First FaceBook 'Bullying Alert' In The World

Father develops world's first Facebook bullying alert system 

By DAILY MAIL REPORTER 

A concerned father has developed the world's first bullying alert system for Facebook which scans text and flags up abusive behaviour.

NHS consultant Paddy Clarke's software scans walls and inboxes for trigger words and phrases such as 'gay' and 'fat' and alerts parents when they appear.

The father-of-four came up with the idea after reading a string of cyber-bullying horror stories.

Concerned: Father-of-four Paddy Clarke came up with the idea after reading a string of cyber-bullying horror stories

Mr Clarke, 48, said he hoped his system - called 'Know Diss' - will keep children safe from online bullies.

He said: 'Bullying has now gone from the playground into children's homes. 

'Kids feel safe sending an abusive message in their rooms. It is pretty awful.

 

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'Cyber-bullying is very topical at the moment, particularly following some tragic cases where young people have taken their lives because of it.

'It is hard to believe but this software is the only one in the world to search through text on social networking sites to protect children.

'Know Diss is a very simple concept. It is also a partnership between parent and child because one cannot sign up without the other.'

Mr Clarke, a consultant in pain relief at Gloucestershire Royal Hospital in Gloucester, joined forces with friend Alan Saul to design and implement Know Diss, which costs £12 for a yearly subscription.

Safety: Mr Clarke hopes his computer program, 'Know Diss', will keep children safe from online bullies

Together they trawled through sites such as Urban Dictionary and watched the television series Skins to build their comprehensive database of insults.

Mr Clarke's program continuously searches through all text on Facebook accounts signed up to the service, including messages, picture comments and posts.

It uses a database of several thousands of words to identify bullying trigger words in a number of spelling variations.

Parents and their children must both sign up by email for the software to work. The child is then sent a link for them to click in order to download Know Diss.

When a bullying phrase is detected, it is copied and immediately emailed to the child's parent or 'Facebook guardian' who can decide whether further action is needed.

An example of a 'bullying' phrase which would be picked up by the system is: 'Go slash your wrists, fat boy' or words such as 'gay boy'.

Protection: Facebook said there were a 'number' of different ways users could protect themselves from cyber bullies

When triggered, Know Diss automatically sends an email to the parent which reads: 'The following text has been picked up on your child's Facebook account.

'Go and have a look at it.'  

Mr Clarke of Winchcombe, Gloucestershire - who used his own savings to fund the project - added: 'We have an absolutely huge database which includes spelling variations to make Know Diss as accurate as possible.

'Children may initially feel it is being invasive but it does not give the parent the power to read everything on their profile, just the words which are picked up by the software.

'It is very simple. The parent can read through the text which the software finds 'bullying' and decide whether it really is, or just a joke.

'They can also keep track of whether messages come in a series. Bullying tends to operate in a pack mentality online, one person posts and is followed by 50 others.'  

Research shows up to half of children have experienced cyber-bullying in the past 12 months - half of those do not report it to an adult.

Mr Clarke, whose has three sons and a daughter aged between ten and 20, has already showcased Know Diss at local schools.

And exclusive Cheltenham College is already considering using it to tackle cyber-bullying among pupils.

Alert: When a bullying phrase is detected, it is copied and immediately emailed to the child's parent. (Picture posed by model)

When a child is registered with Know Diss, a small logo will appear on their Facebook wall warning posters they are signed up to the service.

Mr Clarke added: 'With me being a doctor I am always interested in prevention rather than cure.

'Having the logo on the site may prevent young people from cyber bullying someone if they know the message will be picked up by a parent or teacher.' 

Currently Know Diss only works on Facebook, but Mr Clarke hopes to hold talks with Twitter and other social networking sites in the future.

A spokesman for Facebook said there were a 'number' of different ways users could protect themselves from cyber bullies.

He said: 'One person determined to harass another will unfortunately find ways to do so, both online and offline.

'On Facebook there are a number of measures people can use to stay safe.

'We encourage people to use our reporting tools, accessible across the entire site, use our blocking tools to prevent unwanted contact, and visit our Safety Centre, which contains tips for young people and parents about how to use Facebook as safely as possible.' 

Parents and children can register their email addresses at www.knowdiss.co.uk. The programme also works via smartphones.

