Real Talk!

LGBT pride or gay pride is the concept that lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people should be proud of their sexual orientation and gender identity.

The rainbow flag has become the recognized symbol of pride for the gay community throughout the world and is often use to mark gay friendly (and in some cases, gay safe) places, people and establishments.

Colour has been used as an expression of pride for many years. In Victorian England, the colour green was associated with homosexuality. The colour purple (or, more accurately, lavender) became popularized as a symbol for pride in the late 1960s. A pink triangle, although first used to identify gay males in Nazi concentration camps, gained widespread use as a gay pop icon in the early 1980s.

The oldest existing gay rights organization in the world was founded in 1946, in the Netherlands. The first recorded gay pride parade was held in 1969, known as the March on Stonewall, it started as a protest against discrimination and violence against gays in New York City.

In 1978, Gilbert Baker of San Francisco designed the most widely recognized flag. Handmade versions of this flag were flown in the 1978 Gay Freedom Day Parade. The 1979 San Francisco parade used a variation of the design that had six stripes representing six colours of the rainbow- symbolic of plurality and a love of life.

Today, the flag is an international symbol under which gays and lesbians declare themselves to homosexuality. It is recognized by the International Congress of Flag Makers, the rainbow is flown in lesbian and gay pride marches worldwide- reminding us that ours is a diverse world — composed of people with a variety of individual tastes of which we should all be proud.

In 2000, Baker came out with an updated version, the 8 colour version, of the pride flag. Met with some controversy, I was pleased read that Mr. Baker’s response was that it’s simply the idea of the rainbow that counts. Gay pride has grown into a symbol of solidarity and an opportunity to express the vivid personalities that reflect the diverse gay communities throughout the world.

Today, pride events have become an annual ritual and have grown to include thousands of gay and gay-friendly participants, not to mention hundreds of spectators. Toronto’s Pride Week is the third largest outdoor, free, multi-disciplinary arts festiva l in the world. It takes over 20 city blocks, has 8 stages and needs over 800 volunteers to run it! Pride week 2009 is June 19th – 28th.

This year marks the 39th anniversary of the San Francisco Pride Celebration and Parade. Their two-day celebration & parade is the largest annual gathering of LGBT people and their allies in the USA- with over 200 parade contingents, 300 exhibitors, and more than a dozen community-run stages and venues.

So, what’s up with us hetero folks? Why have we been so disorganized? By all accounts other “Pride” parades and celebrations are a blast.

The online urban dictionary describes heterosexual pride as a pathetic manifestation of insecurity on the part of heterosexuals who are not simply content to be the majority but have to make sure that every other form of sexuality is marginalized. ACK and PHOOEY.

I don’t want to marginalize anybody. Personally, I’ve been advocating a hetero faction of the PRIDE community since the mid 70s. I suppose I haven’t gone public with my thoughts… at least until now. Heck, I even designed a flag-logo that compliments the LGBT symbol.

I am proud to embrace the concept that sexual rights are a set of fundamental universal human rights, based on consenting adults having inherent freedom, dignity, equality AND the right to pursue a healthy, satisfying, safe and pleasurable sexual life.

& For the record- I also believe in sexual privacy… meaning, the individual adult has the right to make decisions to engage in certain behaviours, provided they do not intrude upon others.. and you know, way back in 1917, the Communist Part of Russia declared all forms of sexual activity between consenting adults a PRIVATE MATTER... I think they may have been on to something.

There's a lot to love about this area.

SIGH

It's time you came for a visit... Bring a friend.....

Ontario Regional Economist Ted Tsiakopoulos recently interviewed by Vaughan Today, provided information that gave the writer (Alexis Dobranowski) reason to state, “The recent gloomy real estate picture has rays of hope around it.”

Dobranowski also quoted a local Realtor who explained, “Buyers certainly seem to be shopping for value. Sellers, by the same token, need to ensure homes are properly presented and effectively marketed in this type of environment.”

