1. Woman may sue over use of likeness
2. Man involved in bondage death due in court
3. Man Gets Life In Child Sex Assault Case
4. Dominatrix Takes Pity on Bear Stearns
5. How many's a crowd?
6. Judge Throws Book at Registered Sex Offender Convicted of Murder
7. Wedded to variety
8. Looking for some fetish footage?
9. Former 'swinger' party host pleads guilty to assault in Portsmouth
10. Dan Savage and The Sexies!
1. Woman may sue over use of likeness
2. Man involved in bondage death due in court
3. Man Gets Life In Child Sex Assault Case
4. Dominatrix Takes Pity on Bear Stearns
5. How many's a crowd?
6. Judge Throws Book at Registered Sex Offender Convicted of Murder
7. Wedded to variety
8. Looking for some fetish footage?
9. Former 'swinger' party host pleads guilty to assault in Portsmouth
10. Dan Savage and The Sexies!
NCSF Media Updates represent a sampling of recent stories printed in US
newspapers, magazines, and selected websites containing significant
mention of SM-leather-fetish, polyamory, or swing issues and topics.
These stories may be positive, negative, accurate, inaccurate – or
anywhere in between.
NCSF publishes the Updates to provide readers a comprehensive look at what
media outlets are writing about these topics. NCSF permits and encourages
readers to forward these Updates where appropriate.
Woman may sue over use of likeness
by Andrew Wolfe
Nashua Telegraph (New Hampshire)
March 30, 2008
CONCORD – A Hanover area woman who found herself listed on adult sex and
swinger Web sites can sue the companies under an "intellectual property"
exception to the federal Communications Decency Act, a judge has ruled.
In a highly technical, 40-page order issued Thursday, U.S. District Court
Judge Joseph Laplante threw out five of the woman's claims, but allowed
two to stand.
The woman sued FriendFinder Network, Inc., and Various, Inc., two
affiliated companies in Palo Alto, Calif., after someone had posted a
profile purporting to be her on the companies' Web sites, one of which
claims to be "the world's largest adult sex and swinger site."
The woman filed the suit anonymously, as a Jane Doe. Her lawyer, Ned
Whittington, of Hanover, declined to comment on the case Friday, saying he
didn't have her permission to talk about it.
A lawyer for the companies, Ira Rothken of Novato, Calif., said Laplante's
ruling "would have a chilling effect" on a wide variety of Internet
services and content providers, but added he expects the issues will be
further sorted out on appeal.
"It would lead to a devastating impact on e-commerce and therefore our
economy if this ruling were not clarified by the First Circuit to be more
protective of CDA immunity," Rothken said, referring to the federal
Communications Decency Act.
"We believe ultimately FriendFinder will prevail," Rothken said, but he
said he expects that the case ultimately will be decided by the First
Circuit Court of Appeals, regardless of which side wins in District Court.
Rothken also disputed a claim central to the woman's case. The woman's
suit states that she has been unable to identify the person who created
and posted the profile, as it was created from a public-access computer at
Dartmouth College.
"The local New Hampshire police department found the person who did it,
and he admitted it," Rothken said. The man admitted the nude photograph he
used in the profile was not, in fact, the woman, though it purported to
be, he added.
The woman charges the bogus profile – using her first name and postal zip
code as the username – was posted sometime in 2005 on
AdultFriendFinder.com, LesbianPersonals.com and
Swingers.AdultFriendFinder.com, unbeknownst to her.
The profile remained online for at least 15 months, until the woman
discovered it in September 2006, and persuaded the companies to take it
down, her suit states. Alternative versions of the profile continued to be
published on affiliated sites even after the original was taken down,
however, she charges.
The woman learned of the profile after hearing that people in the
community were gossiping about it, her suit states.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080329/NEWS02/518192915/-1/OPINION01
To respond, write to: the author at awolfe@nashuatelegraph.com or the
editors at letters@nashuatelegraph.com or comment at bottom of article
Man involved in bondage death due in court
by Thor Jourgensen
The Daily Item of Lynn (Lynn, Massachusetts)
March 30, 2008
LYNN – A Cape Cod man is slated to offer a plea or opt to stand trial next
week for his alleged role in the burial of a British man who suffocated
during a 2006 bondage tryst in a Lynn home.
Rhode Island Attorney General's spokeswoman Beryl Kenyon said Scott
Vincent has the option of entering a plea Monday in 6th District Court or
standing trial beginning April 4 for failing to report a burial.
Vincent pleaded innocent to that misdemeanor charge on March 9, 2007. He
is only one of a handful of people to be charged in the last century under
a law that had its origins in state efforts to keep residents from burying
dead loved ones on their property.
Susan Perkins, Vincent's attorney, declined to comment Thursday on his
upcoming court appearances.
"I'm trying to avoid a media circus," she said.
Vincent's name also appears in a wrongful death suit filed four months
after Adrian Exley suffocated in a full body rubber suit he voluntarily
donned as part of a gay sex bondage encounter with Vincent and Gary
LeBlanc.
