Australia finds problems with child nude art exibition.
CHILDREN who posed naked for a controversial art exhibition will be interviewed today by police investigating whether a prominent photographer and Sydney art gallery breached child pornography laws. Labels: Austrailia, controversial, loli, nakedness, shota
Police last night raided the Roslyn Oxley9 Gallery in Paddington, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, just hours before the opening of the exhibition by photographer Bill Henson.
The exhibition shows photographs of naked children as young as 12 in a variety of poses - some of which may have been taken up to a decade ago. Henson has said none of the children featured is a professional model.
He has defended his work as seeking to explore "something which is absolutely inviolate and unknowable". He has told The Australian: "You can't control the way individuals respond to the work."
Political leaders and child safety campaigners have responded with anger. Prime Minister Kevin Rudd has said the images are "revolting" and have no artistic value.
"Kids deserve to have the innocence of their childhood protected," he has said on Channel 9. "Whatever the artistic view of the merits of that sort of stuff - frankly I don't think there are any - just allow kids to be kids."
Henson has been called one of the "leading contemporary artists" by the Art Gallery of NSW and the Roslyn Oxley9 gallery's manager Amanda Rowell has called him a "master". She has said the reaction to this exhibition has been blown out of proportion.
"It has never been like this before. This is no different to any other exhibition he's had and he's had many exhibitions here," she said. "He's a master, there's no one in the world like him."
But his use of pre-teen nudity has been written off as little more than a fetish for child porn. "He has a tendency to depict children naked and that is porn," said Hetty Johnston of child protection group Bravehearts.
NSW Premier Morris Iemma has said the images are "offensive and disgusting". "I don't understand why parents would agree to allow their kids to be photographed like this," he said.
Sydney's The Daily Telegraph understands that a squad of police spent several hours yesterday examining the photographs of boys and girls believed to be about 12 years of age. Detectives from the Child Exploitation Internet Unit were also called in to investigate the contents of the gallery's website.
The web page displayed all 41 of the naked images, but they have now been taken down and a spokesman from the Australian Communication and Media Authority said the web link was being investigated.
Detectives interviewed gallery owners Roslyn and Tony Oxley and Henson over the content of the exhibition. It is believed the models will be spoken to today.
While the models are apparently Australian, the website appears to have been sourced from another country, making it hard for Australian authorities to act.
The Daily Telegraph has reported that the exhibition was never classified officially, as art is considered exempt. Ms Johnston has said that art should be classified.
Henson revealed the pictures were taken in his Melbourne studio and that the children were not professional models. He recently explained his obsession with the naked form in an interview for the industry magazine Art World.
"These portraits are much more connected to the suburban dimension of my work. Right down to the skanky fingernail polish she's wearing," he said.
"But I think the more you look at her the more she draws back. There's an incredible sense of displacement. The models seem to get in a trance. And the slower their movements are, the more interesting they become."
Many of the pictures do not work anymore, but to get an idea of what the exibition was like you can click here.
(Ed note: Ah yes, the naked = porn argument rears its puritan head.
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Oh lawd is that some racist monkey buisness?
The Curious George cartoon character is getting dragged into the presidential race again in an ugly way - and Boston’s WGBH-TV isn’t happy. Labels: controversial, election, local news, racial news
A Georgia tavern owner has been selling T-shirts showing the cartoon monkey happily eating a banana with the words “Obama in ’08” written underneath.
The tavern owner, described as an “ultra-conservative,” has since seen his Marietta, Ga., establishment picketed by outraged critics who say the characterization of presidental candidate Barack Obama as a monkey is racist.
Curious George, created by the late longtime Cambridge residents H.A. and Margret Rey, is a beloved figure among kids and adults alike across the country - and especially in Boston.
WGBH, which co-produces a “Curious George” children’s television show, isn’t happy with George’s use against Obama, an African-American.
“It’s offensive,” said Jennifer Welsh, a spokeswoman for the PBS-affiliated station. “We would never grant permission for this.”
But it wasn’t clear yesterday what could be legally done about the T-shirt being peddled by the Mulligan Food & Spirits owner, Mike Norman, who has called his product “cute.”
A spokesman for Boston’s Houghton-Mifflin, which owns the book rights to Curious George, couldn’t be reached for comment. A spokeswoman for NBC Universal, which owns the film rights to Curious George, also couldn’t be reached for comment.
NBC Universal and WGBH co-produce the “Curious George” TV show.
This isn’t the first time Curious George has been dragged into the current presidential race.
Earlier this year, loudmouth radio jock Rush Limbaugh apologized on air for laughing at a caller’s comment that her daughter thought Obama looked like Curious George.
(Ed note: I think it's political parody so there's no real way to go against him legally, of course. But, of course it's a racial shirt. He's a fucking moron to think otherwise.)
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Really? Is this the right way to protest China? Really?
