| Sentinel Lunchtime Blog (Valentine's Day Edition): The laws of love online
It's been a while since one of my singles blogs have been written and posted. Those of you out there who actually read these things may have wondered if I'd stopped writing because I'm no longer single. Sadly, that's not the case.Today is Valentine's Day and I, like many others, am single. If it weren't for writing this blog, I would have conveniently "forgotten" today was the day of love, flowers, candy and candlelight. However, while perusing stories from the Associated Press, I came across a relationships article detailing a new law in New Jersey requiring online dating sites to perform background checks on its users. As an alum of online dating, my interest was piqued.My first thought was, well, that's a good idea — Internet dating can be dangerous. Then I got to thinking and realized, as the article points out, background checks are pointless in the world of dating.Think about it.
Online Dating's Security Complex
All is not lovey-dovey in the high-stakes online dating industry.
The contentious issue of the moment — pitting one of the three biggest companies, True.com, against its major rivals — is whether online dating services can enhance their clients' safety by conducting criminal background screenings of would-be daters.
Last month, New Jersey became the first state to enact a law requiring the sites to disclose whether they perform background checks. True.com — the only large online dating service that already does such screenings — was elated by its successful lobbying and hopes other states will follow suit.
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Saongroup hooks up with Maybefriends
Recruitment firm Saongroup.com has made its first foray into online dating with the takeover of Irish website Maybefriends.com. The move marks a new departure for Saongroup.com and potential new investment for Maybefriends.com, which has been in operation since 2004. Saongroup.com has operations in Ireland through Irishjobs.ie, jobs.ie and NIjobs.com. Financial details of the deal were not disclosed. Managing director of Maybefriends.com Jill McGrath said the purchase had a certain synergy to it and could be a match made in heaven for both sites. "Recruitment sites match people with jobs; dating sites match people with people, so they aren't all that different really," she told ENN. Chairman of Saongroup.com Leslie Buckley said the company planned to grow the business "aggressively".
Howie Scores Backstreet Bride
Howie Dorough doesn't have to worry about the meaning of being lonely anymore. The Backstreet Boy took a bride Saturday in his hometown of Orlando, marrying longtime girlfriend Leigh Boniello, a lawyer for the band confirmed. With his fellow Backstreeters looking on, Dorough, 34, said his I-do's to cap a traditional Catholic ceremony at St. James Cathedral. "The wedding took place as planned, and all went well," attorney Jason L. Turner said in a statement. The nuptial news was first reported by OK! magazine, which was given exclusive coverage to the affair. Boniello was the Webmaster for the Backstreet site, and the two began dating six years ago. Dorough finally popped the question last New Year's. "She wasn't expecting it, and I was quite nervous—more nervous about proposing to her in front of 40 family and friends than about performing in front of 40,000 people onstage," Dorough told People earlier this year.
What women want in a lover
Coupled with this he should have a "wacky" sense of humour, according to the study of 40,000 women by UKdating.com. But Australian men might find the sexual side a little harder to adhere to. He needs to be experienced - having had more than three relationships, but not too experienced - having had no more than six sexual partners, has never been married and doesn't have children. The precise check-list has been compiled from preferences entered by members of the dating website. Also important is a university education, with many women specifying that they would like to meet a man with a BA degree. Smokers and football fans were given the thumbs-down. Only 1 per cent of women questioned would date a chap who hates pets. Fortunately for imperfect men, however, not all women go for the Gyllenhaal ideal.
NJ sex offenders banned from online socializing
The state Parole Board today banned the 4,400 registered sex offenders it supervises from using social networking Web sites, chat rooms and online dating services as a way to prevent them from possibly luring victims into real-world danger. The move comes after a state investigation into 268 New Jersey registered sex offenders found that using the site MySpace.com led to only two offenders being punished because existing state rules only banned those who used a computer to commit a sex crime from visiting such sites. "The protection of all of our citizens and particularly our young people makes the imposition of this new restriction critical," state Parole Board Chairman Peter Barnes said after the board unanimously approved the ban. Sex offenders will still be allowed to visit other Internet sites as well as use e-mail.