Yesterday’s Toronto Sun included an optimistic article written by Antonella Artuso who said, “Seasoned observers are seeing some faint signs of spring in the economy. A just-released Bank of Canada business outlook survey revealed that the relentless negativity is starting to lighten up a bit. Ontario's real estate market last month showed a 10.5% increase in sales activity over February -- one of the strongest in the country, according to the Canadian Real Estate Association (CREA).”

In an interview on Canada AM on April 13, Toronto’s Condo Expert (John Lamb) said: "Statistics are showing us now that the bottom of Ontario's real estate market was probably December, at the peak of pessimism. It's clawed its way back. Each month since then, it's gotten better and better."

Jason Mercer, senior manager of market analysis with the Toronto Real Estate Board agreed with Lamb, calling March numbers a "marked improvement" over the first months of 2009.

A Globe & Mail article on Friday April 17th (by Carolyn Ireland) told of one Muskoka Realtor who recently said, “The market reality is chasing away the two extremes: the sellers who live in "fantasyland" and the buyers who hope the market has plummeted.”

This same Realtor went on to explain that all of the economic uncertainty is making the art of recommending an asking price even more delicate than usual. "It's like skiing — if you don't commit to the turn, you'll fall," she was quoted as saying. "A lot of people goof around the first year or the second year. By the time they get serious, they're stale."

Another Realtor, also quoted in Ireland’s article, explained that in some cases, cottage owners prefer to try their luck by listing at the most optimistic price possible. They figure they can always reduce the asking price later if it doesn't sell. "It's human nature," he said, "but it's tricky in the cottage market because we have a relatively short selling season."

A Canadian Press article from the 17th stated that new RBC survey suggested that mortgages are eating up less Canadian household income thanks to historically low borrowing rates and a drop in house prices, a trend that is expected to continue in the near term.

Across Canada, RBC said, affordability improved across all housing segments with detached bungalows accounting for an average of 43.7 per cent of pre-tax family income, the standard townhouse to 35.4 per cent, and the standard condo to 30.1 per cent, and the standard two-story home to 50 per cent.

RBC economist Robert Hogue was quoted as saying, “We are in the part of the cycle where affordability is going to continue to improve.”

The same article quoted a Hamilton-Burlington Realtor as stating, “Generally speaking, capable buyers have a higher degree of affordability today than they did six-to-eight months ago."

BMO senior economist Sal Guatieri says the average mortgage payment has fallen by one-third or $600 a month from its peak, while average resale home prices have fallen 14 per cent from highs seen in mid-2007.

From my humble perspective, the phones are ringing wildly... email is abundant... yes, there are lots of "first time buyers" out looking...
and prices have stabilized.

I am concerned (and this isn't new) that people are going to their banks to be "pre-qualified" and confusing it as "pre-approval"... I know that I've been over this before, but it bears repeating:

Pre-approved and pre-qualified are not the same thing!

Pre-qualification is a simple process, generally a chit-chat with your Bank where you provide them with an overall financial picture, including your debt, income and assets. After evaluating this information, the lender will give you an idea of the mortgage amount for which you qualify. This process is far from being in-depth and does not include an analysis of your credit.

Pre-Approval includes completing a mortgage application (there is usually an application fee), and then supplying the lender with the necessary documentation to perform an extensive check on your financial background and current credit rating. From this, the lender will give you a specific mortgage amount for which you are approved and a better idea of the interest rate you will be charged on the loan. You might even be able to lock-in a specific rate.

With pre-approval, you will receive a conditional commitment in writing for an exact loan amount, allowing you to look for a property at or below that price level.

REMEMBER: even with a pre-approval, the property will also have to "qualify"... so once you've selected one, the lender will have a professional appraiser evaluate the property to ensure it meets the requirements. Once the value is confirmed, your lender will provide you with a commitment... and you may proceed to remove financing conditions from your Offer.

