NY - Workforce Advocacy Center, Inc.

About the Workforce Advocacy Center
Workforce Advocacy Center, Inc. is a not-for-profit corporation chartered and dedicated to eliminating discrimination in employment, education, and housing against individuals with arrest and conviction records. We work to ensure that people who have paid their debts to society are evaluated by their qualifications and not subjected to senseless bigotry.

WAC engages in public advocacy and outreach to increase public awareness of state and federal laws and regulations prohibiting unfair discrimination. WAC also works with employers and government agencies to help them develop and implement anti-discrimination policies; and conducts original scholarly research into the scope, scale, and effects of discrimination against people with criminal records. We are rapidly expanding and seeking members and supporters from the public and other advocacy groups.

Contact Name:	Jeremy D. Zielinski, Founder / CEO
E-mail:	info@workforceadvocacy.org Contact the manager of this GroupSpaces group
Tel:	(518) 772-3990
Category:	Business & Careers > Employment & Work

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"Involuntary porn" site tests the boundaries of legal extortion

Craig Brittain

Original Article

Since when did extortion become "legal?" The new site owner should check out Offendex.com as well.

11/13/2012

By Timothy B. Lee

Site posts leaked nude photos without consent, charges $250 to take them down.

In the era of Polaroid cameras, you didn't have to worry too much about a racy snapshot you took in the privacy of your bedroom becoming available to the general public. But thanks to the rise of digital cameras and the Internet, that's now a real risk. Hackers, disgruntled exes, and other vindictive individuals who gain access to your compromising digital snapshots can share them with the world with a single click.

Recently, a number of websites have sprung up to cash in on the public humiliation of others. One of the first such sites was [site removed], which solicited nude pictures of ordinary Americans submitted by third parties. To maximize the humiliation, the photos were posted along with identifying details such as name and home town. The site's owner, Hunter Moore, reportedly raked in thousands of dollars a month in advertising revenue, and he made the rounds on television talk shows defending his site.

Moore finally shuttered the site earlier this year, but others have jumped in to fill the sordid niche he pioneered. One such site is the creatively named [site removed]. Like the original, it features naked pictures of ordinary Americans, generally submitted without the subjects' consent, as well as personal information such as their names, hometowns, phone numbers, and screenshots of their Facebook pages.

Sleazy, yes—but is it extortion?

If you think [site removed] couldn't be any sleazier, then [site removed]'s seems determined to prove you wrong. A link on [site removed] reading "Get Me Off This Site!" leads to the website of "[site removed]," an "independent third party team" that, for a modest fee of $250, will "issue a successful content removal request on your behalf." It brags of 90 successful removals from [site removed].

It seems pretty obvious that "[site removed]" isn't actually independent of [site removed]. Indeed, copyright and First Amendment attorney Marc Randazza has found circumstantial evidence that [site removed] and [site removed] are, in fact, both owned by a man named Craig Brittain.

Randazza has made taking down [site removed] a personal cause. "I want to hurt [site removed]. I want to hurt them bad," Randazza wrote in a recent blog post. "If anyone out there has been scammed by these crooks, contact me," Randazza wrote. "I will represent you pro bono."

Is it even illegal to run a site like [site removed]? "Involuntary porn" sites are so new that the courts haven't really dealt with them before.

In an interview earlier this month, Randazza told us that his legal strategy would depend on the client, but that he would likely sue Brittain for copyright infringement. Depending on where the client lived, he said there were also likely to be private torts available under state law.

We asked Paul Alan Levy, a free speech lawyer at Public Citizen, whether a victim of [site removed] would have a case against the site. He drew a parallel to other cases that have dealt with allegedly extortionate websites.

Read the complete article here


Video Link


Video Link | Web Site

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RSOL creates legal fund

Original Article

In response to the recent murders of Gary Blanton and Jerry Ray (Video), and the overwhelming outcry from you, RSOL has created a legal fund. The leadership of RSOL considers this situation to be a crisis and that we cannot wait any longer for other organizations to step forward and save us.

We listen to you, and the message we consistently hear from all across the country is: “I’m just one person. What can I do?” Individually there isn’t a great deal you can do, but if we pool our resources, we can be powerful. According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, there are more than 700,000 persons listed on sex offender registries nationwide. If only 10% of the total RSO population were to make a one-time donation of $5.00, we would have $350,000.00 for this legal fund.