PARIS (AP) -- Police say the last section of the Olympic torch relay through Paris will not be run because of chaotic protests. Labels: China, controversial, France, government, international news, sports news, UK
Security officials snuffed out the torch and rushed it onto a bus at least five times because of the raucous protests against China's human rights record.
A police spokeswoman says a vehicle now will carry the torch for the entire last part of the route, to a sports stadium in the south of Paris. The French Olympic Committee says it hopes that runners still might be able to carry the torch at the very end.
A Paris police official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to media, says at least 28 people have been taken into custody at the protests.
Despite massive security, at least two activists got within almost an arm's length of the flame before they were grabbed by police. Officers tackled many protesters and carried off some of them. A protester threw water at the torch but failed to extinguish it and was also taken away.
At the start of the relay, a man identified as a Green Party activist was grabbed by security officers as he headed for 1997 400-meter world champion Stephane Diagana, the president of France's national athletics league, who was carrying the torch from the first floor of the Eiffel Tower. The man was tackled before he got close to Diagana.
The procession continued but, soon after, a crowd of activists waving Tibetan flags interrupted it for the first time by confronting the torchbearer on a road along the Seine River. The demonstrators did not appear to get close to the torch, but its flame was put out by security officers and brought on board a bus to continue along the route.
Less than an hour later, the flame was being carried out of a Paris traffic tunnel by an athlete in a wheelchair when the procession was halted by activists who booed and chanted "Tibet." Once again, the torch was temporarily extinguished and put on a bus despite protesters' apparent failure to get close.
Some 3,000 officers were deployed on motorcycles, in jogging gear and using inline roller skates. Still, police barely stopped the second rush at the torch, and the attempt to extinguish it with water. Other demonstrators scaled the Eiffel Tower and hung a banner depicting the Olympic rings as handcuffs.
The torch was extinguished for the third time when police interrupted the procession as a precaution because they spotted a crowd of demonstrators on a bridge they were approaching.
Police said they did not immediately have a count of the number of arrests. Mireille Ferri, a Green Party official, said she was held by police for two hours because she approached the Eiffel Tower area with a fire extinguisher. In various locations throughout the city, activists angry about China's human rights record and repression Tibet carried Tibetan flags and waved signs reading "the flame of shame."
Riot police squirted tear gas to break up a sit-in protest by about 300 pro-Tibet demonstrators who blocked the torch route.
France's former sports minister, Jean-Francois Lamour, said that though the torch had been put out, the Olympic flame itself still burned in the lantern where it is kept overnight and on airplane flights.
"The torch has been extinguished but the flame is still there," he told France Info radio.
Police had hoped to prevent the chaos that marred the relay in London a day earlier. There, police had repeatedly scuffled with activists angry about China's human rights record leading up to the Beijing Olympics Aug. 8-24. One protester tried to grab the torch; another tried to snuff out the flame with what appeared to be a fire extinguisher. Thirty-seven people were arrested.
In Paris, police had drawn up an elaborate plan to try to keep the torch in a safe "bubble." Torchbearers were encircled by several hundred officers, some in riot police vehicles and on motorcycles, others on skates or on foot. Boats patrolled the Seine River that slices through the French capital, and a helicopter flew overhead.
About 80 athletes had been slated to carry the torch over the 17.4-mile route that started at the Eiffel Tower, heading down the Champs-Elysees avenue toward City Hall, then crosses over the Seine before ending at the Charlety track and field stadium.
Across town, City Hall draped its building with a banner reading, "Paris defends human rights around the world."
One torch bearer, two-time French judo gold medalist David Douillet, told RTL radio that he regretted the choice of China, "because it isn't up to snuff on freedom of expression, on total liberty, and of course, on Olympic values."
French President Nicolas Sarkozy has left open the possibility of boycotting the Olympic opening ceremony in Beijing depending on how the situation evolves in Tibet. Foreign Minister Bernard Kouchner said Monday that was still the case.
Activists have been protesting along the torch route since the flame embarked on its 85,000-mile journey from Ancient Olympia in Greece to Beijing.
The torch's round-the-world trip is the longest in Olympic history, and it is meant to shine a spotlight on China's economic and political power. Activists have seized upon it as a backdrop for their causes, angering Beijing.
Beijing organizers criticized London's protesters, saying their actions were a "disgusting" form of sabotage by Tibetan separatists.
"The act of defiance from this small group of people is not popular," said Sun Weide, a spokesman for the Beijing Olympic organizing committee. "It will definitely be criticized by people who love peace and adore the Olympic spirit. Their attempt is doomed to failure."
The torch relay also is expected to face demonstrations in San Francisco, New Delhi and possibly elsewhere on its 21-stop, six-continent tour before arriving in mainland China May 4.
(Ed note: I'm all for people having an opinion on Tibet and Human Rights in China. They should protest and protest loudly. But to continue to dog the Olympic Torch as it tours through the world is a pathetic display in and of itself. The fact that it turns violent is counter-productive at best and downright shameful and hypocritical at worst. The Olympics is about World Unity. There are much better ways for governments and their people to show disdain for China, like via trade policy. The most peculiar part of all this is, do they really think the Dahli Lama would approve of such actions. Of course not.)
