Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 8.20.09 kamouya1@yahoo.com is the “anonymous” insulting, defaming blogger

kamouya1@yahoo.com is the "anonymous" insulting, defaming blogger

Yesterday Liskula Cohen won her court battle to unveil the identity of the offensive Blogger responsible for the “Skanks in NYC” blog in which Cohen was the sole subject.

I, for one, applaud this ruling as I feel strongly that people should not be allowed to hide behind a cloak of anonymity to make negative, offensive and hurtful statements – about anything. Whether you are ranting about an Obama policy, your unfair boss or the hit your stock portfolio just took, I say stand up and, if you can’t (or won’t) take on the responsibility that comes along with your rant – then sit down and shut up.

This may seem like a harsh viewpoint (and maybe it is) but I am not a believer in stirring up the pot and leaving a big old mess for others to deal with. If you feel that you have a valid viewpoint that is worth sharing and you can take the time to say it, then sign your name to it.

It is completely irresponsible and cowardly to throw out your opinions without taking on the fallout they may create. I believe we should all be able to broadcast our opinions – that is what free speech is all about but hiding behind a cloak of anonymity absolutely removes the validity of your viewpoint.

Ok. So preachy portion of today’s blog behind us, I can now comment about what little we know about kamouya1@yahoo.com. She is a woman who was, according to Cohen, nothing more than a passing acquaintence. What then, did the model do to so offend?

Cohen appeared on Good Morning America.  So she now knows the identity and claims that she forgives her but will, nevertheless, be filing a civil defamation suit.

I, for one was shocked to find out that this blogger was another woman who would resort to attacking her “friend” by claiming that she was dirty, skanky and sexually promiscuous. Disgusting!

Mutt Media will be following this story as it progresses so stay tuned to see how and if this lawsuit materializes and the eventual outcome.

Mutt Media | The Daily Bone 6.8.09 How much is too much on Facebook?

Over the weekend I read about a woman who was murdered back in March named Caroline Wimmer. Ms. Wimmer was unfortunately strangled with the cord of a hair dryer in her home on Staten Island. One of the EMT’s who responded to the call was a retired NYPD Detective named Mark Musarella.

Musarella, according to the accounts I’ve read, had a stellar record while serving on the NYPD, logging a few downright heroic deeds such as saving a man from a burning car and helping to rescue a mother and daughter who had fallen from a boat that had capsized (NY POST Friday, June 5, 2009).

Musarella is claiming that the posting to Facebook was accidental and that the photo inadvertantly got uploaded with several others.

The question remains, why would an Emergency Medical Technician take a photo with his cell phone while performing his duties? Why would he need or want this image for personal use? Beside being pretty macabre, I believe this is a breach of ethics. The upload to Facebook notwithstanding this is something that he should probably be disciplined for on a professional level. According the story in the Post, while the photo was on his account for only “Friends” to see (his account is set to “private”), one viewer took offense to it and called the hospital that Musarella worked for (Richmond University Hospital). The hospital fired him and he is now facing charges – he is charged with official misconduct and faces up to a year in prision.

I think about the victim of this terrible crime and the family that she leaves behind. Ravi Batra, the attorney for Wimmer’s family believes that prosecuting Musarella will, “keep society civil”.

Good luck.

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Mutt Media | Daily Bone 5.12.09 Health Information Managment – Invasion of privacy or career opportunity? The answer is, well…both.

The government has long been pushing for the computerization of patient health care records in a centralized system. Like anything that is government-mandated, our tendency is to question how this will affect us and our privacy.

We, as Americans are acutely aware when we feel our rights are being violated in any way, shape or form. The Bill of Rights and the Constitution allows us to pose these questions and challenge when we feel the need.

But that’s someone else’s blog topic. Today, I’d like to talk about the growth opportunities that you may find when you look under the hood of this seemingly “Big Brother-esque” move toward the globalization of our personal health care informaton.

Doctors have already begun using EMR (Electronic Medical Records) software as the government’s efforts become more of a glaring reality. Pretty soon all physicians will be required to comply and will even be entitled to receive monetary incentives for their timely compliance.

What does this mean for us as patients? Well, more cohesive and comprehensive communication between all of our providers. I know from my many years as Practice Administrator in a medical practice that sometimes patients can be forgetful about informing their physicians or omit certain facts when providing their health history. Something as simple as taking a baby aspirin every day can have real relevance if you need to book a surgery, but not everyone may think of this as being on a “medication” when asked to provide this informaton during a pre-operative visit.

One of the advantages of an electronic healthcare system that can be accessed by all of our health care providers is that they will all be working from the same information pool. Ideally, we wouldn’t have to carry our films (x-rays, MRI results etc) from visit to visit; nor would we have to “request” that our medical records be mailed from office to office.

Efficiency, going “green” and seamless healthcare aside, EMR is also paving the way for new job opportunities where they haven’t existed. So, although change can be difficult, it always brings growth and, if you’re optimistic, opportunity. Our healthcare records should never be released without our explicit consent. That goes without say, but I think the cynic in all of us has to wonder if confidenitality will trump governement and their need to know.

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This has been your Daily Bone
© 2009 Mutt Media NY LLC All Rights Reserved