THOU SHALT NOT STEAL: Christian College, Alum Battle Over Domain Name

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Cybersquatting is not a very Christian — or legal — thing to do.

That’s the premise behind a Florida college’s lawsuit against a former student who has allegedly committed trademark infringement and cybersquatting for more than a decade after registering and maintaining a website critical of Pensacola Christian College.

“Gage willfully infringed on PCC’s rights in the Pensacola Christian College mark by holding the domain name hostage, demanding that PCC pay him or a charity of his choice the sum of seventy-five thousand dollars in exchange for the transfer of the domain name,” according to the lawsuit filed on March 25 in the Florida Northern District Court.

"Unfortunately, PCC throttles the hearts, minds, and spirits of their students and makes no apology for the mess they make in the long run."

- Peter Gage, PensacolaChristianCollege.com

The website, pensacolachristiancollege.com, does provide a link to the official page of the 4,500-student college at pcci.edu, but continues to cause “irreparable injury” to the school, according to a lawsuit against graduate Peter Gage seeking $100,000 in damages.

Gage, of Spokane, Wash., graduated from the private school in 1996, five years before registering the website in 2001. Some two years later, Gage ceased all use of the website but continued to maintain its registration as recently as February, according to the lawsuit.

Gage, who declined to comment when reached by FoxNews.com on Tuesday, last updated the website in 2003 and bills it as “The Student Voice,” or the “unofficial” informational website for the Florida college. In a frequently asked questions section of the website, Gage details his “main problem” with PCC.

“The fact is, an institution trying to follow God (more or less) is going to have problems, hurt people, and make mistakes,” the website reads. “Many of us have probably seen churches try to enact biblical discipline only to have it end up in courts or with hurt families or misunderstandings, etc. We can't expect PCC to be perfect. Unfortunately, PCC throttles the hearts, minds, and spirits of their students and makes no apology for the mess they make in the long run. They won't even own up to it.”

Gage also dissuades potential students from attending the bible-centered institution.

“No, I do not think you should go to PCC,” the website reads. “That is my educated opinion, based upon my experience and the experience of thousands of others. The Christianity you are exposed to by the administration is not one you want to emulate throughout your life. The Christian emphasis, godly peer-pressure, and good academics can be found at numerous other good Christian colleges which don't put you through all the garbage.”

In 2001, PCC officials filed a complaint against Gage with the National Arbitration Forum, which oversees disputes regarding websites. Its decision, however, sided with Gage and dismissed PCC’s complaint, finding that the Washington state man clearly identified the site as an unofficial information portal and included a link to the school’s official website. Gage’s site also utilized a .com suffix rather than .edu, thus avoiding confusion that it was officially affiliated with PCC.

“The panel determine that respondent has rights and legitimate interests in respect of the domain name at issue,” according to the ruling. “Accordingly, the complaint is dismissed.”

Amy Glenn, a spokeswoman at the school, told FoxNews.com on Tuesday that a settlement may be forthcoming.

“Since that time, our attorney heard from Mr. Gage and discussions began regarding a resolution,” Glenn wrote in an email. “We are waiting on final confirmation since this is in the hands of the attorneys, but are hopeful that a favorable resolution will be reached quickly so we can take ownership of this site.”

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BUILDING BOONDOGGLE: SC College Plan Chugs Along After 15 Years, $24M

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  Shown here is a rendering of the James E. Clyburn University Transportation Center, left, and Rep. James Clyburn.South Carolina Legislative Audit Council/AP

WASHINGTON –  It was billed as a state-of-the-art transportation hub that was going to give students at South Carolina State University a leg up on the competition. 

The four building, 33-acre complex, named after its most famous alumnus, Rep. James Clyburn, would be a monument to the future -- where students could get hands-on experience and be a part of groundbreaking research in transportation. 

Fast forward 15 years and the site once called the "project of the future" has morphed into a money-sucking pit. Aside from the $24 million in federal funding already spent on the project, an estimated $80 million more is needed to finish it. Of the four proposed buildings, only one has been constructed, and the program's core goal -- to provide educational and research opportunities to students at new high-tech facilities -- has obviously not been met. 

Federal funding, as of now, has been suspended. But the school could still reapply, and the largely undeveloped site stands as an example of money that could have been saved for a rainy day -- funded by the same department that's now moving forward with serious sequester-related cuts. 

Funding for the James E. Clyburn Transportation Center was earmarked by Congress, through the Department of Transportation. Now, that agency is warning that sequester cuts will lead to FAA furloughs causing snarled lines at airports across the country. 