Rhode Island's coroner determined Exley, 32, asphyxiated to death while
wearing the tight-fitting garment on April 23, 2006 – four days after he
traveled from England to Lynn to meet oil executive and Wolcott Road
resident LeBlanc after encountering the 48-year-old Lynn man on a gay
bondage Web site.
Police searched LeBlanc's home on June 22. He shot himself the following
morning in Claremont, N.H. According to the suit, information provided by
Vincent and details in LeBlanc's suicide note led police to discover
Exley's body the following week wrapped in a sleeping bag and buried in a
shallow grave.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.thedailyitemoflynn.com/articles/2008/03/29/news/news02.txt
To respond, write to: editpage@itemlive.com or comment at
bottom of article
Man Gets Life In Child Sex Assault Case
by Casey Knaupp
Tyler Morning Telegraph (Tyler, TX)
March 28, 2008
Jamie Pittman was sentenced to life in prison Thursday for his role in
running a "Mineola Swingers Club," where several young children were
forced to dance and perform sexual acts for an audience.
A Smith County jury convicted the 36-year-old Tyler man of aggravated
sexual assault of a child – causing two young siblings to have sex with
each other in 2004 – after four minutes of deliberation in 241st District
Judge Jack Skeen Jr.'s court. The jury sentenced him to the maximum
sentence and a $10,000 fine after two minutes of deliberation.
Pittman will be eligible for parole after serving 30 years in prison. He
has six more pending felony cases against him.
The victims in the case include three siblings, who at the time of the
outcries in 2005 were a 7-year-old girl, a 6-year-old boy and a 5-year-old
girl. The siblings' aunt, who was 6, was also forced to dance and have sex
with the other children.
All of the victims, as well as an older child, testified Thursday about
what the six defendants forced them to do and how they fed them drugs to
help them perform.
The girl testified that she was taught to do "sexual stuff" and would do
it with her nieces and nephew at the club while people watched. When asked
what type of clothing they would wear at the club, she said "Something
that you wouldn't see people out in public wearing." She said Pittman
would record them while they were on stage.
The boy, now 9, testified that in the kindergarten he went to, "they
taught us to rub dolls and stuff" and themselves. When shown a picture of
the club, he said he "would go up on stage and do bad stuff to my
sisters." He said the "silly pills" Pittman and Ms. Mayo would give them
would "make you want to do anything you want to do."
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.tylerpaper.com/article/20080328/NEWS08/803280332
To respond, write to: opinion@tylerpaper.com or comment at
bottom of article
Dominatrix Takes Pity on Bear Stearns
by Paula Schaap
HedgeFund.net
March 27, 2008
A New York-based dominatrix wants to do her part for the credit crunch:
she has offered $10 off her normal rates to all Bear Stearns employees who
may find themselves out on the street sometime soon.
Miss Victoria X posted the discount offer on her blog last week. She wrote
that the discount was the equivalent of what JPMorgan originally offered
for Bear, or $2 per share.
Former Masters of the Universe can choose from a number of scenarios
including, "domestic service training (useful in preparing for future job
as a janitor at Goldman Sachs)".
"I haven't had anyone contact me and say that they work at Bear Stearns
and they want to take a $10 discount", she said, "But I'm serious about
it".
The charitable dominatrix appeared to be angling to add to her
professional resume as witness another suggested scenario: "interrogation
roleplay (I am Coughlin Stoia and you are Bear Stearns. Helpful in
preparing for upcoming deposition)".
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.hedgefund.net/publicnews/default.aspx?story=8579
To respond, write to: the author at pschapp@hedgefund.net
How many's a crowd?
by Kristi Tousignant
Diamondback Online (University of Maryland)
March 26, 2008
Sophomore computer science major Seth Weinstein has two girlfriends: One
he sees during the school year, and the other when at home in Columbia.
But don't get him confused for a player or even a cheater – he's simply
polyamorous.
A growing relationship type among university students, polyamory is the
practice of intimately and openly dating several people at once. Different
from an open relationship, polyamory is not just about sex, nor is it
about playing the field, say students involved in the practice. Instead,
it's about caring for several people at the same time – just in different
ways.
"We are just trying to be open and honest about our ability to love more
than one person at a time," Marly Davidson, an event organizer for the
Chesapeake Polyamory Network, said.
A romantic concept that has been around since the '80s, polyamory is now
making its way into the public eye more so than in past generations. For
example, episodes of Oprah, Montel and The Tyra Banks Show have been
dedicated to the subject, and countless polyamorous organizations have
popped up across the Internet, with many, such as Loving More and Poly
Living, holding conferences every year.
Though Davidson said the poly-community at CPN consists of adults from 30-
to 70-years-old, more and more members of the younger generation are
discovering this relationship alternative.
"We run into a lot of people, younger people, thinking for themselves, and
they understand that they have lots of options," Davidson said. "The whole
idea of one person meeting all of their needs for rest of their lives is
very silly. It's not realistic."
Weinstein felt polyamory functions well for the college-age generation,
and was content with balancing two relationships at one time. He has been
dating girlfriend C.J. Rock, a junior lesbian, gay, bisexual and
transgender studies and Spanish major, for about seven months after their
friendship blossomed over summer conversations online.
