On Monday, February 23, 2015, Google announced a major change to their content policy on Blogger, prohibiting sexually explicit images and videos or displays of graphic nudity on Blogger. Google noted that videos that use nudity in an artistic, educational, or scientific context would be allowed to remain when the policy takes effectMarch 23.

 

In today’s world where child sexual abuse, sex slavery, and sexual violence have become rampant, Google recognizes that the promotion of pornography contributes to the growing public health crisis of exploitation. I applaud Google for stepping up as a global leader and for working to implement further cut backs to pornography and sexual exploitation.

 

This welcome change indicates that Google is serious about curbing sexual exploitation and continues similar changes to their advertising and app policies, which kicked out pornography in 2014.

 

National Center on Sexual Exploitation (NCSE), formerly Morality In Media, has listed Google or its products on its annual Dirty Dozen List for the last three years in an effort to encourage changes to the Google policies that contribute to sexual exploitation.

 

Thousands of people and hundreds of organizations have joined NCSE’s effort to encourage Google to change its policies on sexual exploitation. I strongly encourage the public to thank Google for these sweeping policy changes to curb sexual exploitation by sending comments to the company at EndSexualExploitation.org/Google.

 

In today’s world where child sexual abuse, sex slavery, and sexual violence have become rampant, Google recognizes that the promotion of pornography contributes to the growing public health crisis of exploitation. We applaud Google for stepping up as a global leader and for working to implement further cut backs to pornography and sexual exploitation. They have recently changed their policies to prohibit pornography and explicit content in AdWords, GooglePlay, and Blogger. These welcome changes indicates that Google is serious about curbing sexual exploitation and continues similar changes to their advertising and app policies, which kicked out pornography in 2014.

 

National Center on Sexual Exploitation, formerly Morality in Media, has listed Google or its products on its annual Dirty Dozen List for the last three years in an effort to encourage changes to Google’s policies that contribute to sexual exploitation. Thousands of people and hundreds of organizations have joined NCSE’s effort to encourage Google to change its policies on sexual exploitation.

 

We expect Google to continue these changes across their platforms and explain below some of the remaining shortcomings.

 

POLICY CHANGES TO CURB EXPLOITATION:

 

On February 23, 2015, Google announced that starting March 23, 2015, you won’t be able to publicly share images and video that are sexually explicit or show graphic nudity on Blogger.

 

In June 2014, Google enacted policies for AdWords to no longer accept ads that promote graphic depictions of sexual acts or ads that link to websites that have such material in them.

 

In 2013, Google announced that pornographic and sexually explicit apps would no longer be allowed in GooglePlay. This policy was enforced, with hundreds of apps removed from the app store, in March 2014.

 

http://pornharmsaction.com/pornharms/app/write-a-letter?0&engagementId=81307

 

10 Things Not to Do in Paris (Written by Christina Henry de Tessan).

 

Paris's seductive charms are legendary, and for good reason. Inviting sidewalk cafes, gleaming boutiques, world-class museums, and a fabled restaurant scene make Paris the runway model of cities—beautiful, fashionable, confident, and inspiring envy at every turn. But with expectations running so high, Paris can—yes, it's true—occasionally disappoint. When you find yourself elbow to elbow with throngs of tennis shoe-wearing tourists, tucking into yet another overpriced meal, you'll wonder how the Paris that travelers fall in love with has proved so elusive. Unless, that is, you read and discover how to avoid the top ten mistakes first-timers make in the City of Light.

 

1) Don't Shop on the Champs-Elysées.

 

The Champs-Elysées may once have been the most beautiful avenue in the world, but its fortunes have risen and fallen many times over the years, and it's currently overrun with global chain stores, auto dealerships, and movie multiplexes. Aside from the über-glam Vuitton flagship, which draws label addicts in droves, you'll find yourself dodging throngs of teens as you trudge past McD's and Sephora, wondering what in God's name all the fuss is about. And whatever you do, don't succumb to hunger on this strip: The cafés prey on tourists, and a local wouldn't be caught dead in one.

 

Paris's seductive charms are legendary, and for good reason. Inviting sidewalk cafes, gleaming boutiques, world-class museums, and a fabled restaurant scene make Paris the runway model of cities—beautiful, fashionable, confident, and inspiring envy at every turn. But with expectations running so high, Paris can—yes, it's true—occasionally disappoint. When you find yourself elbow to elbow with throngs of tennis shoe-wearing tourists, tucking into yet another overpriced meal, you'll wonder how the Paris that travelers fall in love with has proved so elusive. Unless, that is, you read and discover how to avoid the top ten mistakes first-timers make in the City of Light.

 

Instead: Follow in the well-heeled footsteps of locals.

