"War on Porn" forces "SuicideGirls" to take pictures off their website...

[Busshianic]

http://suicidegirls.com/boards/Everything%20SG/81705/page1/

Hello,

I just wanted to let you know that, thanks to the "War on Porn," SG will be taking down a bunch of photosets and individual photos today.

Even the FBI agents paid to surf for porn find this ridiculous, but apparently sending people to jail for pictures of two consenting adults enjoying a little rope bondage is more fucking important than.... I dunno, pick any one of the million of better causes out there that the government could be focusing on.

So, I apologise heartily for having to do this, both to the SuicideGirls whose art is being fucked over and the members who are being treated like babies, but we really don't want to get shut down and sent to jail. As soon as legally possible, the photosets and pictures about to be taken down will come back. Until then, bid a fond farewell to your favourite blood-bathing beauties, rope-bound babes, and handcuffed honeys. Apparently they've no place in today's society.

(continued)
http://suicidegirls.com/boards/Everything%20SG/81705/page1/

[DemocratSinceBirth]

1. I Just Googled Bondage And Get 13,000,000 Sites.

The government has their work cut out...

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

2. John Ashcroft has a LOT of free time on his hands.

Or at least the one hand he's using to surf the net.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. Ashcroft Is Gone... Alberto Gonzalez Is The AG

eom

[Cessna Invesco Palin]

11. I know...

But this sounds like exactly the sort of assignment that could get a... rise out of Ashcroft, if y'know what I'm saying.

[charlie]

3. No, they have a goldmine

for yet another unwinnable "war" to keep the conservadroids in a lather for years to come.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

5. To each is own

but I'm not a big fan of bondage...

Seeing somebody all tied up with a ball in their mouth doesn't do it for me....

[Teaser]

15. Pervert. ;)

Clearly, people like you have no place in polite society.

Next you'll be screaming for "Vanilla Rights" and that we openly acknowledge the "Norm Lifestyle."

[ozarkvet]

14. War

I suspect you are correct.

Very hard to intellectually "sell" people on the 1st Amendment right for unpopular speech.

I don't care for porn --- think it is generally unhealthy, in that it brings unreasonable expectations into a relationship and certain porn can be degradading. Hence, my initial reaction is "so what? I don't like it."

My second reaction --- after thinking about it --- is that it is none of my business what people look at.

I suspect "most" people --- at least publically --- hold sentiments similar to my own ---- AND never think about it.

Hence, these measures will be hard to oppose.

[Busshianic]

6. The thing is next in line to be shut down is political opposition

They could care less about bondage, its just an excuse for setting the precident that the government can shut down websites they deem "offensive"

[Deep13]

7. Repressed, frightened, self-loathing and nuerotic.

That's the "war on porn." No one mentioned it in the campaign and, therefore, no one voted for it. Now, because W's base is deserting him, we have to have a war on something that is harmless and fun for many people. SOMEONE is keeping these people in business.

[QuettaKid]

8. SG is run by RW'ers....true or false?

I heard SG is run by bushbots...anyone heard this?

[ET Awful]

12. I doubt that very seriously based on the types of people that are

represented there. The girls there are way too far out for right-wingers to handle.

[Deep13]

13. No idea. Don't really care either.

[Hong Kong Cavalier]

32. Here's the link to the post in the Lounge a few weeks ago

www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=105&topic_id=3997417

While the poster didn't link to the original article, he did tell you where you could go to find out the information. WARNING: the site he points to is Not Safe For Work.

[unpossibles]

34. I have heard that too

and frankly believe it, based on some of the political writings that used to be on there.

Surprisingly, I know a lot of right-wing "hippies", "punks" and "rockers" who totally like people who look "freaky" so it would be no surprise there either.

Also, the owner of the company saw a niche and filled it (no pun intended), and is making money off it regardless of if it is something they like personally - does the owner of Walmart personally like cheap imported sweatshop goods or does he just make a fortune selling them?

[ghostsofgiants]

Somehow I doubt that...

http://suicidegirls.com/news/politics/

In the links section on that page they link to Tom Paine and Daily Kos.

[brainshrub]

9. You should refer the FBI to my own free porn site:

Here is my site dedicated to free porn. It's pretty raunchy. :evilgrin:

I was sick of sites that promise free porn, but never deliver... so I made my own. Enjoy!

http://www.brainshrub.com/whims/adultsite/adultsite.htm

[blogslut]

19. heehee

cute. ps: i'm a pornographer ;)

[brainshrub]

28. Then send me an approproate picture.

Send me something that would fit into the hot, nasty, kinky style of my porn site and I'll dedicate a page for it.

Let's see how long it will take for the FBI to shut me down.

[blogslut]

29. email me

I'll show you where to BUY some legally for your site. Believe it or not, stealing content is BAD.

blogslut at blogslut dot com

[blogslut]

33. on second thought...

use my DU inbox. I'm already getting weird, bouncy emails.

[frictionlessO]

46. That is art man pure art!

And so very very true...

Thanks for the laugh.