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A protest FOR more gayity on "As The World Turns."
Labels: controversial, gay news, television
NEW YORK — The love affair between two young men on the venerable CBS soap opera "As the World Turns" has triggered a protest campaign by angry viewers.
It's just not the sort of protest you'd expect.
Fans of the fictional romance between Luke Snyder and Noah Mayer are baffled about why the two characters haven't kissed on-screen since September, wondering whether it's a sign of squeamishness by CBS or show sponsors Procter & Gamble Co.
The fans have started a letter-writing campaign, posted an online petition and even have a Web site that counts the days, hours, minutes and seconds since Luke and Noah last locked lips.
"We totally support this show and applaud the show for doing this story line," said Roger Newcomb, a computer worker from New York's northern suburbs and the man behind the campaign. "We just don't understand why they have to be censored or treated differently."
"As the World Turns," which premiered in 1956, had the first gay male character in daytime drama in 1988. Last August was another milestone — believed to be the first time two gay men kissed on a soap — when Luke surprised Noah with the sign of affection.
They kissed again in September, at a time Noah was still coming to grips with being gay. But since officially becoming a couple, their lips have been sealed.
Fans first sensed the new attitude around Christmas, during a tender scene where the two men proclaimed their love for one another. It was clear they were about to kiss, but the camera instead panned up and focused on some mistletoe.
"I've been watching soaps for decades," Newcomb said, "and that doesn't happen."
Valentine's Day featured fantasy sequences involving several of the show's couples. All the stories ended in a kiss, except for Luke and Noah's. They hugged.
That's when the campaign started.
"There are some people who want to see sex between Luke and Noah," said 34-year-old Theresa Webber, who lives north of Boston. "I've been watching soaps long enough to know that they're a teenage couple, so it's not going to happen anyway. But for them to not kiss at all, it's a little extreme."
The soap is owned, produced and written by Procter & Gamble Productions Inc., a subsidiary of the consumer giant that makes Bounty, Crest, Pampers, Mr. Clean and Ivory soap. CBS executives consult on the series, but the creative direction is set by P&G.
There's no kissing ban, said Jeannie Tharrington, spokeswoman for Procter & Gamble Productions, although she wouldn't say what will happen in future shows. She explained the mistletoe shot as a "creative decision."
"It's always hard to please a diverse audience," Tharrington said, "and we have a diverse audience."
Webber recalls reading a handful of letters in soap opera publications after last summer's first kiss along the lines of "I don't care if Luke is gay, but I don't want to see it."
Barbara Bloom, CBS senior vice president for daytime, said there was a "minimal" negative reaction from viewers about the story line, although she couldn't define what that meant. There was apparently no organized campaign by conservative or parent advocacy groups that monitor television content.
"It's entirely new to me," said Tim Winter, president of the Parents Television Council. "I hadn't heard anything about it."
The American Family Association Web site has a "take-action alert" against Procter & Gamble, calling the company the "top pro-homosexual sponsor on television." The group bases its determination on the number of P&G products advertised on prime-time TV shows with gay or lesbian characters.
"As the World Turns" isn't even mentioned.
Webber and Newcomb said they've been more bothered by other things they have seen on the soap, like when a 14-year-old boy shot a man who was attacking his mother. One character is so desperate for a baby that she slept with her ex-brother-in-law, and was nearly caught having sex in an elevator. Another woman led her children and ex-husband into believing she had a brain tumor, just to get him back.
All are more offensive to her than two men kissing, Webber said.
"It's 2008," she said. "It's something that's real. If they were not going to follow through with it, they shouldn't have started it."
The story's popularity complicates matters. Some 140 scenes featuring the two actors, Van Hansis and Jake Silbermann, are posted online. The message board on Vanhansis.net gets posts from around the world. While competitors "One Life to Live" and "Days of Our Lives" have seen double-digit drops in viewership over the past year, "As the World Turns" is down only 2 percent.
The soap's producers seem to want it both ways, to get credit for having a gay couple but no backlash from long-term viewers for showing intimacy, said Carolyn Hinsey, editor of Soap Opera Weekly.
CBS' Bloom said she would like to see Luke and Noah's romance continue. "If that means there is a natural progression to the physical relationship, I would be in support of it," she said.
Tharrington laughed when asked about any behind-the-scenes debates over showing intimacy between the two men. "You wouldn't even believe," she said.
Producers are committed to telling the story of the romance, she said, adding she hoped the audience would recognize what "As the World Turns" is showing, instead of just what it isn't.
"We feel like we're doing so much right here," she said. "We're telling a story that no one else is doing. We're telling a story that has really engaged our audience."
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Shota wants to be a loli in Colorado, school actually will accommodate!