Last year, Facebook bowed to pressure and provided a new application which allows young users to report suspicious behaviour.

It was announced in July that all users of the social networking site were to be able to access an advice centre from their home page to report suspected grooming or inappropriate sexual behaviour. 

It was the result of Facebook and the Child Exploitation and Online Protection Centre joining forces.

In the past, Facebook had been accused of arrogant complacency in the face of soaring complaints about online paedophiles.

 http://www.dailymail.co.uk/ 

Update on Sailor Found Sleeping With Another Man

Stephen Jones

The US Navy has reversed a decision to throw out a sailor who was found asleep in the same bed with another male sailor.

Petty Officer Stephen Jones, who is stationed at the Naval Nuclear Power Training Command in Charleston, South Carolina, has told CNN that the Navy's effort to discharge him for "unprofessional conduct" was a trumped-up charge based on the command's suspicion that he might be gay.

Jones also said the nonjudicial punishment for unprofessional conduct was a manoeuvre around the "don't ask, don't tell" repeal that President Barack Obama signed into law in December.

When contacted by CNN, Navy officials didn't have an immediate comment.

Queer military lobby group Servicemembers United says the Navy "undoubtedly did the right thing in reversing its decision," to discharge Jones, who dozed off beside another male sailor while watching Vampire Diaries on TV.

Posted in: International News
By GayNZ.com 

Brazilian fans taunt pro gay volleyball player with chants of “faggot” "bicha"

by Jim Buzinski.

About 3,000 fans at a pro volleyball match in Brazil taunted one player repeatedly with chants of “bicha,” which in Brazilian Portuguese is roughly the equivalent of “faggot” (see video below). The player, Michael (Brazilians refer to their athletes by their first name or nickname), came out publicly after the match as gay and said he was shaken by the incident.

The website Volleywood has a complete rundown of the incident, translated from Portuguese, of the game between Michael’s team, Volei Futuro, and Sada Cruzeiro.

This incident has prompted Michael to admit to the media that he’s gay. “I’m gay. Everyone knows who I am. My team fully respects my sexuality. I have been playing for 10 years and everyone has treated me well and fair. I do not feel the need to let everyone know about my sexuality,” says Michael.

Michael’s coach has rallied around him and Brazilian volleyball officials are investigating the incident, which occurred April 1 at Sada Cruzeiro’s arena. Michael decided to ignore the taunts and headed straight to the locker room after the match, with his teammates making sure he was OK.

Mariana Lajolo, who cover Olympic sports for Folha de S. Paulo, the leading Brazilian newspaper, told Outsports that what really bothered Michael was that the chants were done by men, women and children of all ages and not just an isolated few. She said the incident is receiving huge play in Brazil, with the vast majority of people appalled at the actions of the fans. It has also opened a debate on gays in sports; in Brazil, there are many athletes known or suspected to be gay, but almost no one publicly out.

The two teams meet again Saturday in the second game of their league playoffs on Volei Futuro’s home court, and then April 15 at Sada Cruzeiro if Volei Futro wins tomorrow.

Here is video where you can clearly hear the fans chanting “bicha” when Michael is serving:

http://outsports.com/jocktalkblog

UK Rugby Player Ben Cohen Gives Shirt Off His Back For LGTB

 

Ben Cohen auctions his shirt at a UK fundraiser.

English rugby star Ben Cohen has auctioned the shirt off his back to fight homophobia, as he kicked off fundraising to support The Ben Cohen Acceptance Tour, a U.S. tour to combat homophobia starting in May. The hunky, six-foot-two star of the Sale Sharks is hosting two April meet-and-greet events titled Beer with Benin the UK.

At he first event this weekend, the evening started with filming and singing with the Village Spartans Rugby Club in Canal Street and then moved into Taurus. The hilarious Jonathan Mayor emceed the event. Cohen was able to answer questions about his tour and his message of tolerance and acceptance.

During the event, Cohen auctioned his gray-colored, short-sleeved t-shirt that read “I stand up with Ben Cohen UK tour” right off his back for 200 English pounds.

For some years now, Cohen has been supporting his gay followers on matters of equality, acceptance of diversity and mutual respect.