“Sales in March increased at a rate over and above what would be expected from the normal spring time bump," said Jason Mercer, the Toronto Real Estate Board's analyst. "A greater number of households have taken advantage of increased affordability in the housing marketplace.” The Toronto Star, April 6/09

"In fact, over the past two months, the situation in the housing market has improved." Said TREB President Maureen O'Neill.

One Toronto Realtor who believes in the value of the real estate investment was recently quoted in the Vancouver Sun: If your job prospects are good, he said, "Relax, take a breath, be smart. If you don't need that big flat screen TV, don't buy it. But if you need a place to live, prices are down a bit, mortgage rates are stupidly low. It's not a bad time [to buy]."

Bill Bobyk, general manager of the Sterling Group of Companies, says there are two basic reasons people should be buying: "Very good" prices and attractive mortgage rates.

Royal LePage Real Estate Services President Phil Soper appeared on Canada A.M. this morning and said the current data shows the hottest housing market to be in St. John's, where prices for standard two-storey homes rose 15 per cent year over year.

In Ontario and Quebec, Royal LePage said the markets "held steady" with some small gains and declines. But overall, Ontario typically saw "mid to low single digit declines" in its housing prices, their recent survey said.

The survey said that Western provinces saw "significant changes" in real estate prices, with double-digit declines in many areas. Manitoba was the lone major exception to this trend.

The same survey predicted that B.C. and Alberta may be among the first areas in Canada to see pricing gains because those provinces experienced market corrections prior to the brunt of the economic crisis.

"There is a remarkable uptick in March in buying activity…” said Soper.

Still hearing doom and gloom? The most recent gloomy predictions may be based on factual information- but may be being confused by the commercial sector rumblings.

David Henry, president of U.S.-based Kimco Realty Corp., said Tuesday that it’s big commercial real estate that is in for "a very bad year". “We have a massive wave of debt maturities coming, at least in the U.S.," Henry said during a panel discussion at the Canadian Imperial Bank of Commerce’s on North American real estate equities annual conference. However, panel members said there is some reason for optimism, in Canada.

Tom Farley, president and chief executive of Brookfield Properties Corp. (TSX:BPO), said deleveraging is a "brutal" problem in the U.S. but isn't a serious issue in Canada. Farley said that Canada's real estate fundamentals are stronger than in the U.S., and Brookfield has a 99 per cent occupancy rate in its Canadian properties, which include First Canadian Place in downtown Toronto.

Both Kimco and Cadillac Fairview agreed that their Canadian portfolios are holding up better than any of their other properties.

Everyone involved in real property transactions is being more careful today- this includes Buyers, Sellers, Lenders and Insurers, too.

Chris Gleason, the Managing Director of a California-based real estate opportunity fund has offered this Golden Rule for ’09 :

“There are far too many opportunities out there this year. Don’t even think about taking on unnecessary risk. Even if you only go after the best deals, you’ll have plenty to feast on and you won’t suffer any losses that could have easily been avoided. Make sure that you’re in love with an investment before you make any commitments, and leave the so-so deals for novice investors to pick up. You’ll be much better off for it in the long run.”

And I would add: Even in a Buyer’s Market, nobody buys for the sake of buying. Smart investors look for a property that fits their lifestyle as well as future needs.

Confident buyers are taking advantage of the great opportunities available. With historically low interest rates and a good supply of properties for sale, buyers are stimulating the spring market early this year.

There are some incentives, too. Under the Home Buyers Plan, first-time buyers can now withdraw up to a maximum of $25,000 from their RRSPs as a down payment and they may also qualify for a $750 tax credit to help pay for closing costs like appraisal fees or legal fees.

Both Buyers and Sellers may take advantage of some of the other programs currently being offered:

Home Renovation Tax Credit
The recent federal budget outlined a new tax credit that will provide assistance for homeowners to renovate their homes. From January 28, 2009 to February 10, 2010, Canadian homeowners can claim a 15%, non-refundable tax credit for eligible expenditures after a $1,000,00 minimum to an expenditure of $10,000 for a maximum credit of $1,350 ($9000 x 15%). This is in addition to the EcoEnergy retrofit program. Taxpayers can claim the HRTC when filing their 2009 tax return.

