News & Media
Conclusion to Wisconsin facebook blackmail case
By J. DeVoy Today, a Wisconsin man who posed as a girl on social networking sites to obtain nude photos of more than 30 of his high school classmates, which he then used for blackmail, was sentenced to 15 years in prison. Anthony Stancl, 19, used these pictures to coerce his classmates to perform sexual acts with him. Stancl photographed these encounters as well, giving him further blackmail material. If his victims refused, Stancl threatened to release the photos to the public and other classmates. This is not Stancl’s first run-in with state authorities. In 2008, he was investigated for a bomb threat written on the wall of a bathroom stall. He followed this initial threat up by using an
Finally! Is explicit content coming to the iPhone?
By J. DeVoy From the Telegraph: Several developers have reported seeing a new category appearing in the drop-down menus of iTunes Connect, the platform they use to distribute apps through the App Store. Alongside standard categories, such as “entertainment”, “games” and “productivity”, is a new tag: “explicit”. Apple has not commented on the rumours, or confirmed whether or not it will be adding an explicit category to the App Store. Some developers are now reporting that this category has been removed from iTunes Connect lists The screenshot tells the story. This will be a step forward for Apple if it comes to fruition. Recently, the company caused a small uproar for pulling an adult application from its iTunes Store. Moreover, this
NY Times releases Paterson exposé
By. J. DeVoy A little over a week ago I mentioned that New York Governor David Paterson was shaking in his boots regarding a then-unpublished piece that may end his political career. As Ferdinand Bardamu speculated, the fact that Paterson handled it so poorly virtually assured that a forgivable infraction would become fatal. Yesterday, the New York Times opened the floodgates. One of Paterson’s aides, David W. Johnson, had an altercation with a woman who claims she was later harassed by state police and then called by Paterson, leading to her dropping the case. Paterson, heeding the classic advice of deny and counter-accuse, offered a different view: Through a spokesman, Mr. Paterson said the call actually took place the day
Is Higher Education Overrated?
This Time Magazine article makes a compelling case that it might be.
Time for a Revolt against the TSA
First the government says that we need more people who speak Arabic. Then, the TSA handcuffs and detains a student for carrying Arabic flashcards into an airport.Kids’ pillows are a threat to national security, as is Play Doh.TSA agents force a disabled four year old boy’s parents to remove his leg braces before he can pass through security. Then, to add insult to that injury, demand that the poor kid hobble through the metal detector unassisted. When the dad got upset, the reaction of the local flunky was that he needed to “calm down and enjoy his vacation.” None of this idiocy makes us safer. The TSA operates on the premise that terrorists are as stupid and inflexible as the
Who dates porn actresses, anyway?
By J. DeVoy Everyone has seen perfectly formed, almost impossibly figured adult actresses on the screen – or more likely in flash video frames on computer screens – but few know about their lives off the set. Porn stars do have public lives at events like the AVN and Xbiz awards, and Adult Entertainment Expo, but these seem more like extensions of their profession than an unvarnished view of them as people. Details magazine recently ran a revealing piece about relationships between adult actresses and their husbands who work outside the industry. On the whole, these seem like normal middle-class guys, including a driver, a bouncer and a graphic designer. The relationships appear healthy as well, with husbands and boyfriends
How to get yourself off: A class at Michigan Law?
It gets awfully cold in Ann Arbor, Michigan this time of year. Our sources report that a man, most likely a homeless vagrant, has been bopping his baloney in the Michigan Law Library. Well, christ, with the temperature hovering around -3 fahrenheit, a poor guy’s wiener might just go all brittle and shatter if he did it the old fashioned way — hiding in the bushes outside while murmuring “free candy… freeeee candy.” Accordingly, our vagrant-du-jour has decided to engage in his practice of the fapping arts in the hallowed halls of the Michigan Law School library. “I am not positive that it was a homeless guy,” said a source familiar with the incident who asked not to be named
Banning the use of "retarded" is, well, you know…
By J. DeVoy A recent Washington Post piece by Christopher Fairman takes up the looming controversy over the word “retard” and all its forms. For good or for ill, “retard” and all its derivatives have come into such common use that public awareness is needed to stomp out its casual, easily uttered nature. The question is whether this self-censorship proposed by disability advocacy groups is desirable. Invariably, negative connotations materialize around whatever new word is used; “idiot” becomes an insult and gives way to “retardation,” which in turn suffers the same fate, leading to “intellectual disability.” This illustrates one of the recurring follies of speech restriction: While there may be another word to use, a negative connotation eventually is found.
Vote for Photography Is Not a Crime
Photography is Not a Crime is one of the most compelling publications in the blogosphere. Its editor, Carlos Miller, was arrested for exercising his First Amendment right to photograph police officers in a public place. He turned that experience into a one-man crusade to push back against overreaching law enforcement. He is not a lawyer, but he successfully defended himself in an appeal of his case, and he continues to serve as a source of both information and inspiration. Miller is currently running in 6th Place in the Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel “Best of Blogs” awards. In a tribute to how goddamned stupid Flori-duh is, he’s running behind “The Daily Cute” and “Grrl Grrrl – Adventures of a Girl on the
Sometimes violence is the answer – Epic Beard Man FTW!