The problems facing South Carolina State University aren't new or isolated. There have been multiple projects that have been financed or earmarked with taxpayer money that have been forced to be abandoned. Millions of dollars wasted on proposals green-lighted through the federal government and now put on hold have added to the crippling fiscal problems facing the country. 

In South Carolina, the almost two decades-old construction project was supposed to include 8,500 square feet of automotive research and education space, a chiller plant and workspace. There were also supposed to be research bays and other transportation work pods. But that isn't what happened. 

According to Clyburn, the 2005 groundbreaking was followed by a series of bizarre and crippling problems. 

Clyburn, in a statement provided by his office, said the school learned -- after the groundbreaking -- that it did not own 3 acres in the middle of the 23-acre site and that negotiations to purchase that property took 18 months. Another year was tacked on for the city of Orangeburg to deed the street involved to the university. Then the state of South Carolina ordered the university to complete a traffic impact study, which took six months to do. In 2008, the chief architect for the project was diagnosed with cancer. This was followed by a record number of permit denials and modification demands. In 2009, more than one decade after the project was given the green light by the federal government, it finally won approval of the FHA and State Engineer's Office. 

But the headaches only grew, Clyburn said. 

The university opened the project up for bids on Dec. 18, 2009. The lowest of the 18 bids was selected, but four of the companies filed a protest. Then the chief architect died, and the search for a new one began. While permits were being secured and staff was being hired, the university underwent its own staffing changes -- there had been three different presidents and the staff on the Clyburn transportation center had changed "four or five times" Clyburn said. 

Spiraling construction costs and the loss of federal recognition for the facility brought the program to a standstill multiple times. And last year, the school was hit with a number of audits. There have also been allegations of missing money and reports of duplicate billings, questionable payments and abuses by individual employees at the center. 

The school itself is facing declining enrollment numbers and a $6 million shortfall. 

University spokeswoman Antia Dawkins told FoxNews.com in a written statement that the university has had to make changes in its plan to complete the center.

"The current approach is to seek the advice of a broad-based advisory board consisting of subject-matter experts in transportation," she said. "This advisory board will help us shape the focus and direction for the Transportation Initiative."

There is a possibility the amount of money the school needs to finish the project could eclipse the estimated $80 million. 

"While various transportation activities have been discussed and included in our Transportation Program over the last 15 years, we cannot adequately determine the financial requirement for any plan that was discussed over that time period," Dawkins said.  

Since accusations of gross mismanagement hit the school, Clyburn's enthusiasm seemed to ease a bit for the problem-plagued project. But instead of blaming the school and reported mishandling of resources, Clyburn believes the problem is a political one. 

"The faculty and the school have become victims of vicious manufactured attacks by political partisans, and that is unfortunate for the university and the students who would benefit from this program," Clyburn said in a written statement to FoxNews.com Monday. "I don't know what the future of the center is, and I will leave that up to the university and its alumni to determine."

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College student creates instant-healing gel to stop heavy bleeding

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A New York University student has cooked up a magic gel, which he says can stop even heavy bleeding — an invention that could make routine bandages obsolete.

Joe Landolina, 20, a NYU junior, says his Veti-Gel almost instantly closes and begins healing even major wounds to internal organs and key arteries.

“There’s really no way to quickly stop bleeding except to hold lots of gauze on a wound,” Landolina told The Post. “I thought if you could pour this gel into a wound, it would solidify and stop the bleeding.”

Landolina created the substance with Isaac Miller, a 2013 NYU grad.

The lifesaving goo is an artificial version of something called the extracellular matrix, which makes up the connective tissue that helps hold animal bodies together.

“We use plant-derived versions of the polymers that make up your skin,” the whiz kid said. “If they go into a wound, they build on existing polymers. It’s like it tells your body to stop bleeding.”

The aspiring scientist says he tested the stuff on rats and was able to stop bleeding instantly after slicing the rodents’ livers and carotid arteries.

After his rat experiments, Landolina moved on — to a slab of fresh pork loin — to create a video demonstration.

Click here to watch the video.

On the video, he cuts a deep slice into the pork while it’s being injected with “real pigs blood,” he said.

The blood initially flows freely, but amazingly stops after Landolina applies the gel and a second liquid, which speeds coagulation, bringing the bloodshed to a sudden stop.

Landolina and Miller will next test the gel on larger living animals, like pigs and sheep, under the supervision of Dr. Herbert Dardik, a cardiovascular surgeon at Englewood (NJ) Hospital.

Click for more from The Post.

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