A fund in that amount would provide RSOL the flexibility to support litigation efforts already underway or to selectively initiate new challenges against the various registration statutes around the country. Many have suggested that a lawsuit against Washington State should be initiated. Due to the number of deaths that have occurred there at the hands of vigilantes, that idea certainly has merit. However, the selection and prioritization process will involve input from both legal professionals and state affiliates with priority given to litigation that would provide benefit to the greatest number of registrants.

RSOL’s Executive Director Brenda Jones points out that this is hardly the first incident where a person’s name being listed on Washington's sex offender registry has led to his death. In 2005, two men on that registry were shot and killed in Bellingham by a vigilante who gained access to their home by posing as a law enforcement officer. Authorities investigating that shooting called it “one of the nation's most serious cases of vigilantism aimed at sex offenders.” (Seattle Times, August 30, 2005)

At that time, Washington State expressed concern, but what has the state done in the intervening years to prevent this from happening again? More importantly, what will they do now that two more registrants have been murdered at the hands of a vigilante using the sex offender registry as a tool? Gary Blanton's recent murder in Washington State left his young wife Leslie (Video) alone to raise their sons Gary, Jr. and Skylar, both under the age of three. The murder of Jerry Ray left his aging father alone with no assistance. News accounts have come in from as far as Maine showing that murders and other acts of vigilantism against registrants have occurred and are increasing. ***

In a recent court hearing, self-proclaimed vigilante Patrick Drum (Video) told investigators that he “planned to keep killing sex offenders until he was stopped.”

“People on the registry are citizens, too,” Jones says. “The majority have completed serving their sentences. Their children, like Skylar and Gary Jr., are entitled to the same protection as any other citizen. They certainly do not deserve to have their parents marked as helpless targets for vigilantes.”

Please make your one-time donation to the legal fund now. If you want to support RSOL’s ongoing work, consider making a $5.00 monthly donation. Together we can make a difference.

Again, please understand that any legal case RSOL undertakes must deal with registration itself and potentially impact a significant number of similarly situated persons. With its limited resources, RSOL cannot undertake any case where an individual simply wishes to challenge his/her conviction.

See Also:

• Murders Put Focus on Sex-Offender Registry Policies
• Maine Killings Raise Vigilantism Fears(two sex offenders killed)
• Sex Offender Registries: Putting Lives At Risk?

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Introducing USA FAIR

Visit the web site | Facebook

Today we begin an important journey. I hope you will join us.

We are USA FAIR, Inc., which stands for USA Families Advocating an Intelligent Registry. We have been founded by loving parents and partners of people required to register.

USA FAIR will not duplicate the fine work of the many state organizations working to reform sex offender laws. Our focus will be on the national news media and our number one goal is to expose the myth of high sex offender recidivism - the foundational falsehood that has been used to justify the one-size-fits-all registry.

The research and facts are on our side. What has been missing is our place at the table. So we plan to show up and have our voices heard.

We will tell the success stories of the vast majority of registrants who are leading law-abiding lives as good citizens and providers for their families. We witness this every day – as we have witnessed how the registry has caused devastating harm to the families of registrants – the hidden victims of these laws. We’ll tell those stories too.

And one more thing… we will no longer sit silently by as our loved ones are painted with the broad brush of the worst offenders and defamed as being “predators” or “monsters.”

It’s time to end the “hate speech” against law-abiding former offenders.

We at USA FAIR are willing to take the risks of putting ourselves out there publicly – but quite frankly we need to know that you have our backs!

Please explore our site… see what we’re about… and then sign up and make a donation, because we can’t do this without your financial support.

We start working for you today. Are you with us?

Shana Rowan

Executive Director

Video Link

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New Site - Past Walls

Click the image to visit the site

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Disposable email - An excellent tool for advocates

NOTE: We have also placed a link to these services on the left of this blog, so you can get to them later, if you do not add them to your favorites.

10 Minute Mail:

By clicking on the link below, you will be given a temporary e-mail address. Any e-mails sent to that address will show up automatically on the web page. You can read them, click on links, and even reply to them. The e-mail address will expire after 10 minutes.

Why would you use this? Maybe you want to sign up for a site which requires that you provide an e-mail address to send a validation e-mail to. And maybe you don't want to give up your real e-mail address and end up on a bunch of spam lists. This is nice and disposable. And it's free. Enjoy!

