1. Neighborliness and tolerance? Not in my yard
2. Dominatrix Gets a Political Beating
3. Feds seek to limit sexual images online
4. Alleged dominatrix's lawyer questions basis for search warrant
5. Sadistic Sex "Master" Sentenced in Brooklyn Federal Court
6. Why put all your Eggs in one Basket?
7. Ex-trooper gets jail in nude photos case
Neighborliness and tolerance? Not in my yard
By Scott Herhold
San Jose Mercury News
September 16, 2007
Ladies and gentlemen, those of you who maintain your fences and those of
you who don't, welcome to the third annual NIMBY awards, a celebration of
the vast richness brought to our lives by the ethic of
not-in-my-back-yard.
In Silicon Valley, we celebrate ingenuity and that includes stopping
something cold, particularly when property values are jeopardized. What's
the common good compared with a nice, quiet place to cook a steak and down
a martini? Who wants to slow for the tiresome old folks crossing the
street at rush hour?
"The general trend is that people are highly informed, and there's little
hesitation for them to take action when they see a proposed development
they regard as negative," says Lorne Daniel, a consultant who helps manage
the Web site Nimbyadvisor.com. "Almost any development can be seen as
negative by someone."
BEST ANIMATED FEATURE: In February, it was revealed that the online
pornographic company Kink.com. was filming bondage flicks inside San
Francisco's old state armory building, which it had purchased. Fifty
neighbors in the Mission District went berserk, picketing the armory to
stop it. They didn't succeed. What we like is how passionately they worked
to stop something they couldn't even see – unless, of course, they checked
online later.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.mercurynews.com/scottherhold/ci_6910183
To respond, write to: the author at sherhold@mercurynews.com or the
editors at letters@mercurynews.com
Dominatrix Gets a Political Beating
by Rob Capriccioso
Radar Online
September 14, 2007
Remember Leola McConnell, the professional dominatrix who in 2006 claimed
publicly that she had "watched George W. Bush enthusiastically and
expertly perform a homosexual act on another man, one Victor Ashe" in the
mid-1980s? (Hey, what straight guy didn't give a bro job or three in the
'80s?) That's Ashe, Bush's college roommate at Yale who was appointed by
the president to be U.S. ambassador to Poland in 2004.
McConnell, typically press shy, told Radar this period of her life has
been filled with "grief." Financial negotiations with Larry Flynt to tell
her story in the pages of Hustler recently fell through. Instead, she's
worked long hours to self-publish her exploits in a series of books called
Lustful Utterances. She's also pushed her body to the limit so she can
compete in bodybuilding competitions, a pastime she's grown increasingly
fond of.
If there's one thing McConnell wants to be clear on, despite her recent
politically induced setbacks, it's that she is not weak. "I don't want to
be a man, just stronger than one," she tells us. "My biceps are
15-and-a-quarter inches."
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.radaronline.com/exclusives/2007/09/george-w-bush-gay-leola-mcconnell-dominatrix-gets-a-political-beating.php
To respond, write to: feedback@radaronline or comment at
bottom of article
Feds seek to limit sexual images online
by Heather Cassell
Bay Area Reporter (Bay area, California)
September 13, 2007
A proposed amendment to a federal recordkeeping law could force adult
social networking Web sites and other Internet sites to gather and
maintain users' identification.
Civil liberties organizations have slammed the proposal, and have
submitted comments to the U.S. Department of Justice on behalf of adult
social networking and adult entertainment Web sites that could be severely
crippled by the amendment to the federal labeling and recordkeeping law.
Public comment about the new rules and regulations to Section 2257 of the
recordkeeping law closed September 10. The new regulations are a product
of the Adam Walsh Child Protection and Safety Act of 2006, which is
designed to prevent sexual and other violent crimes against children, and
regulate sexually explicit digital images online.
According to Diane Duke, executive director of the Free Speech Coalition
in Canoga Park, California, the Justice Department could take up to eight
months to process public comments about the proposal before issuing the
new regulations. After the Justice Department issues the new requirements
businesses will have 30 days to comply.
Duke told the B.A.R. that the Free Speech Coalition would file a lawsuit
seeking an injunction if changes aren't made to the regulations to protect
individuals' rights.
The regulations require secondary producers, such as dating and social
networking Web sites, to gather and maintain personal information from
every user who posts a "sexually explicit" photo, according to NGLTF.
Civil liberties organizations stated that the language in the amendment
lacks clarity about how personal information, which would be subject to
investigation without probable cause or warrants, could be used by the
federal government and maintain the regulations violate individuals'
rights to privacy and free speech and causes concerns about security.
"The 2257 regulations seem to be sweeping with a much broader brush, using
bureaucracy to curtail sexual images," said Susan Wright, media
spokeswoman for the National Coalition for Sexual Freedom in Baltimore,
which is aggressively working against the regulations and encouraging BDSM
and polyamorous communities to join the Free Speech Coalition, which also
submitted public comments to the Justice Department.