Ford recalls 9.6 million vehicles
DEARBORN, Mich., Feb. 29 (UPI) -- Ford Motor Co. has recalled 9.6 million vehicles built between 1992 and 2004 to repair a faulty cruise-control deactivation switch that poses a fire hazard.
The switches pose a fire risk, the company said in a statement. The service action "is a quick repair," that will be done at no charge to owners.
The recall includes vehicles dating back to 1992; Lincoln Town Cars, Mercury, Ford and other model year cars, pickups and SUVs were listed on a company Web site. About 5 million owners have had their vehicles repaired leaving 4.6 million unrepaired vehicles on the road, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration said.
The risk of fire involves the possible leak of brake fluid through the switch into the speed control system's electrical components.
Pr. George's Police Suspect Online Prowler in Six Rapes
The rapist stalks his victims on the Internet, surfing popular dating Web sites and chat rooms, where he meets women and sets up sex dates. At least six times, unsuspecting Prince George's County women arrived for a date but found a masked attacker, armed with a handgun, county police said yesterday. .
Vumber Launches Virtual Phone Number Service on Paltalk.com
NEW YORK, Feb. 19 /PRNewswire/ -- Vumber (www.vumber.com), the secure, two-way disposable calling service, today announced a new partnership with Paltalk (www.paltalk.com), the leading real-time, video-based community with over 4 million active members, to provide privacy-ensured virtual phone numbers to its user base. "Online dating and chat groups continue to be a fast growing trend, yet some participants are reluctant to share their personal phone numbers online," said Vumber Co-Founder Cliff Wener. "With Vumber, Paltalk members will have more privacy, control and freedom when providing phone numbers to one another." According to a study by Pew Internet and American Life Project, 11% of all American Internet-using adults - about 16 million people - say they have gone to an online dating website or other site where they can meet people online.
Jesse Mccartney - Mccartney Denies Online Dating
LATEST: U.S. teen pop sensation JESSE MCCARTNEY has denied he is looking for love online - insisting he set up a profile on a dating site for a "joke". The 20-year-old told U.S. magazine In Touch Weekly he had signed up to Jewish dating site JDate.com - even though he isn't Jewish. MCCartney, who recently ended his romance with David Cassidy's daughter Katie, admits he did join the website - but only for amusement and not as a serious way to meet women. He tells America's Us Weekly, "I just wanted to set the record straight and let everyone know that the profile I created on JDate was a joke! "I was hanging' with some friends and we thought that it would be really funny to see peoples' reactions. The hilarity of it all is that until I announced having a profile on the site, nobody believed it was me.
Munitions From Civil War Blamed for Blast That Killed Dealer
RICHMOND, Va. A man who sold Civil War relics that included munitions was killed by an explosion, and residents of the neighborhood were kept out of their homes Tuesday as experts looked for more explosives. Samuel H. White, 53, was found in his backyard Monday by neighbors who had heard the blast, Chesterfield County police said. Police Capt. Steve Neal said that what exploded was military ordinance, possibly dating from the Civil War. Authorities found unexploded military ordnance at his house, and on Tuesday they were still collecting and detonating explosives. White's business, Sam White Relics, advertised various relics for sale including Civil War artillery shells, cannon balls and bullets. His Web site says he "will disarm, clean, and preserve your Civil War period and earlier military ordinance" for about $35 each.
The Middle East's ultra-luxury hotels
Business and leisure travel to the region has climbed 18 percent a year since 2005 , according to Deloitte's annual Hotel Benchmark Survey, released this week, and is expected to grow another 6 percent this year, to 41 million visitors. This has fueled renewed interest in the palace-style hotels that once pampered kings and aristocrats more than a century ago. As a result, exquisite restorations of such ancient structures, including cave dwellings and Bedouin camps (some dating to the 1st century) coupled with modern luxuries such as air conditioning and Bulgari toiletries are now available to luxury travelers across the Middle East, from Bethlehem to the Turkish hinterlands. And new hotels are going up "at breakneck speed," says Lorna Clarke, director of the survey. .
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