 He is now stepping up his involvement in both the UK and the USA with The Acceptance Tour 2011.

The Acceptance Tour 2011 is supporting the activities of GLSEN based in the USA.

The Gay, Lesbian and Straight Education Network strives to assure that each member of every school community is valued and respected regardless of sexual orientation or gender identity/expression. 

Cohen is passionate about these issues and is compelled to take action. He will be teaming up with gay and gay-friendly Rugby Clubs in the UK and USA, and heading a variety of events raising money and awareness.

“I believe that every person on this planet has a right to be true to themselves, to love and be loved and to be happy,” he says. “That’s what we all want. I am in a privileged position to be able to spread some important messages across the globe – and that’s exactly what I am going to do.”

The Acceptance Tour is visiting Atlanta, New York, Washington and Seattle in May and will be raising awareness and funds, standing up against homophobia and bullying and standing up for equality, tolerance and mutual respect. Sorry guys, no San Diego visits.

Cohen became a sex symbol among many gay fans with his 2010 calendar that offered him in shirtless and sometimes wet poses in a lockerroom and a spread in Attitude. Last year, Cohen donated a signed jockstrap to support a UK-based gay non-profit. His 2011 calendar didn’t hurt his standing among gay fans, either.

http://lgbtweekly.com/2011/04/10/uk

To Islam : My Hijab, my choice

 

DAMASCUS – Last week, the Syrian governmentunveiled the first of the promised reforms.  So far, they’ve been … well, slight might be a kind way to refer to them.  Citizenship was finally given to a large group of Kurds, a casino was closed and a ban on teachers wearing the niqab, the face veil, was rescinded.  That last probably strikes many readers as hardly the sort of thing that should be greeted as a liberalizing reform.  But, in my opinion, it is symbolic.

When westerners turn their eyes towards the Middle East and other Muslim societies, one of the first things that strikes them will often be the large number of women who cover.  Often, in the west, the act of a woman covering her hair in public is seen as being indicative of oppression in general and even, as some westerners claim, ‘gender apartheid’.  Is it?

I for one do not think so.  I consciously considered myself as a feminist and as someone who believes in human rights and the equality of all.  But I’m also an Arab and a Muslim.  And I covered.  Not once or twice but every time I was in public for well over a decade of my life.  And no one made me do it; I chose it.

When I was a teenager, I found myself growing up between two cultures; that of the school year, when I attended a public high school in the American South, and that of home and the summer, when I would return to Damascus.  I was a bit of a rebel, a bit headstrong and a bit confused.  I struggled with issues many young women do: I battled with anorexia, severe depression, confusion and questioning my sexuality and gender identification, and the stress of moving between two worlds.

In Damascus during a particular hot summer day, I had climbed up to the roof of our house and was considering throwing myself from it.  I was depressed over a lot of things, many that now seem silly in retrospect but, as I approached my 16^th birthday, they seemed like insurmountable obstacles.  Throwing myself down to the pavement far below seemed like a reasonable idea.

But I didn’t.  Instead, I had a suddenly strong feeling that my life was worth more than that and that, no matter what happened, there was a power greater than myself, a God of the Universe who cared and was in charge of what ultimately happened.  The world around me began to glow with a blue light coming from everywhere and all my troubles seemed to vanish.  I didn’t kill myself … but instead found myself shouting “Eshaduwan la illaha illala wa Muhammadan rasool allah!” (I testify there is no God but God and Muhammad is the Messenger of God).

If I had been Christian, one would, I suppose, call what had happened to me as being ’born again.’  Certainly, though I had been raised as a Muslim in an observant household and had learned to pray years earlier, I was hardly what one could call pious; like many teenagers who dye their hair blue, listen to punkrock, and read to much, I was at most sort of agnostic.  All that changed for me, though, at that time when I felt the presence of God.

And, very soon after, I wanted to show outwardly what I had accepted inwardly.  While I had never eaten pork, from now on, I would strive only to eat ‘clean’ hallal meat.  I would try to pray five times a day at the appointed hours.  I would really fast Ramadan.  And, in the most obvious way, I’d let the world know that I now considered myself a devout Muslim.  I would begin covering, not just when I was at prayer (as I had always done and as my mother did) but any time that I was in public.  They would know me as a Muslim at a glance.

