More of the "War on Porn"....

[sarettah]

http://www.infoshop.org/inews/stories.php?...4/04/11/4166345

Bush gets tough on porn in the USA
With an election looming, the government is cracking down on the thriving adult market

Richard Luscombe in Miami
Sunday April 11, 2004
The Observer

America's booming adult entertainment industry is bracing itself for a 'summer of censorship' as the government clamps down on pornography.

For nearly 10 years, the resources of the Department of Justice's anti-obscenity division have been allocated almost exclusively to the war on child pornography, leaving those involved in the $10 billion-a-year (£5.5bn) adult market to their own devices.

But with producers of adult porn becoming increasingly lawless, according to Andrew Oosterbaan, head of the DoJ's anti-obscenity department, it is time to 'send ripples' through the industry and prosecute those producing and distributing obscene material. 'Nothing will be off-limits as far as content goes,' he said. 'We'll do everything we can to deter this conduct.'

Oosterbaan's department has its work cut out. More than 11,000 adult films are released annually in the US and there are 800 million DVD and video rentals of adult movies each year, according to the trade association Adult Video News.

Porn on the internet is at record levels. Websense, an internet software management company, announced earlier this month that it has more than 1.6 million adult web pages on its database, 18 times more than in 2000, and a recent Nielsen/Net Ratings study said one in four internet surfers in the US, about 34 million people, uses the web to visit adult sites.

Obscenity laws have been unchanged since 1973, when the Supreme Court ruled that for material to be considered obscene, an average person applying 'contemporary standards' must find it offensive and without artistic value.

The recent reappointment of high-profile anti-porn lawyer Bruce Taylor to the Justice Department is one clear indication of President George W. Bush's get-tough policy.

The move has drawn criticism from free-speech advocates such as the American Civil Liberties Union, and those involved in the adult entertainment industry say it is no coincidence that the policy shift comes just months ahead of November's presidential election.

'This agenda is to attract votes,' said lawyer Paul Cambria, who has defended many adult business owners, including the notorious Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, against obscenity charges. 'It's censorship. It's an effort by the Department of Justice to interfere with adults' rights to adult materials. We deal in plain old vanilla sex, nothing really outrageous.'

The clampdown on the adult entertainment industry mirrors a lower-tolerance approach being shown by federal government towards other areas of the media. The House of Representatives, concerned by a decline in broadcasting standards, approved tougher penalties for indecency on the airwaves and called the heads of the major broadcast networks together for warnings.


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[Mike AI]

Looks like the a rehash of the last article.

[Rolo]

[RawAlex]

Mike, almost certainly a "multi-newswire" local re-write of the story. To me, at that level, it is even more scary than a story on CNN. It means that the news is getting out to all levels, the public is being softened up for a stab at porn.

Politically, it is a trial balloon. Put the word out, see if you get any negative feedback. If the negative is small or not noticed, keep on pumping the story further and further into all corners of the country and get your plan ready to attack. With the election coming up, it is a very strong play to the "family", "conservative", and "christian" vote. You don't have to succeed, you just have to show that some action is coming about to be able to harp about it in speeches and in commercials on TV and radio.

There is a very high potential that this is going to be an ugly summer, especially if Bush and his crew start to feel that they are losing the election. They could strike out and go ultra conservative, taking as many shots at liberal targets before they get tossed out on their asses. In that case, we all need to lay low.

Alex

[Mike AI]

Alex, the signs for crackdown continue to show up. Hopefully it will only be on the extreme stuff. Administrations who come under pressure can sometimes lash out.... I hope we do not become victem to this.

[SykkBoy]

Originally posted by Mike AI@Apr 11 2004, 09:53 PM
Alex, the signs for crackdown continue to show up. Hopefully it will only be on the extreme stuff. Administrations who come under pressure can sometimes lash out.... I hope we do not become victem to this.

tinfoil hat time, but I don't think they are only targeting the extreme stuff

Ashcroft made it very clear he was going after everyone, even the likes of HBO and Showtime.

I truly believe it is an election ploy, but I wonder how many companies could withstand it if they were the ones targeted.

[Carrie]

This hasn't necessarily gotten down to the "local levels'.
Take a look at the newspaper - a large one in Miami, Florida. State of Jeb Bush, George's biggest supporter - and home of an incredibly large population of blue-haired conservative folks who come from an age where porn was the naughtiest thing on the planet.

This isn't a local thing, it's a strategic thing.
Fire up the demographically correct masses in a large, supportive-to-your-cause region.

[Vick]

Let's be honest

The herd needs to be trimmed

3 times as much porn available on the internet as in 2000??!!!

Keep your head down, heed your attorney's advice, dot your I's and cross your T's

[Mike AI]

Originally posted by SykkBoy+Apr 11 2004, 11:28 PM-->