News & Media
Spain rejects US-authored copyright laws
By J. DeVoy Julian Assange may have dealt a blow to the international fight against content piracy. Cables released by Wikileaks reveal that a copyright bill pending before the Spanish house of representatives was authored by the United States, with significant influence from Hollywood studios. The proposed legislation would have outlawed the operation of file-sharing sites and services within the country. But, alas, it is no more. From BoingBoing: While they might have been willing to vote for the new copyright law if they could at least pretend to have written it, Spain’s legislators balked at enacting legislation that had
The Modern Story of the Nativity
(and it doesn’t even bash christmas) [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GkHNNPM7pJA]
Advice to Law Students looking for a job — don't be a goddamned crybaby
Popehat has a bad-ass post on an “incident” at Syracuse University School of Law. The short version is this: Syracuse Law student Len Audaer published a blog satirizing his class, the administration, and public figures. From Popehat’s story. Somebody complained. Syracuse decided to appoint a “prosecutor” to investigate the blog and determine whether to bring formal charges against Audaer under the Syracuse discipline system. All of that — the fact that someone complained about satire, and that the school didn’t immediately reject the complaint — is appalling enough. But Syracuse, and specially appointed prosecutor Syracuse law professor Gregory Germain, are
Phillip Greaves' Arrest Warrant and Affidavit
By J. DeVoy Following up on Marc’s earlier coverage of Phillip Greaves’ arrest in Pueblo, Colo., on charges brought by Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd, we now have the arrest warrant and affidavit. This document sheds a little more light on how the case was developed, including the affiant’s communication with Greaves under an assumed name to obtain a copy of The Pedophile’s Guide to Love & Pleasure.
What goes around comes around, Mr. Assange
I support Julian Assange and his Wikileaks project. More transparency in government is a good thing, and it appears that Wikileaks was not conducting its document dumps willy-nilly. Wikileaks seems to have vetted the content with responsible journalism organizations (source), and it has done more good than harm. Those who call him a “terrorist” are either stupid, servile statists, or just politicians who are desperate to appear to be tough-on-albinos. That said, I agree that Assange might not be the most sympathetic boy in the world. Yeah, he’s egotistical. Yeah, he’s narcissistic. But, as Jessica Christensen said, “Assange may be
Charitable Satyriconistas
By Vaughn Greenwalt Keeping with the spirit of giving this Christmas holiday season, we at The Legal Satyricon are giving back to the causes we support. It is our hope that you, our readers, will also give back in any way you can. If you haven’t tucked one of those long-shaped cards (that every kid knows has money in it) under the shedding pine of an organization yet, here are some ideas from yours truly: Tatiana Von Tauber supports the Young Survival Coalition Savannah and is a driving force behind The Art Cure project. THE Marc Randazza will be donating
First Amendment Alert! Author arrested for writing a book
I’m the first to admit that Phillip Greaves is not the most sympathetic figure in America. Greaves wrote “The Pedophile’s Guide,” which was originally for sale on Amazon.com before the online retailer bowed to public pressure and pulled the book from its online shelves. I don’t necessarily have a problem with that. But, I have a big problem with today’s developments. The Orlando Sentinel reports that Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd had Mr. Greaves arrested in Pueblo, Colorado on obscenity charges. Lets remember that Grady Judd’s jurisdiction is home to meth labs, cops who diddle children, and (given the inbred
Brit plan to "protect the children" by blocking porn
THE UK Government is to combat the early sexualization of children by blocking internet pornography unless parents request it, it was revealed today. The move is intended to ensure that children are not exposed to sex as a routine by-product of the internet. It follows warnings about the hidden damage being done to children by sex sites. The biggest broadband providers, including BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, are being called to a meeting next month by Ed Vaizey, the communications minister, and will be asked to change how pornography gets into homes. Instead of using parental controls to stop access
Shock study: Increased availability of child porn results in lower rates of child abuse
By J. DeVoy A new study from the Czech Republic claims that the availability of child pornography has led to lower rates of child abuse. This result allegedly is consistent with similar observations in Denmark, Germany, Finland, Sweden and the USA. Here’s the research’s crux: The findings support the theory that potential sexual offenders use child pornography as a substitute for sex crimes against children. While the authors do not approve of the use of real children in the production or distribution of child pornography, they say that artificially produced materials might serve a purpose. The inference to be drawn
Increasing the tax base
This editorial calls for the elimination of the charitable giving deduction. He says that the mortgage deduction is firmly in place, given the current housing market. I disagree. It would be a great time to yank that absurd deduction – even when I owned a house, I thought it was absurd that since I was wealthy enough to own my house, I got my living expenses subsidized by the poors who lived in the apartments down the street. While we’re discussing widening the tax base, perhaps it is time to end the deduction for cult-meeting houses, child-rape institutions, and shrines
Amazon Censoring Kindle Title List
by Charles Platt After Amazon caved in and removed _The Pedophile’s Guide to Love and Pleasure_, other titles with erotic content are now being targeted. The currently uncertain situation is summarized here.
