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OBSCENITY

The Wire

Judge won't drop LA obscenity case after mistrial

A federal judge has refused to dismiss obscenity charges against an adult film producer after a scandal with the trial judge this summer forced a mistrial.

Judge's wife calls Web porn story 'outright lies'

A federal appeals court judge under scrutiny for sexually explicit videos and photos posted on a personal Web site is the victim of distortions and "outright lies" published by the Los Angeles Times, his wife charged Monday.

The Vine
In Defense of Extreme Pornography
Source: Reason Magazine

Harvey Weinstein didn't bother to circulate a petition demanding her release. Debra Winger didn't issue a statement protesting the director's incarceration and anticipating her next masterwork.

"%&#$!" makes you feel better
Source: Sciencenews.org

"Swearing like a sailor may alleviate pain."

Cops Say Philadelphia Man Blared Porn to Keep Children Away
Source: FOXNews.com

PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. — Police in suburban Philadelphia say a man weary of children playing in his cul-de-sac blared a pornographic soundtrack to chase them off.

What's the big [bleepin'] deal? - From the s-word to the f-bomb, 'colorful' language is everywhere
Source: Chicago Tribune

"If the f-word becomes more common than it already is, I don't know what people will say when they get mad," said Jim O'Connor, author of "Cuss Control."

A Dirty Pun Tweaks China's Online Censors - NYTimes.com
Source: The New York Times

A YouTube children's song about the beast has drawn nearly 1.4 million viewers. A grass-mud horse cartoon has logged a quarter million more views. A nature documentary on its habits attracted 180,000 more. Stores are selling grass-mud horse dolls.

Sex Toys, Condoms, and Lubricants Now Illegal In Coweta County, Georgia
Source: times-herald.com

The sale of sex toys, and perhaps even the sale of some condoms and lubricants, is now prohibited in Coweta County.

Arrested for cusing on cell phone
Source: wlwt.com

About time. I'm tired of having to hear obscene words, personal information (medical, sex, problems) screamed in the area I'm in. Airports, planes, buses, waiting rooms, etc. Are you tired or are you a violator of others space?

South Carolina Legislator Trying To Ban Vulgar Words in Public
Source: volokh.com

Here's the bill, which would make it a felony "for a person in a public forum or place of public accommodation wilfully and knowingly to publish orally or in writing, exhibit, or otherwise make available material containing words, language, or actions of a profane, vulgar, lewd,  …

Big Bird: What are the rules for flipping someone off on network television?
Source: Slate

Director Darren Aronofsky flipped off the star of his new movie on Sunday evening during the NBC-televised Golden Globe Awards. The network broadcast Aronofsky's gesture without blurring out or otherwise obscuring his raised middle finger.

Facebook ban of breast-feeding photos sparks protests | Reuters
Source: Reuters

Are photographs of a mother breast-feeding her child indecent? The social networking site Facebook has sparked a massive online debate -- and protests -- and after removing photos that expose too much of a mother's breast.

Must It Always Be About Sex? -- That Wonderful Horrible Effing F-Word...
Source: The New York Times

The Supreme Court specializes in law, not lexicography. But it will soon have to consider the meaning of that most versatile of four-letter words.

Janet Jackson Drops Raunchy Routine
Source: ActressArchives.com

Janet Jackson pulled a raunchy dance routine from her concert in Michigan--to avoid falling foul of local obscenity laws.

FOXNews.com - Batman Comic Book Accidentally Reveals Obscenities - Celebrity Gossip | Entertainment News | Arts And Entertainment
Source: FOXNews.com

DC Comics is asking stores throughout the nation to destroy tens of thousands of copies of a new Batman comic book because of obscenities that were supposed to be blacked out were not.

Russell Brand: "Execution for Bristol Palin" (Humor?)
Source: The Sun Newspaper Online

But incredibly the script we heard was the clean version after MTV insisted he scrap some of his bravest gags. He revealed: "I had JOHN McCAIN gags pulled. And they asked me to tone down the gags about SARAH PALIN.

Religion is bull@!$%#: Looking Back on Carlin
Source: newhumanist.org.uk

If George Carlin tackled a topic, it stayed tackled. The ground was his. Carlin began his career in the mid-1950s as a conventional gag-teller. It was seeing Lenny Bruce in 1962 that changed everything; he saw just how powerful a lone figure talking in a club could be.

Why dirty is funny
Source: The L.A. Times

When a federal appeals court judge who is presiding over an obscenity trial is himself revealed to have a "porn stash" on a personal website, as happened a couple of weeks ago, some might get indignant. Others might titter.

The Google Ogle Defense: A Search for America's Psyche
Source: The Washington Post

Question: Do you think your Google habits -- your random, untethered wisps of thoughts manifested as search terms like "unexplained hives" and "Kate Beckinsale single?" -- can be bundled together to paint an accurate representation of your morality?

What is Obscene in Pensacola?

It's an age-old question in the United States. Sure, the First Amendment guarantees freedom of expression, but the Puritanical interests in this country don't think that should extend to material they think is obscene.

What's Obscene? Google Could Have an Answer
Source: The New York Times

Judges and jurors who must decide whether sexually explicit material is obscene are asked to use a local yardstick: does the material violate community standards?

Judge in Porn Trial Has His Own Stash; material on his site, which included a video of a man cavorting with a sexually aroused farm animal
Source: ABC News

Alex Kozinski is more accustomed to appearing on lists to fill U.S. Supreme Court vacancies than headlines involving pornographic scandals.

Obscenity trial suspended after judge said he posted sexually explicit materials
Source: The L.A. Times

Alex Kozinski, who is presiding over an obscenity trial in L.A., admits he posted sexually explicit photos and videos. He says he didn't think the public could see the site, which is now blocked.

Germaine Greer: Through a Lens Darkly
Source: The Age

In the wake of police removing exhibits deemed to be offensive from Bill Henson's Sydney show, Germaine Greer argues that there is no clear distinction between art and pornography, and a good many works by artists from Titian to Picasso are pornographic.

Afraid of public trial, author to plead guilty in online obscenity case
Source: post-gazette.com

The message here is: the government may force you to defend yourself from criminal charges merely for writing stories online which someone might find objectionable.

Thai PM cancels own 'vulgar' press briefings
Source: Australian Broadcasting Corporation

Thailand's gruff yet colourful Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej said he was cancelling his twice-weekly press briefings for fear that he may publicly utter "rude words".

Abercrombie & Fitch Display Charged With Obscenity
Source: AOL

Police removed two ads from a Virginia Beach Abercrombie & Fitch store and charged the manager with obscenity.

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