 

Die-hard fashionistas should head straight to the designer shops of the Rue des Francs-Bourgeois in the chic Marais neighborhood, while haute-couturistas should point their stilettos in the direction of the Avenue Montaigne, for the likes of Chanel, or the Rue du Faubourg St. Honoré, home of trendsetting concept shop Colette. For old-fashioned ambience, look to Paris's covered passages. Dating back to the 19th century, these were the city's first malls, and beneath their vaulted ceilings of glass and wrought iron, you'll find more unusual wares: French designers, but also antique book dealers, art galleries, quirky toy shops, and more. Galerie Vivienne, just north of the Palais Royal, in the second arrondissement, is the most elegant of the lot.

 

2) Don't Get Starstruck at Mealtimes.

 

Home to 66 Michelin-starred restaurants, Paris is a foodie's paradise. But a lot of pomp and circumstance—not to mention sky-high prices—accompany most of these traditional fine-dining establishments. (The prix fixe dinner at three-star L'Arpège, for example, will set you back a staggering $480. And that's before wine!) Does the idea of half a dozen waiters hovering buzzardlike around your table sound appealing? Or how about spending as much on dinner as you did on your plane ticket? No, we didn't think so.

 

Instead: Have your dinner à la mode.

 

Recently, several Michelin-starred chefs have abandoned the rigid confines of haute-cuisine restaurants to open convivial bistros that serve up simpler (yet still outstanding) meals. And the locals are just crazy about them. Yves Camdeborde's pioneering Le Comptoir du Relais, in the sixth arrondissement, is so popular that it can be hard to get a table. But once you're sampling Camdeborde's famous foie gras terrine for a fraction of what you'd pay elsewhere (the weekday dinner prix fixe is about $68), you'll understand why the place is booked months in advance. If you can't get in at dinner, try arriving by 11:45 am for lunch (reservations are not accepted, so it's first come, first serve). Christian Constant's charming Café Constant, in the seventh, is another popular option that serves impeccably prepared favorites, such as roast chicken, for a mere $20. Still hell-bent on a Michelin-star meal? Try booking at lunchtime, when many restaurants offer excellent-value prix fixe menus.

 

3) Don't Spend All Day at the Louvre or Musée d'Orsay.

 

The Louvre and the Musée d'Orsay are Paris's most celebrated museums, and yes, they do house some famous works of art. But don't for a second think that they're your only—or, indeed, even your best—options. The lines to get in can be harrowing in high season, the crowds are exhausting, and the sheer quantity of art on display is overwhelming. If the prospect of beating back the hordes seems like it will detract from the experience (and, really, how could it not?), don't despair.

 

Instead: Get to know Paris's lesser-known museums.

 

Many of Paris's smaller museums contain equally important and beautiful art—and are often more pleasant, since you won't be elbowed out of the way by a photo-snapping swarm. You'll find Monet's famous Nymphéas (water lily) murals in the Musée de l'Orangerie, at the far end of the Tuileries Gardens. The Musée Marmottan is home to the world's largest collection of Monets. And the Musée Rodin, housed in a luminous villa with a lovely garden, is one of the most romantic places in all of Paris. Not in the mood for an art lesson? There are plenty of museums in Paris that focus on lighter and frothier fare, including fashion, wine, and money. Once you've discovered the pleasures of these intimate galleries, you might be hard-pressed to bother with the Louvre at all.

 

4) Don't Commit a Fashion Faux Pas.

 

For starters, don't ever, even in the sweltering dog days of summer, think about wearing a pair of shorts in Paris unless you really want to be treated like a hapless tourist. As the French would say, ça ne se fait pas (it simply isn't done). And while you're at it, leave those gleaming white running shoes at home, too. As a general rule, Parisians avoid dressing like they're going to climb Mount Everest, and while you're in their town, so should you. On the other end of the spectrum, don't overdo it just because you're headed to the world's fashion capital.

 

Instead: Take a crash course in French style.

 

Parisian style isn't really about dressing to the nines; the French are quite casual these days—they've just mastered the art of the clean, coordinated look. Here are a few tips to keep your attire simple, tidy, and thoughtfully assembled: Black is always a good bet (or gray, if you really want to go nuts); accessorize with a single bold scarf, hat, or jewel (but, please, not all three at once); and make sure things fit the way they should (no sagging or squeezing). Complete your outfit with a fitted jacket and the best shoes in your closet. The final effect should look utterly effortless.

 

5) Don't Get Around Town in a Cab

 

Taxis can be hard to come by and can't be flagged down on the street (you need to call ahead for one or find a taxi stand). Cabbing around town also leaves you vulnerable to Paris's famously snarled traffic: Careening to a halt on a narrow one-way street, then watching the meter tick ever upward while you're trapped behind a double-parked car, is a definite buzzkill.