[DBoon]

10. damn!

that was one of my favorite sites! :)

[Skinner]

16. There is a frustrating lack of information there.

Did the government ask them to remove the pictures, or did they do it on their own?

What standards/guidelines did they use to decide which pictures to remove?

Are these standards/guidelines publicly available? Are they from the government or did SG try to come up with their own?

[FVZA_Colonel]

21. I agree

It sounded as if they were doing this on their own, with out any sort of legal request from the Justice Department, but I could be mistaken.

[mongo]

27. Standards? Guidelines?

What standards/guidelines did they use to decide which pictures to remove?

Are these standards/guidelines publicly available? Are they from the government or did SG try to come up with their own?

You hit a big part of the crux of the biscuit here. Under federal and Ohio law, I could be arrested for selling a copy of Playboy. Every movie, every magazine and even the packages on most of my toys are technically illegal, and I could be arrested any day of the week for selling them.

But we don't have prior restraint of free speech in America. Film boards that were run by various states (banned in Boston) to decide if a particular work was unsuitable to be shown have been found unconstitutional.

So, in order for a work to be "obscene", and therefore illegal, an arrest has to be made, and then it is up to a jury to decide. There are no guidelines and no standards. It is an expensive process for both the prosecution and the defense.

A conviction is based on what the local "community standards" are, whatever that means. I doubt if two juries could decide on the same standards. By default, as the local smut peddler, I have been assigned the arbiter of community values - but if I guess poorly, I go to jail.

If there were guidelines, how would I be expected to comply? Do I have to watch all 1700 movies in my ever changing inventory? How am I supposed to know what the community standard is, when I can be arrested for selling the very same movie that may have been shown on pay-per-view cable on a cable system given a franchise by the city?

No, there are no rules for SG to follow. I believe they are being overly cautious. I can't say I blame them.

[DS1]

35. You can't show any form of penetration whatsoever while a person

is restrained. You can whip them, beat them, drop candle wax on them - just about anything you want - but as soon as something gets inserted anywhere the ropes have to come off. It's U.S. rules that have been around for years.

but, you probably knew that

[mongo]

38. That was a general guideline written by an attorney

Paul Cambria I believe, made a list of acts likely to get you involved in an obscenity suit.

There is also a list that the LA vice squad put together a number of years ago.

But it is not like these are some sort of governmental guidelines.

There certainly are bondage movies with penetration - some of it very nice stuff - At least one of Nina Harley's Private Sessions has penetration.

And it's not like I can't be arrested for selling a BDSM movie if it doesn't have penetration, because I can.

[ghostsofgiants]

40. SG doesn't show penetration though

[DS1]

43. I'm only repeating what I know

I haven't been to SG in about a year.

[ghostsofgiants]

44. I have most of their photo sets as well as their new documentary...

No penetration that I've seen.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

17. Some background from AVN

When Sen. Sam Brownback held forth on pornography at Gonzales' confirmation hearing, saying, "There's been criticism of the Department of Justice for not enforcing obscenity laws, work on these issues on community standards. I would hope that this would be something that you would take a look at, maybe make some personnel shifts within the Department of Justice, to address this from the law standards, on community standards, look at the addictiveness in the nature of it. There are ... these laws that have been upheld by community standards, upheld by the Supreme Court, that can be, and I really think should be, enforced, given the nature of this very potent -- what one expert called it, delivery system, of -- in this country. And I hope you can look at that," Gonzales replied, "I will commit to that. I will look at that, Senator."

And now, apparently, he is.

According to a story in today's Washington Post, the FBI's Washington Field Office, at the urging of the Attorney General's office, began recruiting in late July for a new "anti-obscenity squad" that will allegedly target "bestiality, urination, defecation, as well as sadistic and masochistic behavior" in "a variety of jurisdictions" where there have been "past successful cases"; that is, prosecutions. Those would, for the most part, be local prosecutions, since the feds have brought very few obscenity cases, as opposed to child porn cases that pled to obscenity, in the past 14 years.

http://www.avnonline.com/index.php?Primary_Navigation=Web_Exclusive_News&Action=View_Article&Content_ID=240825

"Violent porn" is banned in the UK (& "violent" runs from reddening of the buttocks in a spanking video right through to the nasty Max Hardcore shite) & scenes of sexual violence (again from the mild (a knife near a breast) to the hardcore) are routinely trimmed by our film censors. However it's not illegal to view it online - and so this summer saw a consultancy paper put out by the Home Office which would make it a crime - punishable by up to three years in jail - to view images online. No distinction is made in the proposals between consentual (ie bondage) acts & non-consential or between simulated & actal. Where Uncle George leads, little Tony is sure to follow.

[blogslut]

20. Even AVN has a short memory

Up until Gonzales was nominated for AG, his step-son Jared Freeze worked for Hustler Magazine:

http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/260719p-223200c.html

Until he abruptly quit last month - around the time that President Bush nominated his stepfather, White House Counsel Alberto Gonzales, to be U.S. attorney general - Web designer Jared Freeze worked as a consultant for notorious pornographer Larry Flynt.