Example:
A property owner who replaces all windows in the house may spend $10,000.00 in 2009. After taking into account the $1,000 minimum threshold, a 15-per-cent credit will be available on $9,000 in eligible expenditures, providing a tax credit of $1,350.
The credit is subject to the principle residence only and one credit per household. Homeowners should save all receipts that qualify and claim them on their 2009 tax return.

Wondering what types of products, services and expenses are eligible?

Eligible
Renovating a kitchen, bathroom or basement
New carpet or hardwood floors
Building an addition, deck, fence or retaining wall
A new furnace or water heater
Painting the interior or exterior of a house
Laying new sod
Labour costs;
Professional fees;
Building materials;
Fixtures;
Equipment rentals; and Permits

Ineligible
Furniture and appliances (refrigerator, stove, couch);
Purchase of tools;
Carpet cleaning; and
Maintenance contracts (furnace cleaning, snow removal, lawn care, and swimming pool cleaning

Additional information on the Home Renovation Tax Credit will soon be available on Canada Revenue Agency's website at www.cra-arc.gc.ca
Information is also available at Department of Finance Canada at www.fin.gc.ca

Ontario Home Energy Savings Program

The Ontario Home Energy Savings Program is an energy conservation program from the Government of Ontario. A Home Energy Audit shows you how your home uses energy and where it is being leaked. It identifies improvements you can make to your home’s heating, cooling, hot water heating and other energy uses that could result in hundreds of dollars in energy savings each year. The Government of Ontario will pay 50% of your Home Energy Audit, up to $150.

The audit will explain your home's energy use — attic to basement. A typical audit involves the following steps:

A walk-through assessment of your home’s insulation, heating and cooling systems and other energy use.

A “blower door” depressurization test to identify leaks and drafts.

A personalized Energy Efficiency Evaluation Report.

Many of the energy-saving upgrades identified by your Home Energy Audit will qualify you for rebates under the Government of Canada's EcoENERGY Retrofit – Homes program. These rebates from the Governments of Ontario and Canada can reimburse you up to $10,000* when you complete improvements identified by your audit.

For more information see http://www.homeenergyontario.ca/

Home owners can apply for both programs - the Home Renovation Tax Credit AND the Home Energy Savings Program.

The Home Energy Rating Act, if passed by Ontario Government, will require anyone selling a house or low-rise building to disclose the results of a home-energy audit to prospective buyers. New homes will also come with energy ratings.

Home efficiency ratings will create a demand for new and resale homes that use less energy, ultimately increasing their property value compared with less-efficient homes and pressuring new home builders to go beyond minimum building code standards.
The requirement will apply to all newly built homes in 2010, followed in 2011 by detached, semi-detached and multi-unit residential resale buildings. In 2012, those leasing buildings will also have to supply the ratings.

Help for Homeowners

The Government of Ontario will pay 50% of your home energy audit - up to $150.00. The audit will review your home's energy use from basement to attic. The resulting report will indicate areas for improvement to your home's heating, cooling, hot water heating, and other energy uses that can be improved.

Those owners obtaining a rating from an approved EcoEnergy advisor can obtain grants to improve their home and its resale value. The Governments of Ontario and Canada will help pay for the retrofit your home needs, up to $10,000.00, provided you complete the projects within 18 months from the date of your audit. Visit the Home Energy Savings website http://www.homeenergyontario.ca
Energy ratings will create demand for more efficient homes.