So, that day, I tied a scarf around my hair when I left the house.  With it, I felt myself empowered as I walked through the streets.  No creepy stares from old men.  Pleasant smiles and nods from strangers; other covered women seemed automatically to recognize me as one of their own.  I felt instantly as though I belonged to an elite international sisterhood of women.

In the days and weeks that followed, my covering steadily improved as I became more skilled in tying up my hair and concealing it before I’d go out.  And the scarf was like a passport to a new world; suddenly, I found myself recruited by an elite sisterhood of Muslim women, working on raising the standards of the society.   There, I found fellowship, sisterhood and a best friend.  And my faith and commitment steadily grew stronger.

I returned to the USA and my parents were startled by my new appearance; the gothed out girl who’d flown to Syria a few months earlier had come back as a Muslim woman (I’d also incidentally grown my last few inches that summer).   I knew that they weren’t sure what to make of it; on the one hand, they were certainly happy that I was less ‘troubled’ and more devout (as any parents of a teen would be) and, on the other, they weren’t completely thrilled that I was marking myself out in America.

I started a new school and my cousin – who had also started covering – and I began trying to create the sort of Muslim Sisterhood we had known in Damascus.  At first, it was just the two of us but quickly we built a circle of other teen-aged Muslim girls and promoted the religion and devotion within it.  Meanwhile, our dress steadily got more conservative.  At first, we were wearing jeans and long-sleeve shirts with our scarves; after another summer in Syria, we were dressing like full blown religious: long monochrome coats and scarves neatly knotted, ceasing to wear make up … my dearest friend from Damascus gave steady advice (she was older and more advanced) and, when she eventually visited us, we were already looking as true devotees.

Of course, being a severe Muslim young woman in a suburban American high school made for challenges.  We took it as a point of pride that we did not date and had as little as possible to do with men.  (Of course, that was easier for some of us than for others; I remember severely chastizing a young woman for holding hands with a boy)  We harassed Muslim shopkeepers who sold alcohol and pornography.  We moved as a group and built each other up.  It was empowering.

And my hijab was, to me, the sign of my empowerment.  I had been a scared little mouse before it; now I was bold and fearless, outspoken and forthright.  I told off teachers and backsliding Muslims with equal ease.

I wasn’t the only one, of course; in those same years, the number of Muslim women who covered skyrocketed.  When I was a small child in Syria, there were very few women who covered at all.  Once, the political police had taken it into their heads to eliminate that as part of the effort to enforce French-style secularism; they starting stopping cars with covered women in them and pulled the women out, forcing them to strip in the road.  That sort of attitude only fired defiance and memories of colonial rule; my own grandmother, during the French Mandate, had been walking alone when a French gendarme forcibly removed scarf and veil from her, demanding a kiss.  That sort of behavior had inspired nationalist uprisings; when I was a child and the government did it, it inspired Syrian muslims to revolt,

But, by the end of the 1980’s, the government had stopped enforcing its views on women’s dress and more and more women had begun to dress in Islamic style.  While the Islamic revival began spreading from one end of the countries to the other, it was slower in Syria due to the government’s hostility but it still occurred as more and more women began to choose to send a subtle message against the oppression of the state through their dress.  When I started covering, we were style very much a minority but, in the years since then, dressing “Islamically” has become more and more common.  What was once a bold political statement has become the ‘usual’ thing.  And, of course, the severe fashions of the past are now mixed in with high fashion and ‘sexy’ hijab looks …

Some who wanted to send a clear religious message went further; where once a simple scarf marked a woman as religious, when it became mainstream, more severe fashions were called for.  Some women who had lived in the Gulf States brought veiling back with them when they returned to Syria.  And women who wanted to state boldly that they were religious sometimes picked up the new style.  My cousin did …

Meanwhile, for myself, my own views changed over time.  I went back and examined the verses of the Quran referring to covering.   I asked myself what was the purpose in covering.  Was it supposed to be a way of showing others how religious we were, the way that we had understood it?  If that was so, how was one to show devotion in a Muslim society?  And, whether in extreme secularist ruled Muslim countries or in the West, why was it that Muslim men saw the right for women to cover as a necessity?  While there are male dress codes in Islam, they are not nearly as so obvious.  The reality is that by asking young women to bear the emblem of the community we are asking a lot …

And it occurred to me that that wasn’t what the actual teaching was; the actual teaching was about modesty and not showing off.  If I were making a display of my religiosity, I was hardly being modest.   And, if I covered and were not the most devout and chaste woman, would I not be making a mockery of the modesty I was claiming?