Get my 10 Minute Mail e-mail address, or watch a tutorial video.

Guerrilla Mail:

Guerrilla Mail gives you a disposable email address which lasts for 60 minutes. There is no need to register, simply visit Guerrilla Mail and a random address will be set. You can also choose your own address.

You can give your email address to whoever you do not trust. You can view the email on Guerrilla Mail, click on any confirmation link, then delete it. Any future spam sent to the disposable email will be zapped by Guerrilla Mail, never reaching your mail box, keeping your mail box safe and clean.

Visit Guerrilla Mail

Video Link

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Unprecedented - How Sex Offender Laws Are Impacting Our Nation

Original Article | Web Site

By J.B. Haralson, J.R. Cordeiro

Book Description:
Unprecedented represents thousands of hours of research and writing, but it's also infused with years of experience and wisdom. This unique book brings factual and experiential light to how sex offender laws are impacting our nation. Take a journey inside - you won't regret it! "Unprecedented provides an informative and comprehensive look at the complex issues associated with sexual offending. While in no way whatsoever condoning sexually-offensive behaviors, and while properly acknowledging the distress experienced by those who have been victimized, at the same time, it successfully focuses upon the inherent humanity that still exists amongst many who have improperly crossed such a line. Unprecedented provides a unique, and thoughtful, perspective that should be a must reading for anyone interested in these vitally important public health and criminal justice issues." - Fred S. Berlin, M.D., Ph.D. Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, and member of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children, American Psychiatric Association, and the Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers.

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Bridges to Hope - Web Site

Web Site | Facebook

Our Mission:
Bridges to Hope seeks to accompany former offenders while they are moving out of the correctional institutions and into the community.

Our Vision:
We envision our Partners, the formerly incarcerated, having lives of personal responsibility, accountability, productivity, purpose and hope in building a new life while on the bridge of re-entry.

How We Do This:
Bridges to Hope provides access to clothing and furniture necessary for setting up an independent household after incarceration. Job readiness, mentoring and coaching are an important part of the re-entry process and also a part of our programming.

To download a PDF of our brochure, click here.

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OK - Ollahoma Reform Sex Offender Laws

Click the image to visit the site

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Blog - Set My People Free - Living a Life You Would Not Believe

Click the image to visit the site

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Blog - The Sex Crimes Witch Hunt

Visit "The Sex Crimes Witch Hunt" Blog

About:
I am a successful professional who was falsely accused of a minor sex crime in 2009. At first I didn’t really take it seriously knowing I was innocent I thought the whole thing would blow over. Well it didn’t!

In 2011 I was convicted.

Because I received a suspended sentence, no humiliating ongoing psychological assessments and no fine I was afraid to appeal in case the sentence might be worse if I was found guilty a second time (I no longer believe in justice).

I am now on the soul destroying sex offenders register and have had to pay huge damages to my accuser. The amounts I have had to pay out in defence fees and compensation have caused me significant debt. If I was not such a strong man this episode could easily have destroyed my life.

Since this happened to me I have taken an active interest in the sex crime witch hunt. This witch hunt is happening in all the developed western countries.

Very few people are standing up for the rights of men who have been convicted of sex crimes. Normally cultivated and intelligent people are capable of behaving like animals when this subject is brought up.

Well they have picked on the wrong guy this time. It’s now time to defeat this witch hunt. I call on all intelligent accused and convicted sex offenders to refuse this isolation and shame and fight back. Some of our most successful men are victims of this oppression. Brothers let’s take this lynch mob down!

Whether you are innocent or guilty doesn’t matter. Sex crimes have the lowest repeat offender rate despite the claims of these facist oppressors.

The medieval public pillory that is the Internet sex offenders registry must be sent back to the dark ages where it belongs.

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CO - The Pendulum Foundation

Web Site | Facebook | Twitter | YouTube

Click the image to visit the site, or the links above

Video Link


Video Link

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CAUTIONclick - Citizens Against Unfair Treatment of Internet Offenders Nationwide

Click the image to visit the site

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Sex Offenders' Proximity Uncovered at Lifetree Café

Video Description:
Community issues surrounding sex offenders will be addressed at Lifetree Café locations across the country. Visit here to find a location near you.