Here are some other sites that may be of interest:

· Conservation Bureau of the Ontario Power Authority
this is the conservation division of the OPA. Look here for commercial, industrial and residential programs and funding. http://www.powerauthority.on.ca

· Energy Star®
ENERGY STAR® is the international symbol of energy efficiency. It’s a simple way for consumers to identify products that are among the most energy-efficient on the market.
http://www.oee.nrcan.gc.ca/energystar/index.html

· Every Kilowatt Counts
Information about programs, services and actions you can take to achieve greater efficiency in your home and business. The benefits of energy efficiency.
http://www.everykilowattcounts.ca

Go Green Ontario
This Government of Ontario site is a place where you can find out more about climate change and what we all can do to help.
http://www.gogreen.com

· Ministry of Finance
Click to get information about the Retail Sales Tax Rebate for Solar Energy Systems. http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/

· PowerWISE
you’ll find tips and tools — and a whole community of people taking action — on this website.
http://www.powerWISE.ca

20/20 The Way to Clean Air
This site provides resources to help reduce home energy use and vehicle use by 20 per cent. http://www.toronto.ca/health/2020/

How to Buy a Green Home

Buying a home can be a great opportunity to reduce your ecological footprint.

Looking beyond the décor, consider the location, size and style of your house and take advantage of government grants for home energy audits for a resale home.

If available, you may wish to consider a new EnergyStar home.

Find a Green Realtor
Find a Realtor with good knowledge of environmental issues and programs and services available to assist homeowners to reduce energy.

Conduct an energy audit
The Home Energy audit is such a new concept that most resale homes will not be energy rated. & Again, if you are considering a new home purchase, and if it’s available, consider an Energy Star certified home.

Location is Imperative
Consider how close the house is to shops, school, Church, entertainment, workplace and other amenities that you often utilize. Think in relation to all members of the household. Choose your location very carefully.

Size Matters
Although large houses are still popular, the trend will be for smaller homes and more efficient floor plans with no space wasted. The smaller the home, the less energy needed for heat and light and the less you money spent on utilities.

Expect to Upgrade
Once you have found the home you want, go ahead with a professional energy audit and expect to upgrade and implement some of the suggested changes. Re-decorate with low-VOC paint, upgrade the air system, remove old carpet and replace with wood floor. Renovate according to your ecological principles. The Canadian government will pay 50% (up to $150.00 max) towards the audit and provide grants towards certain upgrades. Visit the Home Energy Savings website http://www.homeenergyontario.ca
Remember: Anything upgraded will add value to your investment and create a greener, healthier home.

Research your renewable-energy potential
Another new trend - depending on where you live there is an exciting possibility of generating some or all of your own electricity with rooftop solar panels or a backyard wind-turbine. The costs of solar, wind, and geo-thermal power are falling and becoming easier to find. This may not be attainable immediately in your area so keep an ear to the ground for news to come.

The Yard
Just as smaller houses are becoming popular, so too are smaller yards. Less lawn means less water. A small space for a garden is ideal to grow some of your own fruits, vegetables and herbs. Some vegetables may be grown in containers- so yards needn’t be acres to produce enough for an average household. Also, consider a space for compost pile or bin, if you don’t need to worry about wildlife. & look for shady trees to help conserve energy in hot weather.

As my friend Greg says, "May we all learn to walk more gently upon Mother Earth."

May 25th is National Missing Children's Day. Pass it on.

Lately, I've been thinking... if it isn't dire economic forecasts, the news is full of missing people... especially missing children... & that's something that has haunted me, since the 1977 murder of Toronto shoe shine boy, Emmanuel Jaques.

More recently, there have been a few missing girls in the United States and I started listening to the statistics being bandied about.

Federal and state investigators interviewed 44 registered sex offenders that live within a 5-mile radius of missing girl Haleigh Cummings' home in Satsuma Florida.

There are 14 registered sex offenders within a 2 mile radius of missing girl Sandra Cantu's home near San Joaquin California and 80 registered sex offenders living in a five-mile radius.

And... I thought... WOW. So, I went surfing....

A child goes missing every 40 seconds in the U.S .

The chances that your child will become a victim of a sexual predator is 1 in 3 according to http://www.sexoffendersregistry.net/

Up to 70% of convicted sex offenders will offend again & the bare fact is that most child abductors are men. All but 3% of offenders who committed violent crimes against children were male.
- BJS Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991

http://www.publicsafety.gc.ca/prg/cor/tls/soir-eng.aspx
Canada's Sex Offender Registry

The Sex Offender Information Registration Act established a national sex offender database containing information on convicted sex offenders. This database is maintained by the RCMP and is intended to assist police in investigating crimes of a sexual nature by providing them with rapid access to current vital information on convicted sex offenders.