HIGHLANDS RANCH, Colorado – The issue of being transgender usually pops up with students in high school. However, a 2nd grade boy wants to dress as a girl and wants teachers and students to address him with a girl's name. Labels: controversial, loli, school news, shota, trap
"As a public school system, our calling is to educate all kids no matter where they come from, what their background is, beliefs, values, it doesn't matter," said Whei Wong, Douglas County Schools spokesperson.
Wong says the staff at one of Douglas County's schools is preparing to accommodate the student and answer questions other students might have. In order to protect the child as much as possible, local news stations has chosen not to reveal his school or other names that might identify the child.
"I see this as being a very difficult situation to explain to my daughter to explain why someone would not want to be the gender they were born with," said Dave M.
His daughter will be in the same class as the student.
The student had attended this same school in years prior, but had left to go to classes in another district for about two years. The transgender student will be returning to what is the child's home school. Dave M. thinks classmates will recognize the change.
"I do think that there's going to be an acknowledgement that 'Why are you in a dress this year when you were in pants last year?'" said Dave M.
Wong says teachers are planning to address the student by name instead of using he or she. The child will not use the regular boys or girls bathroom. Instead, two unisex bathrooms in the building will be made available. The school is handing out packets to parents who have questions. The packets contain information about people who are transgender.
"I think it is unusual," said Wong. "It's something we haven't had discussions about before. It's something that we haven't maybe really had to think about before, but now we will."
Family Therapist Larry Curry hopes the child and the child's parents are seeing a counselor just to be safe.
"I am very concerned because with the guidelines in place, this is a very early age," said Curry. "I don't know too many parents who are equipped to answer that kind of question or deal with it without some other support."
Kim Pearson says the family is getting support. She is the executive director of a national organization called TransYouth Family Advocates. The group has been working with the family and Douglas County Schools.
"Initially there was a lot of resistance," said Pearson. "Now, their position is they want this child to be safe in their school."
Pearson says their group is working with an increasing number of families nationwide who have elementary age transgender kids.
"We know that families are more comfortable talking about this," she said. "There was no place for parents to go."
Pearson says children as young as 5 years old are realizing their true gender identity and her group wants to help parents who may be resisting the acceptance of this.
"Parents are likely to think this it's a phase, but how long do phases last?" said Pearson. "With these kids, it's something that's very consistent."
That thought is not comforting to Dave M., who believes his daughter is not ready to think about the issue of being transgender.
"I don't think a (2nd) grader does have the rationale to decide this life-altering choice," said Dave M.
He is also unhappy with the way the school is handling this. The district has been preparing for the child's return to this school for months. Dave M. thinks other parents should have been made aware of this sooner.
"I just find it ironic that they can dictate the dress style of children to make sure they don't wear inappropriate clothing, but they have no controls in place for someone wearing transgender clothing," said Dave M.
Curry says parents like Dave M. should not bring the issue up to their students until they ask. However, he says parents should be ready to answer tough questions from the student's fellow third graders.
"I think reassuring them and letting them know that they'll be alright. Their classmate is alright," said Curry. "This is something their classmate has chosen to do. It is not contagious."
Pearson says the most important thing is to make sure the transgender student does not become the target of bullying or verbal abuse which can lead to suicide.
"These children are at high-risk," said Pearson. "Our number one goal is to keep kids safe."
Wong says mental health professionals will be available if students, staff, or parents have any concerns at all. She says the district views this as just another diversity issue and hopes everyone can accept and respect the student's wishes.
"Our staff has been briefed and trained to look for concerns," said Wong.
The family of the transgender student did not want to comment.
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Quick news
*** Mitt Romney has suspended his bid for The White House, leaving only Mike Huckabee to legitimately oppose John McCain. Sure, Ron Paul is still in it, but I mean, it's fucking Ron Paul. Labels: boys, celebrity non news, China, controversial, election, health news, holiday news, money, music news, shota
*** A woman who sued a hospital because she was unsatisfied with her son's circumcision was denied her lawsuit. Apparently once you sign the consent forms and they've committed to the snippy snippy, you can can't get mad when it looks like shit. (A second doctor did clean it up a bit though.)
*** Amy Winehouse is unable to get a Visa in order to come to the US to pick up the assumed buttload of Grammy's she'll win. Apparently she's gotten so skanky, border guards won't even fuck her.
*** Today begins the Chinese New Year and The Year of The Rat. I'm not sure what soothsayers predict that means, but I do know that despite all my rage I am still likely going to be a rat in a cage.
*** Apparently in New York City there are places that are now accepting Euros as opposed to old fashioned American dollars. Considering how poorly the dollar is doing vs the European Union's currency, it's not surprising.
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Nevermind it's 2008, but an ass isnt a sexual organ? ORLY?
WASHINGTON — The Federal Communications Commission has proposed a $1.4 million fine against 52 ABC Television Network stations over a 2003 broadcast of cop drama NYPD Blue. Labels: controversial, government, nakedness, television
The fine is for a scene where a boy surprises a woman as she prepares to take a shower. The scene depicted "multiple, close-up views" of the woman's "nude buttocks" according to an agency order issued late Friday.
