At Home: Sex scoreboard app for iPhone draws anger
Cool toys and technology may be taking us into the future, but some outdated attitudes are tagging along for the ride: a new iPhone application offers two dozen stereotypes of women and gives users pickup lines and ?a scoreboard to keep track of their conquests.?
The app was offered by PepsiCo Inc. as a way to promote its Amp energy drink. The slogan for the app is ?Amp up before you score.?
As the Toronto Star reports, users can pick from stereotypes such as ?cougar? or ?nerd.? The feature That’s drawing the most anger from online posters doesn’t seem to be the stereotypes or the cheesy pickup lines, though. Instead, It’s the ability of users to rate their sexual encounters on a ?brag list? and then share that info on sites like Facebook and Twitter.
The app has drawn criticism from both consumers and social commentators alike, and the company has apologized on the Amp Twitter page.
In Foreign News: Hispanic groups call for boycott of 2010 US census
Immigration issues were a hot topic in the last US presidential election, and those issues are threatening to play an equally important role in the 2010 census.
Some Hispanic activists are disappointed in President Obama’s lack of progress on immigration issues and, as the Washington Times reports, are ?urging all Hispanics to boycott the 2010 census as a sign of displeasure.? Other groups have taken a different approach; they’ve asked the federal government to halt immigration raids for the census period in order to encourage participation.
The question of whether illegal immigrants should take part in the census has divided many in immigrant communities. On the one hand, there are those who fear that being identified in the census will make illegal immigrants more vulnerable to abuse and possible deportation. Others, however, believe that taking part in the census will help pave the way for immigration reform. There are an estimated 12 million illegal immigrants in the US.
Several broadcasters and other major organizations have started a public awareness campaign promoting participation, but some activists contend that ?Democrats and Mr. Obama haven’t done enough to earn Hispanic support for the effort.?
Further stirring the debate is a move by a group of Republican senators to include citizenship data on the 2010 census form. Even if millions of illegal immigrants were counted on the census they would still not be eligible to vote, meaning that congressional representation could be flawed. The group of senators is trying to ?set a precedent that congressional seats be reapportioned based on a count of citizens, rather than all residents.?