Likely Backlash Against Assange’s Self-Righteous Crusade
by Charles Platt I’m getting an uneasy feeling when I watch Julian Assange using pretentious phrases such as “my philosophy” and “my work.” (See his latest interview, here.) It’s the same feeling I had when I saw the World Trade Center going down. A feeling that I am watching a golden opportunity for people in power to take away some of my freedoms. Assange’s self-righteous crusade is sufficiently defiant, and is being done in such a pompous style, some kind of retaliation seems inevitable. Already the UN is on record as wanting to “harmonize” efforts to regulate the Internet, in
Not wanting to do doc review called "immature" by "consultant" – follow the money and smell the bullshit
The ABA reports on Ann Israel, a “career consultant” who scolded a Yale Law graduate as “very immature” for wanting to know how to escape from document review purgatory. (source) Here is his question: I’m a Yale Law grad winding up a federal clerkship in a small legal market. I had a horrendous experience with document review a few summers ago, and my goal is to avoid it at all costs. Do you think I can use my credentials as leverage for avoiding this work as a condition of employment? Alternatively, if I show the partners at the firm that
Big Win for Common Sense and EFF
The Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed common sense this week. In U.S. v. Warshak, the Sixth Circuit ruled the government must obtain a search warrant prior to a search and seizure of our emails stored by email providers. The Sixth Circuit decision closely followed arguments of EFF in its amicus brief, holding that email shares fundamental similarities with traditional forms of communication such as postal mail and telephone calls and that it would “defy common sense to afford emails lesser Fourth Amendment protection.” The Court went on to state: “…It follows that email requires strong protection under the Fourth
Legislation banning "crush" videos signed into law
By J. DeVoy Ever the free speech patriot, president Obama signed the Animal Crush Video Prohibition Act of 2010 (ACVPA) into law earlier this month. The bill, which labels crush videos as “obscene,” contains a maximum penalty of seven years’ imprisonment for violating its provisions. (full text here.) Here’s the relevant portion of the new law, 48 U.S.C. § 18: (a) Definition- In this section the term ‘animal crush video’ means any photograph, motion-picture film, video or digital recording, or electronic image that– (1) depicts actual conduct in which 1 or more living non-human mammals, birds, reptiles, or amphibians is
McDonald's sued for enticing children to eat poison while their dumbass parents stand by and watch
By Randazza The LA Times reports: The Center for Science in the Public Interest has filed a lawsuit against McDonald’s Corp., claiming that the company’s meals with toys unfairly entice children into eating food that can do them harm. (source) Here’s the thing. I agree. I agree that McDonald’s is rat dung. I agree that no human should consume that crap, unless that human is as hung over as a whore on the sixth of May in Nogales. (In which case, Mickey D’s and a vicodin is just what the doctor ordered). Short of that, any person who has too
'We operate on the principle that it's much more effective to detect the would-be terrorist than try to find his bomb."
Israelis are neither the servile fucking pussies that Americans are, nor are they brain dead morons trying to detect the last bomb. (source) Aside from the whole neo-apartheid thing, Israel seems like a pretty nice place to live.
Nothing can hurt a Marine – except Teh Ghey
General James Amos, the commandant of the Marine Corps said that allowing gays to openly serve in the military would “pose a distraction” and cause more battlefield casualties. (source) Huh? Seriously? Does this guy think that a gay soldier is going to be hiding behind a wall, shells exploding all around, and his buddy is going to rip off his helmet and say “I just HAVE to do something about your hair?” What bizarre stereotype is this “distraction theory” based upon? In an interview with newspaper and wire service reporters at the Pentagon, Amos was vague when pressed to clarify
Introducing Vaughn Greenwalt
Faithful Satyricon Readers: I come to you after arriving entirely overdressed (and Moto Guzzi-less) for an interview with Marc in San Diego. My name is Vaughn Greenwalt, and I am apparently the latest victim to become a Satryiconista. My experience with the internet consists mostly of porn but I occasionally peruse Drudge Report, Politico, The Huffington Post, POPEHAT, Andrew Sullivan, S.E. Cupp, and this gem of a site. My perspective is forged in the fires of nightly viewings of both Rachel Maddow and Bill O’Reilly. (I usually agree with both- figure that out) I walk around looking for the perfect