A knowledgeable source told Lowdown that the twentysomething Freeze - a child from the previous marriage of Gonzales' wife, Rebecca - left Flynt's employ at the urging of Gonzales, who was said to be worried that the Hustler magazine connection might cause political damage during his confirmation hearings...

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

25. no shit! Thanks for that.

[one_true_leroy]

18. if we don't get to see bondage or S&M on the web...

how are we supposed to know if we like it or not? :shrug:

[Scurrilous]

22. Get...

...the hand-cuffed, rope-bound, blood bathing off the internet and back into US Military prisons where it belongs.

[DBoon]

39. join Blackwater if you are into this

If too many people get their kicks off internet pix, there wont be enough who need to join privat contractors to do their thing

[Liberal In Texas]

23. It's the beginning of an attempt to CONTROL THE INTERNET folks.

When they get away with this, they'll try political thought next. They've already started with the campaign finance "reform" laws, trying to control where sites may link to.
see:http://news.com.com/The+coming+crackdown+on+blogging/2008-1028_3-5597079.html

First they'll suppress the porn, because most people won't care (at least publicly). Taxing internet commerce will probably happen at some point.

Then they'll come after DU and other political sites.

Just wait.

[darkism]

24. THAT'S IT! THAT'S THE LAST STRAW!

NOBODY messes with SG. NOBODY!
As a a young person, an appreciator of art and a real-life friend to a SuicideGirl...I say, this is it. These puritans are done for.

[lectrobyte]

26. I'm way more freaked out by things like this pic, than any porn I can

remember seeing:



Why is always the Nailing In and not the Sermoning on the Mount?

[Qibing Zero]

30. Yeah, I saw this and meant to post it, but forgot.

It's just mind-numbingly stupid and oh so dangerous in the long run... one freedom after the next.

[HughBeaumont]

31. BASTARDS!

The Suicide Girls have the most perfect bodies I've seen yet - pale, natural, slightly chunky and REAL.

DON'T mess with my Suicide angels, you fuckers.

[tigersumtin]

36. Ohhh Lord

Don't let them take the PlayBoy Channel away..... {I like the news and informative commercials}.

[mccoyn]

37. Lets have a porn march on DC. -nt

[Mabus]

41. While allowing the photos of Iraqi dead to be traded for porn to stay?

WTF?

http://americablog.blogspot.com/2005/09/us-soldiers-allegedly-trading-pictures.html
I spent the good part of this weekend following up on a report by the East Bay Express, an alternative paper in San Francisco, alleging that US soldiers are posting gruesome pictures of dead Iraqis and Afghanis online in exchange for access to hard-core amateur porn.

What I found suggests the story is correct.

The death photos are hosted on a Web site hosted in Holland, called NowThatsFuckedUp.com. The site is an amateur porn site where people can post their own nude photos and browse the photos of other visitors. This is the header of the Web site:
header redacted
Ah, but the site isn't just about the usual porn. It's also about military death porn. Below is an example of a photo on the site - a very tame example that I've censored (I blacked out the image of a body burnt to a crisp, you'll see two soldiers pointing to it, Lyndie England style - see the real uncensored photo here):

John then posted a censored picture whose caption on the website reads: Cooked Iraqi

This is just sickening.

[SiouxJ]

42. Somebody tell them about this guy:

and maybe they'll take him off the air as well.

"Those Who Trespass", a Pornographic Work by Bill O'Reilly
By day he's a political talk show host, but by night he's transformed into an aquatic sex monster! He's Bill O'Reilly! He's Snorkelman!

This is the funniest thing ever -- FOX's Bill O’Reilly of the O'Reilly Factor, reading from his badly written pornographic novel, Those Who Trespass.


http://www.ledgeofliberty.com/2004/07/those_who_tresp.html

[tigersumtin]

45. Wow

That is very Funny... LOL Do u think his ears disappear when he gets a hard-on? We call that a peckerhead.... and he definitely is a pecker head...

[Warren DeMontague]

47. Oh, goody. I felt my tax dollars weren't being wasted enough already

between a bogus war based on lies, billions in cash giveaways to gov't contractors, and 40 Billion a year to the DEA to go after pot smokin' cancer grannies...

Yes, clearly, the government needs to wage war on pictures of nude adults engaging in consensual activities.

[slay]

48. Republicans LOVE censorship

The use it as a form of control. It's either their way or the highway. Sad to see this happen to the suicidegirls webpage - cool non-conformist chicks they are.

[Warren DeMontague]

49. Meanwhile, ACTUAL sadism gets a slap on the wrist at Abu Ghraib

and covered up, to boot.

[IndyOp]

50. Yep.

Torture involving sexuality. Okay! :patriot:

Sexuality involving bondage. To hell with you! :grr:

Note: I support the right of adults to look at images that depict other adults posed in ways they consented to. It is *not* however healthy - men who look at porn with bondage and depictions of agression are more likely to abuse and rape women. (Yes, I know there is a difference between correlation and causation and I know that even a causal relationship does not mean that every man who looks at such images will behave in unacceptable ways.)