 

Instead: Take to heart the French word “flâner”.

 

While flâner technically means "to stroll," it more generally suggests "to walk the city in order to experience it"—words to live by in the City of Light. The center of Paris is only a couple of miles wide, maps are ubiquitous, and the rewards for taking to the streets on foot include world-class window shopping, observing flirtatious exchanges taking place in sidewalk cafés, and walking off that extra croissant. Worried about dog droppings? Fear not, the city has cleaned up its act. When going longer distances, hop on the Métro. From any given spot in Paris, you're never more than 500 yards from the nearest station; it's cheaper than a cab and often faster, too. So there's really no excuse—unless you've stayed out late (the Métro closes at 2 am on Friday and Saturday nights and 1 am the rest of the week). We wish we could recommend Paris's inexpensive Vélib' bikes (the gray models you see lined up on the street), but the rental program is off-limits to most visitors since a smart chip–enabled credit card is required to access the system.

 

6) Don't Seek Out Bohemian Ambience on the Left Bank

 

Sartre and de Beauvoir may have loved Les Deux Magots on the Boulevard St. Germain, but these days, this onetime hangout of intellectuals has all the authenticity of Times Square. You're far more likely to find yourself cheek to jowl with your tourist brethren than eavesdropping on any famous philosophers. You may, however, find yourself delivering a tirade on the immorality of charging $16 for buttered toast and orange juice.

 

Instead: Find the "real" Paris on the Canal St. Martin

 

Bobo (short for bourgeois bohemian) hipsters have laid claim to the area around the Canal St. Martin, a once-derelict part of the tenth arrondissement that now buzzes with cafés and hip boutiques, particularly along the Rue Beaurepaire. Settle at a sidewalk table at Chez Prune, the see-and-be-seen ground zero for this trendy Right Bank 'hood (36 Rue Beaurepaire; 33-1-42-41-30-47), sip your café crème, eavesdrop on the locals, and enjoy the views of the picturesque canal—and bask in the smug knowledge that you've found a corner of real Paris.

 

7) Don't Waste Time at the Eiffel Tower

 

In 2009, 6.6 million people visited the Eiffel Tower and, like lemmings, embarked on the laborious task of reaching the top. After trudging through one labyrinthine line for tickets and re-queuing for the cattle car–like elevators, you'll start to lose faith in the whole endeavor. And just when you think the ordeal is over, there are the lines to get back to terra firma.

 

Instead: Enjoy dinner and a view.

 

An infinitely more civilized approach to the whole Eiffel Tower business is to book a table at Les Ombres, the rooftop restaurant of the Musée du Quai Branly. The restaurant's glass latticework ceiling (like a dragonfly's wing) makes the most of its tall neighbor by enabling diners to feast their eyes on the tower in its gorgeous entirety while dining on French classics such as foie gras, oysters, and grilled steak. The view is at its most magical at night, when the tower glows ethereally and bursts into manic sparkling every hour. At dinner, main courses start at $40, but there are excellent deals to be had at lunchtime ($34–$52 for two to three courses). Or you can just head to the adjoining salon de thé to toast your savvy tourist skills with an alfresco flute of champagne.

 

8) Don't Book the Cheapest Hotel

 

Finding a decent Paris hotel for a reasonable price can bring even the savviest travelers to the brink of despair. The city's hotels are breathtakingly expensive, and with the current conversion rates, they are truly stupefying. You might find a screaming deal at a big chain hotel and think you've got it made, but once you're sitting in a beige I-could-be-anywhere cube on the outskirts of town, you'll realize that you're missing out on the Parisian atmosphere in the city center.

 

Instead: Book a furnished apartment.

 

Furnished apartments can be found to suit absolutely every budget and taste. You'll be amazed at how much living space you get for your money—especially if you plan to stay for more than a couple of days—and you don't have to eat out for every meal. The real estate mantra "location, location, location" definitely applies. When in doubt, opt for an apartment in a single-digit arrondissement and check how close the nearest Métro station is. And if the price seems too good to be true, try to find out what they may be hiding. Do-it-yourself services abound (Craigslist, VRBO), but if you want to leave it to the experts, try a rental agency (Paris Perfect Guest Apartment Services and Haven in Paris are reputable options). Once you're in your private pied-à-terre, glass of wine in hand, listening to the sounds of the neighborhood through the open windows, you'll feel like you've truly arrived.

 

9) Don't Fill Up on Croissants

 

We all swoon over those flaky golden crescents. But it would be a big mistake to limit yourself to Paris's best-known pastries and miss out on deluxe confections that aren't as well known, or as easily accessible, across the pond.