According to Wright, the regulations could have an adverse effect on
sexual education Web sites. She told the B.A.R. that she's already seen
self-censorship happen with BDSM Web sites pulling images. She also
believes that the regulations could be more insidious than just including
social networking Web sites, and that chat groups and personal e-mail
conversations could be included.
The pressure, according to Wright, could lead to some networks and Web
sites closing down, particularly if the groups running them are nonprofit
organizations that can't afford to operate as a "primary" source for the
images.
The regulations call for stiff penalties, including up to five years
imprisonment if businesses don't comply.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.ebar.com/news/article.php?sec=news&article=2176
To respond, write to: the author at h.cassell@ebar.com or the
editors at news@ebar.com
Alleged dominatrix's lawyer questions basis for search warrant
by Rob Ryser
The Journal News (Lower Hudson area, NY)
September 11, 2007
BEDFORD – Had the detective who searched the home of an alleged dominatrix
listened to the entire tape an undercover cop made during a sting instead
of a few select minutes, the detective would have realized there was no
case for prostitution, a defense lawyer argued yesterday at a pre-trial
hearing in Town Court.
"Did you hear her say that she did not want to engage in any illegal
activity?" attorney George Galgano Jr. asked Bedford Detective Michael
Roche. "In fact, didn't she say that she moved to New York because the
laws were clearer here and she did not want to violate the law?"
The detective said he heard only a few excerpts played back to him where
suspect Sandra Chemero offered to stimulate the undercover cop with toys.
Yet those excerpts, combined with anonymous tips and a Web site
advertising kinky sex services in the suspect's rented Bedford Hills
farmhouse, was enough evidence to obtain the search warrant, Roche
testified.
The cross-examination by Chemero's attorney was an effort to show there
was little legal basis for the search warrant, which resulted in Chemero's
arrest on misdemeanor prostitution and weapons charges in February.
During the hearing, Galgano suggested that the taped conversation between
Chemero and undercover Westchester County Detective Steve Smith amounted
to 80 minutes of general talk about everything from the weather to the
psychology of male sexual stimulation.
Twice Chemero refused to perform oral sexual acts brought up by the
undercover cop, the defense attorney claimed.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.nyjournalnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070911/NEWS02/709110339
To respond, write to: the author at rryser@lohud.com or the
editors at letters@lohud.com or comment at bottom of article
Sadistic Sex "Master" Sentenced in Brooklyn Federal Court
by Elizabeth Stull
Brooklyn Daily Eagle
September 10, 2007
CADMAN PLAZA EAST – Glenn Marcus is a tall, square-shouldered man with
dark grey hair and a spreading bald spot. He stood quietly in Brooklyn
federal court Friday afternoon, his hands folded lightly behind his back,
while the judge sentenced him for brutalizing a younger woman named Jodi
in a sado-masochistic relationship gone wrong.
Marcus' parents and his pregnant daughter sat in the audience, each in a
different row, along with two of his friends and two of his female BDSM
partners. His mother, wearing black, shook her head violently whenever
someone said something unfavorable about him.
The 53-year-old defendant was convicted last spring by a federal jury for
his violent abuse of Jodi, with whom he'd had a consensual
sado-masochistic sexual relationship involving bondage and discipline. She
testified that he also forced her to publish humiliating pictures of her
injuries on his BDSM Web site, and then threatened to show them to her
family. After being involved with Marcus for a year, Jodi said she wanted
out – but he wouldn't let her go.
On Friday, the sentencing judge cited two specific violent incidents that
Jodi had tried to escape. In one, Marcus had strapped her to a wall after
she said she wanted to leave. In another, he suspended her in a basement
and slammed her head against a wall. At other times, the defendant tried
to sew Jodi's vagina closed, pierced her wrists with needles and burned
her feet.
"This case has had a compelling hold on me from the day it walked into my
office", defense attorney Maurice Sercarz told the court. "You can strip
away the bizarre sexual content – and put it aside. For me it has really
all been about personal responsibility and the degree to which the law
will intrude on personal relationships.
"Because the defendant has been found guilty, I think that this verdict
stands for a lack of responsibility of this defendant", Sercarz said. He
observed that the jury's decision imposes "an awesome responsibility" on
people involved in BDSM: "The danger exists that a woman, or more than one
woman, is going to change her mind".
Prosecuting attorney Pamela Chen argued Friday that Jodi accepted
responsibility for her role in the relationship by coming forward to
participate in the trial.
"He has never accepted responsibility", Chen argued. "He's arrogant. He
told the women what he was going to do and then assumed he could do it –
that's not how the law works".
The federal guidelines called for a sentence of 210 to 262 months – more
than 17 years in prison – for sex trafficking and labor law violations.
