at http://www.GreatBodyat50.com or learn how she lost her weight at http://www.greatbodyproteinpower.com

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mary_Desaulniers

Do thin models warp girls' body image?

2006-10-26T12:21:00.000-07:00

October 8, 2006
ADVERTISEMENT

By Nanci Hellmich
Gannett News Service

When Frederique van der Wal, a former Victoria's Secret model, attended designers' shows during New York's Fashion Week last month, she was "shocked" by the waiflike models who paraded down the catwalk. They seemed even skinnier than in previous years.

"This unnatural thinness is a terrible message to send out. The people watching the fashion shows are young, impressionable women," says van der Wal, host of "Cover Shot" on TLC.

Psychologists and eating-disorder experts are worried about the same thing. They say the fashion industry has gone too far in pushing a dangerously thin image women, and even very young girls, may try to emulate.

Continue Reading...
http://www.shreveporttimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20061008/LIVING/610060370/1004

Sexy styles for girls frighten some adults

2006-10-26T12:13:00.000-07:00

By James A. Fussell

McClatchy Newspapers

(MCT)

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Halloween hasn't changed much for boys: Gory get ups and monster masks still sell.

But in the last few years costumes for girls have traded silly and sweet for skimpy and sexy.

It's gotten so bad, one mother on an Internet bulletin board suggested renaming the holiday Dress Like a Prostitute Day. "That's an awful thing to say," the woman wrote. "But that's what some of these costumes look like to me."

Look in costume shops and you'll see what she means. They don't sell scary witches so much as saucy witches. Costumes that once were merely daring now look more at home on Vegas showgirls. Outfits that were once "cool" are now " Hot! Hot! Hot!"

Many blame pop culture. Racy television shows and music videos teem with images of teenage girls. Child beauty pageants feature questionable costumes, while corporations make billions selling sexy products to girls too young to understand their significance.

Experts are concerned. But not everyone's bothered.

Continue Reading Article....
http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/living/15853321.htm

operation innocents

Pedophile Nation

My "Mommy Guilt" is Gone for a Moment

Miracle In Missouri - Boys Found!

Online Amber Alert Systerm

National Center for Missing and Exploited Children

STOP Sex Offenders: Your Source for Child &amp; Family Safety ...

National Sex Offender Registry

Body Image for Mothers and Daughters - FamilyEducation.com

State's highest court upholds internet child-sex laws

Jame Lee Curtis Bares All

Teens' T-Shirts Make Educators Squirm

Suggestive Messages Challenge Dress Codes

Girls reporting high stress over looks, weight

Another Reason I Love the Body Shop! Great Ad

Send a Free Real Beauty E-Card

True You - Dove's Mother Daugher Workbook

Another Eye-Opening Dove Film

Buying into Sexy: The sexing up of tweens

Study: Sex-filled media linked to promiscuity

Sexual content in music, movies, TV can lead to intercourse at younger age

Dove Evolution Video

Kudos to Dove - Little Girls Ad

Teenage Girls + Media = Low Self-Esteem

Teen Marketing And Body Image

Do thin models warp girls' body image?

Sexy styles for girls frighten some adults

STOP Sex Offenders: Your Source for Child & Family Safety ...