ABC is owned by the Walt Disney Co. The fines were issued against 52 stations either owned by or affiliated with the network.
FCC's definition of indecent content requires that the broadcast "depicts or describes sexual or excretory activities" in a "patently offensive way" and is aired between the hours of 6 a.m. and 10 p.m.
The agency said the show was indecent because "it depicts sexual organs and excretory organs — specifically an adult woman's buttocks."
The agency rejected the network's argument that "the buttocks are not a sexual organ."
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What won't the RIAA and MPAA do to try and stop online piracy?
For the past fifteen years, Internet service providers have acted - to use an old cliche - as wide-open information super-highways, letting data flow uninterrupted and unimpeded between users and the Internet. Labels: controversial, internets, movies, technology news, television
But ISPs may be about to embrace a new metaphor: traffic cop.
At a small panel discussion about digital piracy here at NBC’s booth on the Consumer Electronics Show floor, representatives from NBC, Microsoft, several digital filtering companies and telecom giant AT&T said the time was right to start filtering for copyrighted content at the network level.
Such filtering for pirated material already occurs on sites like YouTube and Microsoft’s Soapbox, and on some university networks.
Network-level filtering means your Internet service provider – Comcast, AT&T, EarthLink, or whoever you send that monthly check to – could soon start sniffing your digital packets, looking for material that infringes on someone’s copyright.
“What we are already doing to address piracy hasn’t been working. There’s no secret there,” said James Cicconi, senior vice president, external & legal affairs for AT&T.
Mr. Cicconi said that AT&T has been talking to technology companies, and members of the MPAA and RIAA, for the last six months about implementing digital fingerprinting techniques on the network level.
“We are very interested in a technology based solution and we think a network-based solution is the optimal way to approach this,” he said. “We recognize we are not there yet but there are a lot of promising technologies. But we are having an open discussion with a number of content companies, including NBC Universal, to try to explore various technologies that are out there.”
Internet civil rights organizations oppose network-level filtering, arguing that it amounts to Big Brother monitoring of free speech, and that such filtering could block the use of material that may fall under fair-use legal provisions — uses like parody, which enrich our culture.
Rick Cotton, the general counsel of NBC Universal, who has led the company’s fights against companies like YouTube for the last three years, clearly doesn’t have much tolerance for that line of thinking.
“The volume of peer-to-peer traffic online, dominated by copyrighted materials, is overwhelming. That clearly should not be an acceptable, continuing status,” he said. “The question is how we collectively collaborate to address this.”
I asked the panelists how they would respond to objections from their customers over network level filtering – for example, the kind of angry outcry Comcast saw last year, when it was accused of clamping down on BitTorrent traffic on its network.
“Whatever we do has to pass muster with consumers and with policy standards. There is going to be a spotlight on it,” said Mr. Cicconi of AT&T.
After the session, he told me that ISPs like AT&T would have to handle such network filtering delicately, and do more than just stop an upload dead in its tracks, or send a legalistic cease and desist form letter to a customer. “We’ve got to figure out a friendly way to do it, there’s no doubt about it,” he said.
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Australia to censor the net. WTF Mate?
The Australian Government has announced that they will be joining China as one of the few countries globally that broadly censor the internet. Labels: Austrailia, controversial, internets, sex
The Labor Party’s policy was announced prior to the Australian Election in November and was justified on the basis that the previous Government’s policy of providing free copies of NetNanny to all Australian households who wanted it didn’t adequately protect children.
As recently as the week prior to the election, Labor Party candidates were telling those concerned about the proposed law that the censorship wouldn’t be compulsory, and that the “clean feed” would be opt-in, not opt-out. Today’s announcement by Telecommunications Minister Stephen Conroy states that the censorship regime will be mandatory, although people will be able to opt-out of it. The problem of course then becomes if you opt-out questions will be asked as to why you want out, which in itself may lead to Government monitoring.
To be censored by the Australian Government is “pornography and inappropriate material.” X rated pornography is illegal online in Australia, as are casino style internet gambling, certain forms of “hate” speech and R rated computer games. BitTorrent would be a possibility, even if certain downloads for personal use may be legal under Australian law, sharing those downloads would not be. How far “inappropriate material” may extend was not made clear, for example questioning Government policy where it comes to Aboriginal people could be deemed to be discrimination under Australian law and hence blocked by the censorship regime. Worst still, bloggers or those (such as forum owners) who allow users to comment or post could find themselves blocked under this proposal should someone say or post the wrong thing. If there is one certainty in any country that implements broadscale censorship, once they start blocking content it doesn’t stop, and certainly every do-gooder group and special interest lobbyist will be wanting the Government to add to the list.
There is also a potential cost involved to Australian Internet users. The previous Government regularly cited feedback from ISP’s stating that the cost of implementing a “clean feed” would be passed onto internet users, who already pay some of the highest internet access costs in the Western world for on average slow services.