This site is a bit "dated" but the chart showing the # of registered offenders "state by state" is quite enlightening:
http://www.familywatchdog.us/OffenderCountByState.asp

The National Alert Registry has a nationwide database of nearly 500,000 registered sex offenders records that can be searched instantly

2005 stats: Every year 200,000 children are taken by family members, and 58,000 children are the victims of non-family abductions.

2006- Giuliani report supports the following statement: Pedophiles are the most charming of men (statistics are that 96% of child sex abusers are men,) even more charming than wife beaters and serial killers. That is not a flippant remark. Psychopaths manipulate normal people easily because they have neither morals nor remorse, and most pedophiles have strong psychopathic traits.

2008: An estimated 800,000 children are reported missing every year in the U.S. During 2006, more than 60,000 children were reported missing in Texas.

2008 reported stat: California leads the nation in registered sex offenders, with about 114000

2,200 children are reported missing each day in the United States and in New York State 22,000 children are reported missing each year.

In 2002- Detective Chris Floyd of the Franklin County Sheriff's Office said there are 103 registered sex offenders in Franklin County, Ohio- the total population was about 1,070,000.

In 2005 there were about 563000 registered sex offenders in the U.S.

There were 603,000 registered sex offenders in 2007 in the U.S. and at least 100,000 were noncompliant, many of them literally missing. Estimates at that time were that “One in five girls and one in ten boys will be sexually victimized in some way before they reach the age of 18"

There were about 645000 registered sex offenders in 2008 more than 50,000 are in Texas, second only to California. One-fourth of the registered sex offenders in the entire U.S. are in California and Texas.

In 2009- Ted Richard, a Volusia County sheriff´s investigator who helps the Florida Department of Law Enforcement track the county´s 670 sex offenders through the career criminal unit. Volusia County is 1,103 square miles.

In Miami-Dade 1,030 registered sex offenders are registered in a county population of 2,387,170 and about 1,946 square miles.

Currently, there are more than 664731 Registered Sex Offenders in the United States.

After booting about 100,000 people off MySpace last year, the chief security officer (Hemanshu Nigam) said "The reality is there are 700,000-plus sex offenders living in the streets of America".

"The serial killer has the same personality characteristics as the sex offender against children"
-Dr. Mace Knapp, Nevada State Prison Psychologist

• Many child molesters know their victims. Some stalk their victims, observing their habits as they walk to and from school. They often try to buy houses near schools or parks.
• Pedophiles have a strong, almost irresistible, desire to have sex with children. The average pedophile molests 260 victims during their lifetime. Over 90% of convicted pedophiles are arrested again for the same offense after their release from prison.

The typical offender is male, begins molesting by age 15, engages in a variety of deviant behavior, and molests an average of 117 youngsters, most of whom do not report the offense.
- Dr. Gene Abel in a National Institute of Mental Health Study

1 in 5 violent offenders serving time in a state prison reported having victimized a child.
- BJS Survey of State Prison Inmates, 1991

3/4 of sexual predators are younger than 35. About 80% are of normal intelligence or above.
- Profiles from the FBI Academy and the National Center for Missing & Exploited Children

A Crimes Against Children Research Center study found dramatic growth nationwide in arrests of online predators who solicited law enforcement investigators posing online as juveniles, the numbers nearly quintupling from 644 in 2000 to 3,100 in 2006.

statistics show, most pedophiles and predators have never been convicted of a crime

· The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children revealed, in a June 2005 study, that 40% of arrested child pornography possessors had both sexually victimized children and were in possession of child pornography (also known as “dual offenders”). Both crimes were discovered in the same investigation. Another 15% were “dual offenders” who tried to victimize children by soliciting undercover investigators who posed as minors online. Overall 36% of “dual offenders” showed or gave child pornography to identified victims or undercover investigators posing as minors online.