 

Instead: Munch on macarons.

 

Unlike macaroons, the dense coconut cookies in the United States, French macarons consist of two meringue-like cookies bound together by a delicious ganache. A few patisseries, Ladurée in particular (pictured), have been carrying macarons for ages, but recently these have become the hottest sweet in town. Debate rages among Parisians over which are the city's best; to decide for yourself, sample rose at Pierre Hermé, caramel with sea salt at Ladurée, and orange-ginger at Gérard Mulot.

 

10) Don't Buy Into Stereotypes

 

Yes, we've all heard plenty about Parisians' legendary rudeness: The waiters are surly, the salespeople unhelpful, and everyone else is snobby and standoffish. It's true that Parisians are more reserved than most Americans and less apt to break into wide, toothy grins every time they meet someone new. Theirs is not a culture of instant BFFs and "Hi, how can I help you today?" extroversion. But you won't be doing yourself any favors by assuming that the locals don't like you—and then being rude in return.

 

Instead: Be mindful of your manners.

 

Try to understand (and imitate) the local customs and you'll no doubt be amply rewarded for your efforts. Do learn a few French words and phrases. Even if it's just a crash course on the flight over, and your delivery is less than perfect, the fact that you're trying will win points. Salespeople in smaller boutiques greet customers and expect to be greeted in return: A simple "Bonjour, Madame" upon entering a shop will do wonders for your status there. And note that French people tend to talk softly—their voices never carry in the streets, on the Métro, or even when they're sitting at the next table. Keep your voice low, too, and some of your neighbors might even venture a smile.

 

Tattoo Regret? A Topical Removal Cream May Help

 

(By Paula Mejia).

 

 

 

Tats all, folks: A Ph.D. student has developed a cream that targets cells, not pigments, to get rid of unwanted ink. Hannibal Hanschke/Reuters.

 

Today, before getting inked, one must have a serious think so as to avoid tattoo remorse. In the future, though, you may not have to worry about laser removal, or surgery, or a touch-up tattoo for those inky regrets anymore, though. Alec Falkenham, a Ph.D. candidate at Halifax, Nova Scotia’s Dalhousie University, has developed a painless tattoo removal cream that causes tats to gradually fade away.

 

The application of the cream, which he hopes will eventually become commercially available, involves none of the inflammation, redness, blistering or scarring side effects that traditional tattoo removal procedures can have, either. He believes the procedure might even be anti-inflammatory. All you have to do is apply the topical cream to your skin.

 

Unlike lasers, which target the pigments in tattoos, the Bisphosphonate Liposomal Tattoo Removal (BLTR) cream targets macrophages, immune system cells that work to rid foreign agents from your body. When you tattoo your body, you are injecting ink deep into the dermis—and the macrophages recognize tattoo ink as “foreign” invaders. Some of these macrophages absorb the ink and then carry it to lymph nodes, where both cells and ink are destroyed.

 

But others will stay firmly surrounding the newly tattooed skin—this is what makes a tattoo permanent. When the BLTR cream is applied, it stimulates new macrophages that will come and eat up the rest of the ink, causing tattoos to fade. Falkenham says the cream acts “essentially like a Trojan horse; you’ve got this drug inside, almost like a protective barrier, and the macrophages like to eat up that protective barrier, not knowing that there’s a drug inside. It’s exploiting the appetite of these cells for any kind of foreign body.”

 

Falkenham came up with the idea three years ago, when he was about to get his first tattoo and was simultaneously working on his Ph.D. proposal; talk about injecting yourself into your work. Interested in learning more about tattoos, he began to read up and noticed that the very cells he and his colleagues had been researching to help heal the heart following heart disease—macrophages—were the same cells that hold onto tattoo ink. He brought the idea to his supervisor, who helped him develop the idea into what would become his research.

 

Thus far, he and fellow researchers have tested the cream in the lab on mice and pigs. The initial results with mice have been positive; Falkenham says tattoos faded after two applications of cream. But he adds that we should “take it with a grain of salt, because we’re talking about mice and things could be very different [with humans].” It works no matter what color the pigment, or how old the tattoo is, although Falkenham says the cream is most effective on tattoos that are two years or older, where “that ink is already in macrophages” and past the initial healing phase.

 

Currently, Falkenham is working to patent the cream so that people can purchase it over the counter, without a prescription. Although thankfully, it doesn’t look like he’ll be using any on himself; he says he doesn’t regret any of his multiple tattoos, which include a phoenix and a world map. But it may be able to help those who wish they hadn’t gotten inked.

 http://www.newsweek.com/tattoo-regret-topical-removal-cream-may-help-308163