Notably Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd was a former Australian Diplomat in China, and speaks fluent Mandarin; given Australia’s boom is fueled by mineral exports to China, it would seem that Australian Government policies are now by China in return. This video from before the election may have foretold some of the future.
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US House rushes vote that could create problems for yaoi/hentai fans.
The U.S. House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly approved a bill saying that anyone offering an open Wi-Fi connection to the public must report illegal images including "obscene" cartoons and drawings--or face fines of up to $300,000. Labels: anime, congress, controversial, democrats, loli, manga, pixiesticks, shota, yaoi
That broad definition would cover individuals, coffee shops, libraries, hotels, and even some government agencies that provide Wi-Fi. It also sweeps in social-networking sites, domain name registrars, Internet service providers, and e-mail service providers such as Hotmail and Gmail, and it may require that the complete contents of the user's account be retained for subsequent police inspection.
Before the House vote, which was a lopsided 409 to 2, Rep. Nick Lampson (D-Texas) held a press conference on Capitol Hill with John Walsh, the host of America's Most Wanted and Ernie Allen, head of the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children.
Allen said the legislation--called the Securing Adolescents From Exploitation-Online Act, or SAFE Act--will "ensure better reporting, investigation, and prosecution of those who use the Internet to distribute images of illegal child pornography."
The SAFE Act represents the latest in Congress' efforts--some of which have raised free speech and privacy concerns--to crack down on sex offenders and Internet predators. One bill introduced a year ago was even broader and would have forced Web sites and blogs to report illegal images. Another would require sex offenders to supply e-mail addresses and instant messaging user names.
Wednesday's vote caught Internet companies by surprise: the Democratic leadership rushed the SAFE Act to the floor under a procedure that's supposed to be reserved for noncontroversial legislation. It was introduced October 10, but has never received even one hearing or committee vote. In addition, the legislation approved this week has changed substantially since the earlier version and was not available for public review.
Not one Democrat opposed the SAFE Act. Two Republicans did: Rep. Ron Paul, the libertarian-leaning presidential candidate from Texas, and Rep. Paul Broun from Georgia.
This is what the SAFE Act requires: Anyone providing an "electronic communication service" or "remote computing service" to the public who learns about the transmission or storage of information about certain illegal activities or an illegal image must (a) register their name, mailing address, phone number, and fax number with the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children's "CyberTipline" and (b) "make a report" to the CyberTipline that (c) must include any information about the person or Internet address behind the suspect activity and (d) the illegal images themselves. (By the way, "electronic communications service" and "remote computing service" providers already have some reporting requirements under existing law too.)
The definition of which images qualify as illegal is expansive. It includes obvious child pornography, meaning photographs and videos of children being molested. But it also includes photographs of fully clothed minors in overly "lascivious" poses, and certain obscene visual depictions including a "drawing, cartoon, sculpture, or painting." (Yes, that covers the subset of anime called hentai).
Someone providing a Wi-Fi connection probably won't have to worry about the SAFE Act's additional requirement of retaining all the suspect's personal files if the illegal images are "commingled or interspersed" with other data. But that retention requirement does concern Internet service providers, which would be in a position to comply. So would e-mail service providers, including both Web-based ones and companies that offer POP or IMAP services.
"USISPA has long supported harmonized reporting of child pornography incidents to the (NCMEC). ISPs report over 30,000 incidents a year, and we work closely with NCMEC and law enforcement on the investigation," Kate Dean, head of the U.S. Internet Service Provider Association, said on Wednesday. "We remain concerned, however, that industry would be required to retain images of child pornography after reporting them to NCMEC. It seems like the better approach would be to require the private sector to turn over illicit images and not retain copies."
Failure to comply with the SAFE Act would result in an initial fine of up to $150,000, and fines of up to $300,000 for subsequent offenses. That's the stick. There's a carrot as well: anyone who does comply is immune from civil lawsuits and criminal prosecutions.
There are two more points worth noting. First, the vote on the SAFE Act seems unusually rushed. It's not entirely clear that the House Democratic leadership really meant this legislation to slap new restrictions on hundreds of thousands of Americans and small businesses who offer public wireless connections. But they'll nevertheless have to abide by the new rules if senators go along with this idea (and it's been a popular one in the Senate).
The second point is that Internet providers already are required by another federal law to report child pornography sightings to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, which is in turn charged with forwarding that report to the appropriate police agency. So there's hardly an emergency, which makes the Democrats' rush for a vote more inexplicable than usual.
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GA's Supremes Release Genarlow Wilson
ATLANTA (AP) - Georgia's Supreme Court on Friday ordered the release of a young man who has been imprisoned for more than two years for having consensual oral sex with another teenager. Labels: controversial, court drama, local news, loli, raep, sex, shota
The court ruled 4-3 that Genarlow Wilson's 10-year sentence was cruel and unusual punishment.