· Of those arrested in the U.S. for the possession of child pornography between 2000 and 2001, 83% had images involving children between ages 6 and 12; 39% had images involving children between ages 3 and 5; and 19% had images of infants and toddlers under age 3 (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Child Pornography Possessors Arrested in Internet-Related Crimes: Findings from the National Juvenile Online Victimization Study. Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2005).

· According to a National Children’s Homes report, the number of Internet child pornography images has increased 1500% since 1988.

· Approximately 20% of all Internet pornography involves children (National Center for Missing & Exploited Children. Internet Sex Crimes Against Minors: The Response of Law Enforcement. Virginia: National Center for Missing & Exploited Children, 2003).

· Child pornography has become a $3 billion annual industry (Ropelato, Jerry. Top Ten Reviews. Top Ten Reviews, Inc. 5 Dec. 2005 http://internet-filter-review.toptenreviews.com/internet-pornography-statistics.html).

· According to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children (NCMEC), child pornography reports increased 39% in 2004. Ernie Allen, president and CEO of NCMEC, states that the statistics show a significant and steady increase in child pornography reports for the seventh year.

· More than 20,000 images of child pornography are posted on the Internet every week (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).

· 140,000 child pornography images were posted to the Internet according to researchers who monitored the Internet over six weeks. Twenty children were estimated to have been abused for the first time and more than 1,000 images of each child created (National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children, 10/8/03).

· More than half of all illegal sites reported to the Internet Watch Foundation are hosted in the United States. Illegal sites in Russia have more than doubled from 286 to 706 in 2002 (National Criminal Intelligence Service, 8/21/03).

· Demand for pornographic images of babies and toddlers on the Internet is soaring (Prof. Max Taylor, Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).

· More babies and toddlers are appearing on the net and the abuse is getting worse. It is more torturous and sadistic than it was before. The typical age of children is between six and 12, but the profile is getting younger (Prof. Max Taylor, Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).

· Approximately 20 new children appear on the porn sites every month - many kidnapped or sold into sex (Combating Paedophile Information Networks in Europe, March 2003).

· In the last couple of years, we've just seen such young children on regular seizures - babies, 2-, 3-, 4-year-olds (Det. Sgt. Paul Gillespie, Toronto Police Force).

· The U.S. Customs Service estimates that there are more than 100,000 Web sites offering child pornography - which is illegal worldwide. Revenue estimates for the industry range from about $200 million to more than $1 billion per year. These unlawful sexual images can be purchased as easily as shopping at Amazon.com. "Subscribers" typically use credit cards to pay a monthly fee of between $30 and $50 to download photos and videos, or a one-time fee of a few dollars for single images. (Red Herring Magazine, 1/18/02).

· Law enforcement officials estimate that as many as 50,000 sexual predators are online at any given moment (Dateline, January 2006).

· Internet pedophiles are increasingly adopting counter-intelligence techniques to protect themselves from being traced (National Criminal Intelligence Service, 8/21/03).

· Forty percent of people charged with child pornography also sexually abuse children, police say. But finding the predators and identifying the victims are daunting tasks (Reuters, 2003).

· One in five children who use computer chatrooms has been approached over the Internet by pedophiles. (Detective Chief Superintendent Keith Akerman, Telegraph.co.uk January 2002).

· 89% of sexual solicitations were made in either chat rooms or Instant Messages. (Pew Study reported in JAMA, 2001).

· 13 million youth use Instant Messaging. (Pew Study reported in JAMA, 6/01).

· 1 in 5 received sexual solicitation or approach in last year. (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000).

· 1 in 33 received AGGRESSIVE sexual solicitation (asked to meet, called them via phone, sent mail, money or gifts). (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000)

· 25% of youth who received sexual solicitation told a parent. (Online Victimization, NCMEC, June 2000).

May 25th is National Missing Children's Day. Pass it on.