So I took my hijab off and, nowadays, only cover when at prayer or when it’s cold or the situation requires.

Yet, looking back, I still see my decision to cover as a fundamentally feminist act.  No man – not my father, not my brother, not my husband, not my imam – ever made me cover and no man made me uncover.  I did both myself.  It was an act between me and my God (a God who lies beyond and above gender).   And when I hear men, whether far-right racist rabblerousers in Europe and America or far-right fundamentalist preachers in Iran and Saudi Arabia, saying that it is their choice what I can or cannot put on my head, I am angry.  I am angry when either group of withered men try and tell women what to do.  I am tired of both groups fighting over us, Muslim women, and our bodies while insisting we have no say in the matter.

For me and the women I know, though, no one made us cover, no one made us uncover.  Our heads, our choice!

http://lezgetreal.com

'Naked Man Staring at You' by Drasko Bogdanovic

Naked Man Staring at You 
Black-and-white photographs by Drasko Bogdanovic

 

Perhaps the paper peeling off the windows at the Hang Man Gallery is a metaphor for the fact that gay sexuality cannot be held back.  As I’m walking up to the Leslieville art space to interview Drasko Bogdanovic about his new exhibition, Naked Man Staring at You, I’m able to catch a glimpse of all the flesh inside. The Toronto-based photographer was invited by the gallery in February to present a new collection of his trademark male nudes. But when it came time to actually hang the show, controversy erupted.

“It was a condition of showing the work that they paper over the windows so people couldn’t see inside,” Bogdanovic says later, over a beer. “It actually serves as a bit of a tease for the public, which I like. But when they invite a queer artist to present a show, understanding the work I do, I would have expected them to be a bit more tolerant. I think they thought I would produce a collection of tasteful nudes. But my work isn’t very tasteful. It’s very graphic and sexually explicit.”

“There was an issue with some of the photos with cum-shots and bondage that ended up being rejected,” he adds. “They also felt the colour photos were too pornographic, which is why the whole show is in black and white. I might have to do another show with all the rejected images.”

As for the work viewers will actually see, Bogdanovic has assembled a collection of edgy shots, featuring plenty of full-frontal and a handful of erections. Though male nudes can fall into the realm of the softly lit muscle shots that tend to hang above gay men’s toilets, Bogdanovic offers an alternative depiction of the male form. Though his models have decidedly hot bodies, there is little softness or tenderness to the images.

“I’m interested in the power of sexuality that every man carries, regardless of his orientation,” he says. “I want to reverse the relationship between the viewer and the model that is typical in nude photography, making the subject more dominant and placing the viewer in the submissive position, creating a greater tension.”  




“I find eye contact the most erotic element,” he adds. “That tension is way more sexual and interesting than just a beautiful body or an erection.”

Hot bodies aside, Bogdanovic has specific things he looks for in a model. “I want to shoot men who are proud of who they are sexually and in control of their bodies,” he says. “Most of the guys I shoot are not professional models. I like guys who are athletic and actually enjoy sports and fitness, rather than just working out so they can show it off at the club.”

The Sarajevo ex-pat has steadily gained a reputation for his unique brand of erotica since he came to Toronto from Sarajevo via Guelph six years ago. He shoots regularly for fab and Australia’s DNAmagazine, as well as numerous online publications. His work has been featured at the Contact Photography Festival as well the now defunct Grasp Erotica bar. Internationally, his work has shown in the US, Asia and his homeland of Bosnia and Herzegovina. Beyond a simple love of the male form, Bogdanovic has a decidedly political bent to his work.

“It’s very important as queer artists to show our sexuality,” he says. “We are increasingly finding social and legal acceptance for our identities, but it is still important to show/flaunt our sexuality as different from the mainstream. Sexuality is something that we enjoy, hopefully on a daily basis. We need to be able to express that.”


Chris Dupuis / Toronto 


http://www.xtra.ca/public/Toronto