Wilson, 21, was convicted of aggravated child molestation following a 2003 New Year's Eve party at a Douglas County hotel room where he was videotaped having oral sex with a 15-year-old girl. He was 17 at the time.
Wilson was acquitted of raping another 17-year-old girl at the party.
The 1995 law Wilson violated was changed in 2006 to make oral sex between teens close in age a misdemeanor, similar to the law regarding teen sexual intercourse. But the state Supreme Court later upheld a lower court's ruling which said that the 2006 law could not be applied retroactively.
Chief Justice Leah Ward Sears wrote in the majority opinion that the changes in the law "represent a seismic shift in the legislature's view of the gravity of oral sex between two willing teenage participants."
Sears wrote that the severe punishment makes "no measurable contribution to acceptable goals of punishment" and that Wilson's crime did not rise to the "level of adults who prey on children."
State Attorney General Thurbert Baker said he accepts Friday's ruling.
Baker said he hopes the ruling will "put an end to this issue as a matter of contention in the hearts and minds of concerned Georgians and others across the country who have taken such a strong interest in this case."
The state Supreme Court had turned down Wilson's appeal of his conviction and sentence, but the justices agreed to hear the state's appeal of a Monroe County judge's decision to reduce Wilson's sentence to 12 months and free him. That judge had called the 10-year sentence a "grave miscarriage of justice."
Dissenting justices wrote that the state Legislature expressly stated that the 2006 change in the law was not intended to affect any crime prior to that date.
They said Wilson's sentence could not be cruel and unusual because the state Legislature decided that Wilson could not benefit from subsequent laws reducing the severity of the crime from a felony to a misdemeanor.
They called the decision an "unprecedented disregard for the General Assembly's constitutional authority."
A spokeswoman for Wilson's lawyer said his legal team received no advance notice of the decision.
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I fucked your mom. Money plz.
BOGOTA, Colombia — The hit game show "Nothing But the Truth" has been canceled after a contestant won $25,000 for admitting she hired someone to kill her husband. Labels: controversial, television
Tuesday was the final day for the show, in which contestants attached to a lie-detector machine answered 21 increasingly invasive questions to win up to $50,000.
A U.S version called "Moment of the Truth" is still expected to be launched on Fox in the coming months, along with spin-offs in England, Australia, Germany, Italy and Spain, according to Howard Schultz, the Los Angeles-based creator of the show.
On the Colombian version, dollar-desperate contestants confessed everything from drug smuggling to homosexual prostitution before a studio audience packed with unsuspecting loved ones.
It drew high ratings and spurred a boom in polygraph usage among private companies trying to screen employees and protect themselves from infiltration by Colombia's well-organized mafias.
But the show also generated sharp rebukes from U.S. polygraph examiners, family values groups and legal experts who likened the spectacle to a modern-day Roman circus that sanctions criminal behavior. Complaints of indecency also poured in to Colombia's national television commission.
The episode that sealed the show's fate was broadcast Oct. 2, when Rosa Maria Solano admitted she had hired a hit man to rub out her husband. "The crime couldn't be carried out because the hit man tipped off my husband and he ran away forever — God save me," said Solano after her revelation.
Facing negative public reaction and the threat of legal action for being an after-the-fact accessories to crime, Caracol Television pulled the plug.
Schultz, the creator of such reality TV hits as ABC's "Extreme Makeover," said he was unfamiliar with the controversial episode in Colombia, but did not fear it would slow the worldwide rollout.
"We're very careful about the questions we ask," he said, "and would never sanction any criminal behavior."
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Un-Quitting
WASHINGTON (AP) - Idaho Sen. Larry Craig defiantly vowed to serve out his term in office on Thursday despite losing a court attempt to rescind his guilty plea in a men's room sex sting. Labels: congress, controversial, republicans
"I have seen that it is possible for me to work here effectively," Craig said in a written statement certain to disappoint fellow Republicans who have long urged him to step down.
Craig had earlier announced he would resign his seat by Sept. 30, but had wavered when he went to court in hopes of withdrawing his plea.
The third-term lawmaker issued his statement not long after Idaho Gov. C.L. "Butch" Otter relayed word he has selected a replacement for Craig in the event of a resignation.
"He is ready to act should we receive a letter of resignation," said Jon Hanian, Otter's spokesman in Boise, in what seemed like a calculated signal that home-state Republicans want Craig to surrender the seat he has held for 17 years.
In his statement, Craig said he will not run for a new term next year.
But in the meantime, he said: "I will continue my effort to clewar my name in the Senate Ethics Committee—something that is not possible if I am not serving in the Senate."
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No Snow Blow
Stone Mountain Park shut down its snow-making equipment Wednesday, following an avalanche of criticism over plans to use more than a million gallons of water to transform the Memorial Lawn into a winter sledding attraction amid a historic drought. Labels: controversial, local news, weather
Park spokeswoman Christine Parker released a statement Wednesday morning saying the park, in conjunction with the Stone Mountain Memorial Association and DeKalb County, "has made the decision to cease snow making for its new winter attraction, Coca-Cola Snow Mountain, effective at 10 a.m."