But the judge found that they did not apply in this case because of the
BDSM component: the guidelines did not contemplate an alternative
lifestyle of sex and violence intertwined, she said. Yet, recognizing the
defendant's "horrific offense", she ordered him to serve a nine-year
sentence plus five years probation, with mental health counseling, and to
pay $54,000 restitution. She also forbade Marcus to access pornography on
the Internet, a restriction his defense attorney said he would
investigate.
The judge declined to release Marcus to his family, perhaps swayed by the
prosecution's concern that his vocal supporters would prevent him from
returning to court. They had entered the courthouse on Friday wearing
"Jodi Lied" pins that they removed at the defense attorney's request.
As the judge pronounced sentence, one of Marcus' "sex slaves" keened
forward in the front row, head in her hands. "No!" She wailed. "She's a
worse danger than he'll ever be".
"I'm perfectly willing to believe he did those things – they were
consensual", said Susan, 35, who has been one of Marcus' submissive BDSM
partners since 2003. She told reporters outside the courthouse that Jodi
lied so that the government would forgive her multiple parking tickets.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.brooklyneagle.com/categories/category.php?category_id=4&id=15327
To respond, write to: the author at court@brooklyneagle.com or the
editors at brooklyneagle@att.net
Why put all your Eggs in one Basket?
by Marwa Rakha
The American Chronicle
September 8, 2007
Many a time have I written about relationships; our feminine mazes that
confuse men and the masculine traps that capture our hearts. This is still
by far the most difficult article I have ever written. I am about to
advocate something that I have never believed in. Actually, I am on the
verge of stabbing a deeply rooted belief in our multi-layered culture. The
same girl that, given a chance, would have poisoned every man or woman who
accepted getting into an open relationship – that very same girl – is
about to cross out monogamous relationships and validate having multiple
partners. To save face, I will refer to monogamy as "vertical
relationships", and "horizontal relationships" are to be synonymous with
polygamy – I am still having psychological barriers with the word!
Let me start by defining the two terms. Vertical relationships mean that
you are in a relationship with one person whom you get to know,
understand, appreciate, and love by time. This is a type of relationships
that involves a lot of trust, dependability, possessiveness, and depth. If
you are in a vertical relationship, you invest deeply and seriously in the
relationship and in the partner – you put all your eggs in one basket, so
to speak. If that basket falls, your losses are countless. "Your eggs" in
horizontal relationships are randomly distributed in several baskets; you
do not place all your bets on one horse and your investments are
diversified to secure you from bankruptcy. Horizontal relationships are
neither fake nor superficial; they are just not deep enough to cause
serious damage should someone try to pull your tooth out.
Like my multiple careers, I began juggling multiple partners. I have
always complained of the scarcity of good men, yet I found myself
attracted to four men at the same time. They have nothing in common but
me. I have grown to like them as individuals and to appreciate what each
one brings into my life. The intensity that used to ruin my previous
vertical relationships is now working in favor of my horizontal
relationships. To the four, I am never too available, too focused, too
critical, or too demanding simply because what one man lacks the other
fulfills and I feel loved and cared for all the time. Moreover, when one
man slouches, instead of reprimanding him, as I used to, I would just give
more room for the other three to fill in the void that was left behind –
and there is room for more.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.americanchronicle.com/articles/viewArticle.asp?articleID=37100
To respond, write to: the author at marwarakha@hotmail.com or the
editors at editor@amchron.com
Ex-trooper gets jail in nude photos case
Associated Press report
via The Washington Observer Reporter (Pennsylvania)
September 7, 2007
ALLENTOWN – A former state trooper pleaded guilty Thursday to posting nude
photos of his ex-wife on the Internet and was sentenced to three to 12
months in county jail.
Luke J. Heller, 37, pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor harassment charge.
Heller was suspended without pay last year after he was charged with
putting his ex-wife's photographs, occupation and date of birth on a Web
site featuring bondage and sadomasochism. The pictures were accompanied by
a solicitation for people to contact her to engage in violent sex acts.
Heller, who worked for the state police for 14 years and lived in Lower
Macungie Township near Allentown, had pleaded guilty to the same charge
earlier this year. But Lehigh County Judge Robert Steinberg threw out the
plea and ordered a trial after learning that Heller had continued to deny
his actions.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.observer-reporter.com/OR/StoryAP/09_07_TROOPER_PHOTOS
To respond, go to:
http://www.formassembly.com/forms/37797
HOW TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Feedback letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of
alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging, or polyamory. You can
help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types
of practices. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.
Generally, for a letter to be published, it's important to include your
name (or first initial, last name), city and daytime phone (for
verification only). For more information, see:
https://ncsfreedom.org/media/writelettertoeditor.htm
Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM,
swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org. Comments to the editor of
this Update may be sent to keith@ncsfreedom.org.
###
A project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) is a national organization
committed to altering the political, legal, and social environment in the
U.S. in order to guarantee equal rights for consenting adults who practice
forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the
rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory
communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual
expression.
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
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