The Lifetree event, titled "The Sex Offender Next Door," features exclusive filmed interviews with sex offense victims and registered sex offenders. The film explores the pain that victims suffer, as well as the social stigma that sex offenders experience.

"This program builds awareness of a community problem that is sometimes hidden," according to Lifetree Café representative Craig Cable. "People often wonder where registered sex offenders reside, how they should be treated, and how to stay safe from the dangerous people who live nearby."

Cable said the Lifetree event explores the various offenses that lead to sexual offender registration, including Internet offenses.

Admission to the 60-minute event is free. Snacks and beverages are available. Find the Lifetree Café nearest you by clicking here.

Lifetree Café is a place where people gather for conversations about life and faith in a casual coffeehouse-type setting. More about Lifetree may be found at our website http://lifetreecafe.com/.

Video Link

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NEW SITE - Women Against Registry

Click the image to visit the site

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Reform Sex Ofender Laws - Michael Woodall Testimony

Video Link | YouTube Channel | Web Site


Video Link | Michael's YouTube Page

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Registration X - Radio Show & Web Site

Click the image to visit the web site

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BOOK - First In The Mind & Heart

Web Site

Description:
"Please understand; this narrative is a totally spontaneous writing from a jail cell after having observed, studied, and reflected upon events as they happen first hand. I do not have access to court records or to any prosecutor's side of a story or any research data that might be available to me in a "civilized and principled society" even though incarcerated. I am simply reporting to you what is obvious, what I have observed, and my own subjective outrage as well as a didactic appeal to the soul of America." Wayland Matthew Fox

About The Author:
Wayland Matthew Fox is a native Texan, married, with 3 children, 2 grandchildren and a huge extended family of friends and loved ones across the US. At present he is an independent contractor as a sales agent for a large company. He has spent much of the last 25 years exploring and speaking out about the issues and ramifications of alcoholism, abuse and addiction. Currently living on Lake Livingston, he stays in touch with childhood friends, loves fishing, gardening, writing poetry, tinkering in his garage, a good argument and wants to live forever.

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Contact Congress: Your Letters

Original Article

08/25/2011

By Donny Shaw

As congressional approval reaches new lows, it’s more important than ever that people have a reliable public forum for communicating with their members of Congress. Yet, as we’ve seen during this August recess, communicating with Congress is actually getting more difficult. Less than half of senators and representatives are holding public town hall meetings this year. Constituents trying to speak with their members are being threatened with arrest, and those fortunate enough to be able to attend meetings are having their rights to document the public events violated by police.

Clearly we need better channels for open discourse between the public and their elected officials. That’s what motivated us to build our free and open-source suite of OpenCongress v.3 tools, which put engaging with Congress at the center of the site experience.

Until now, to email members of Congress people had to visit separate websites for their three lawmakers, fill out three different web forms, and submit messages via an opaque system that, frankly, feels like it feeds to a paper shredder at the other end. With our Contact-Congress tool, now you can email all three of your lawmakers at the same time, get a custom permalink to your letter, share it with your social networks, and track responses on a public forum. Plus, our unique message-builder platform makes it easy to add campaign finance information relevant to your topic, important bits of legislative text, comments from peers, and more in one click. Full details of how that works here.

Since we launched OpenCongress v.3 about one month ago, we’ve delivered more than 1,500 original messages to Congress about specific pieces of pending legislation. That may not sound like a lot compared to the numbers organization get with their petitions and form letters, but these are all individually-crafted, personalized and detail-rich messages, which research shows have a much stronger impact on members of Congress. According to a study from the Congressional Management Foundation, “Only 3% of staff surveyed say identical form postal mail would have ‘a lot’ of influence on their Member of Congress if he/she had not reached a decision. In contrast, 44% report individualized postal letters would have ‘a lot’ of influence.” And, in case you’re wondering, email and postal mail are equally influential to an undecided Member.

View the rest of the article

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AR - ARKANSAS TIME AFTER TIME

OUR MISSION:
ATAT brings together Registered Sex Offenders along with their family members, loved ones, and friends; professionals in the fields of law enforcement, community corrections, and attorneys; professionals in the field of mental health care; legislators; the media; and the victims of sex crime. This unified effort joins effective and efficient law enforcement practices with comprehensive and cohesive social rehabilitation programs, making things better for everyone.

Click the image to visit the site

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