"While the park is considered a commercial entity and had all required approvals to develop and open this attraction, we understand the concerns of our local citizens," the statement said. "We will explore all options for how we can continue to bring this snow park to Atlantans."
The move comes after The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that the park had started making snow Tuesday for the "Coca-Cola Snow Mountain" attraction.
The plan has been to create a 400-foot-long slope of ice and snow that could be used as a sledding and play area. The attraction had been scheduled to open on Nov. 10, prior to the controversy over the water usage involved.
Dozens of readers at ajc.com excoriated the park and Coca-Cola for moving forward with the project at a time when Georgia residents are being asked to stop watering lawns and shrubs, and even to shorten their showers.
Coca-Cola spokeswoman Susan Stribling said Wednesday the company did not demand that Stone Mountain stop making snow, but she said the company endorses the decision.
"We are pleased that Stone Mountain has taken quick action and we support their efforts to address this situation," Stribling said.
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Snow blow.
As northern Georgia suffers through a monumental drought and the toughest water restrictions ever imposed, Stone Mountain is using up to 38 gallons of water a minute — for 12 to 18 hours a day for the next month — to make snow. Labels: controversial, local news, weather
On the day Gov. Sonny Perdue took the state's water conservation efforts indoors and declared October "Take A Shorter Shower" month, the park was embarking on a whole new way to burn through the state's shrinking supply of H2O.
They started making snow Tuesday — in 80 degree weather. It will take more than a million gallons of water to complete the job.
By opening day Nov. 10, working night and day, crews at the park will have built what's billed as Coca-Cola Snow Mountain on the lawn behind Memorial Hall. Where crowds gather during the summer to watch the park's laser show, kids and families will be tubing down a 400-foot-long slope of ice and snow.
It didn't matter Tuesday that the temperature was about 50 degrees above freezing, said Albert Bronander, president of Snow Magic, the company that has partnered with the park to produce the snowy wonderland. The key is to make the snow faster than mother nature can melt it — and use lots of water. With machinery that can produce 200 tons of snow a day, that's not a problem, said Bronander, motioning at a 5-foot-tall hill of the slushy white stuff.
At maximum production, the snow maker will use 38 gallons of municipal water a minute. The machinery will operate 18 hours a day. In 30 days, the 1.2 million gallons of water will produce a 2-foot-thick layer of ice to form the slope's base.
Bronander said the park is using water drawn from DeKalb County's water lines instead of pulling it from the park's lake — as is the park's golf course — because "we want the water to be pure white." The snow-making venture comes at a time when, across town, Six Flags Park last week closed two of its water rides — Splashwater Falls and Thunder River — in response to the governor's statewide watering ban.
Park marketing manager Ryan Kilpatrick said Tuesday when Six Flags closes for the season at the end of October, its water use will be cut 80 percent. He declined to say how much water the park uses during peak summer season.
Jeff Bollig, spokesman for Lawrence, Kansas-based Golf Course Superintendents Association of America said that the amount of water the park is using a day to produce snow — about 41,000 gallons — is a fraction of what golf courses in Atlanta use during the average summer day when restrictions aren't in effect, as they are now (courses are limited to watering greens).
"Georgia courses use about 215,000 gallons a day," Bollig said. "But we like to put that into perspective. On the average day, this country uses 408 billion gallons of water. What golf course uses is less than one half of one percent of that." Also, the vast majority — 86 percent — of golf courses supply their own water instead of taping into municipal drinking water.
Christine Parker, public relations manager for Stone Mountain, said the park is abiding by watering restrictions and doing what it can to conserve. The Coca-Cola Snow Mountain attraction has been in the works for almost a year.
"We've already sold tickets, and we can't just stop," she said. "That would be like a water park just deciding to turn off the faucets."
In his declaration for the Cobb County-Marietta Water Authority's waterSmart program, Gov. Perdue said people who take shorter showers can save 3-7 gallons of water per shower. That adds up to more than 2,000 gallons per person over the course of a year — or 52 minutes worth of snow making at Stone Mountain.
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Kid Nation
Miss the premiere of the "controversial" CBS reality show, Kid Nation? Labels: controversial, loli, shota, television, youth news
Here's a link to the episode!
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Off to DragonCon 2007
I'm off to DragonCon 2007, so don't expect any updates until next Tuesday at the earliest. But when I get back, this month I'll bring you a new Secret Stash that won't please everyone. More Mitsui Jun by request. More fan submited artwork. Photos from DragonCon. A preview of Anime Weekened Atlanta. And we'll be celebrating our 7th Annual Yaoi Boi Week! Labels: anime, Candy, controversial, dragoncon, epic,
Have a great Labor Day Weekend, now I gotta go get ready to molest the Weasley Twins.
PS: This means I also won't be able to approve post comments. So if you make any, they won't appear until Tuesday.