How to become a world famous douchebag/punk. Step One: Pick a fight with an old man Step Two: After the old man walks away, continue to pick a fight with him Step Three: Get smacked down like the punk ass you are Step Four: Get eaten by the Internet Hate Machine [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MLBJnQ4l9t4] If you watch carefully, you can see that Epic Beard Man is wearing a shirt that says “I AM A MOTHERFUCKER.” In nature, poison frogs have evolved bright colors so that animals know not to eat them. Those that fail to heed the warning are naturally selected out of the gene pool. Similarly, if you see an old man who seems like easy prey, and you fail to
IOC Uses DMCA to Suppress Luge Accident Video
by Jason Fischer The opening day of the 2010 Winter Olympics was marked with tragedy when 21-year-old Georgian luger, Nodar Kumaritashvili, was involved in a fatal crash during a training run. The horrific event dampened the spirit of the international competition and colored the mood at the opening ceremonies later that night. As anyone would expect, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) sprung into action, responding to the accident with a multi-point plan: Shut down the luge track to prevent any more deaths… check. Conduct an internal investigation… check. Let an “independent” authority do its own investigation… check. Make immediate modifications to the luge track to stop future accidents… check. Make a press release, expressing regret, but denying all responsibility… check.
Tampa psychologist allegedly bills insurer for banging patient
By J. DeVoy In a quintessentially Floridian story, Dr. Daniel R. Lerom is being sued by his former patient and lover over their tryst. The plaintiff, known only as HK in the filing-and referred to as RHL, red hot lover, by Lerom-even ended her engagement to pursue the good doctor. According to the plaintiff’s filings, Lerom billed their romps to Blue Cross Blue Shield as “sessions.” In addition to meeting in hotel rooms and Lerom’s office, HK gave him a key to facilitate their meetings in her Lakeland home. And, of course, as in any modern love saga, there are the text messages Lerom sent his patient: “My body felt great all over after last night. “ “I wish you
Kenneth Starr from Pepperdine to Baylor
By J. DeVoy Kenneth Starr, current dean of Pepperdine University School of Law, has been named Baylor University’s new president. For Starr, originally from central Texas, this may be a natural move. Indeed, most of his career has been spent below the Mason-Dixon line. Starr earned his A.B. from George Washington University and J.D. from Duke, with a brief excursion to Rhode Island to earn his M.A. at Brown University. He then clerked for the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice Warren Berger. Starr served on the Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit before his tenure as Solicitor General under George H.W. Bush. There’s also that whole Clinton thing. The jump from
The cake is a lie
By J. DeVoy [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iserIaPGwuo&hl=en_US&fs=1&] Watching clips of Bridezillas is addicting. If anyone attended a wedding yesterday, consider the show a behind-the-scenes look at what led to those few hours of showmanship.
Man Jailed For Importing "Obscene" Manga
Recently, Christopher Handley, an anime/manga enthusiast was sentenced to jail for six months for importing manga containing cartoon depictions of underage girls engaging in sexual activities. He possessed no non-cartoon child pornography and his lolicon manga consisted of a “small percentage” of his anima/manga collections, which number in the thousands. Handley pleaded guilty to violating the Protect Act of 2003. He faced a possible prison term of fifteen years. If the dude has serious sexual desires for 10-year-old chicks, he needs help, not tossed in jail. There is a fine line between Lolita and a lot of these mangas. And this line determines whether one spends fifteen years in PITA prison for reading a comic book. A comic book that
IT COULD HAPPEN TO YOU!
Rep. Nancy Elliot (R-NH) explains why she opposes gay marriage. [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgDWAvLh0yo]
Weekend reading – Valentine’s Day ("VD") edition
By J. DeVoy As VD approaches, love is all around us. The international community has come together in Vancouver to indulge its holding-hands-and-singing-kumbaya fantasy of global cooperation, and betas everywhere are casting their lots with flowers, chocolates and fancy dinners to get women – any woman – to commit to them. Some of these items, however, may preserve your sanity. The Weekly Standard points out that dating sucks, offering commentary on various issues that have been raised previously on this blog. It’s a huge, sprawling piece at 12 pages, but well done – and written by a woman, no less, removing the stench of bitterness that would accompany male authorship of such an article. New York Gov. David Paterson sucks at
Corbin Fisher wins $990,000 Judgment Against eBay Pirate
Describing the case and the defendant’s conduct leading to the judgment. Copyright infringement is defined in Federal law, and it occurs in the unauthorized commercial use of another’s content. Statutory damages are available for certain types of infringement, giving rise to the judgment in this case. Read more…
Overheard on campus
By J. DeVoy “I cried a little bit. I honestly cried.” -Random Greenpeace worker with an abundance of facial piercings, describing her Avatar-induced depression. Don’t worry! She’s not alone: A user named Mike wrote on the fan Web site “Naviblue” that he contemplated suicide after seeing the movie. “Ever since I went to see ‘Avatar’ I have been depressed. Watching the wonderful world of Pandora and all the Na’vi made me want to be one of them. I can’t stop thinking about all the things that happened in the film and all of the tears and shivers I got from it,” Mike posted. “I even contemplate suicide thinking that if I do it I will be rebirthed in a world
Corbin Fisher Wins $990,000 Judgment Against Alleged Pirate
Discussing the detective work Randazza used to build his case and the judgment’s fairness, as Corbin Fisher reduced it 90% from the originally sought amount to reflect the defendant’s cooperation. Copyright infringement is defined in Federal law, and it occurs in the unauthorized commercial use of another’s content. Statutory damages are available for certain types of infringement, giving rise to the judgment in this case. Read more…