Rock, however, is always on the go because of her double major, and
encouraged Weinstein to pursue other relationships, fearing that she could
not always fit him into her tight schedule.
"I'm so busy," Rock said. "I kind of feel bad not giving the person enough
attention as they deserve. In polyamory, it's easier for the person to get
the attention they need when I can't provide it."
So when Weinstein met Adrienne Moser at a party during Thanksgiving break,
he felt free to start a relationship with her.
Weinstein now dates Rock while at school and sees Moser when at home,
creating a perfect situation that all three parties are open and fine
with.
"In a traditional relationship, I would have been put in a difficult
situation when I met Adrienne," Weinstein said. "I was attracted to her
and I can't do anything about that. I'm a sophomore. I can date a lot of
people and see who interests me."
Although the typical relationship would see such openness as a form of
double-dipping, Davidson says jealousy is often a symptom of a
poorly-functioning relationship. Openly dating several people eliminates
that problem, she added.
And for Weinstein, Moser and Rock, the situation mostly works, they said.
"I pretty much can do what I'm used to doing," Moser said. "If I meet
someone, I don't have to be like 'Oh my God, will my boyfriend not like me
talking to this guy?' I am able to not have to worry about the jealousy
factor."
As with any relationship, things are not always perfect, Rock said, and
conflicts are bound to come up with multiple people. To avoid situations
like these, the polyamorist mantra is communication, with honesty between
all parties functioning as the lifeline to the relationships, Rock added.
"It forces an honesty that people don't always bring to a relationship,"
she said. "You have to talk about things"
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://media.www.diamondbackonline.com/media/storage/paper873/news/2008/03/26/News/How-Manys.A.Crowd-3283784.shtml
To respond, write to: the author at tousignantdbk@gmail.com or the
editors at opinion@dbk.umd.edu or comment at bottom of article
Judge Throws Book at Registered Sex Offender Convicted of Murder
by Laura Gray
WKBW TV (Buffalo, NY)
March 19, 2008
…40 year old Kevin Baker received the maximum – 20 years in prison for
manslaughter after accepting a plea deal. "He was tremendously remorseful.
He couldn't imagine how he could have done such a thing and taken this
women from her family." says Baker's attorney Joseph Terranova.
Baker admitted to calling an escort service October 13th. 24 year old
Jillian Flagg showed up at his North Street apartment. Baker attacked her,
tied her up and stuffed underwear in her mouth, suffocating her. "My
comment in sentencing is both were involved in risky business. Ms. Flag
went to his apartment in expectation of engaging in some bondage
activity." says Terranova.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.wkbw.com/news/local/16828566.html
To respond, go to:
http://www.wkbw.com/about/contact/7518162.html
Wedded to variety
by Paige Wisner
Chicago Sun-Times
March 18, 2008
When Tilda Swinton won the best supporting actress Oscar for "Michael
Clayton," there wasn't too much talk about what designer she was wearing.
But people were curious about her date.
Swinton, 47, brought along 29-year-old Sandro Kopp, an actor and artist
she met while filming "The Chronicles of Narnia."
Nowhere in sight was playwright John Byrne, 67, her husband and father of
her twins.
Both men know about each other. And both are OK with it.
You might call the arrangement "awfully messy." Or you might call it by
its proper name: polyamory. That's the practice of having more than one
loving, intimate relationship at a time with the full knowledge and
consent of everyone involved.
"Tilda's relationship situation is exactly like the relationships of many
people I know," says polyamory activist Anita Wagner. "Except for the fame
and money."
Some people have the capacity to love more than one person, and somehow
they have the energy to work at more than one committed relationship, too.
Open marriages probably have been around as long as marriage.
It's not a higher love, says Cunning Minx, an Oak Park polyamorist who
hosts a weekly podcast at http://polyweekly.libsyn.com/. Poly people get
jealous just like everyone else. "It's not more evolved, it's just a
little more complicated," she says. "People do this because it's an
orientation. For some, it's a lifestyle choice."
Like most polyamorists, Minx uses a pseudonym because there's no legally
protected status. In the poly community, especially in Chicago, people try
to keep things quiet.
"You can be fired for it, and your kids can be taken away," Minx says. "We
have a saying: In a divorce hearing, the first person to call the other
person 'poly' gets the kids."
A recent poll on Oprah.com found 7 percent of women say they have an open
marriage, while 14 percent of men do.
"Chicago is probably the least well-organized of the major cities in terms
of having an active and well-organized polyamory community," Wagner says.
"This doesn't mean that poly people don't exist, though."
A few other famous "responsible non-monogamists":
Diego Rivera tolerated wife Frida Kahlo's relationships with other men and
women (including Leon Trotsky).
Amelia Earhart had a prenuptial agreement that "I shall not hold you to
any midaevil [sic] code of faithfulness."
Billionaire Warren Buffett was happily married to his wife until she died
in 2004. He also had a long-term relationship with mistress Astrid Menks.
They sent out Christmas cards signed, "Warren, Susie and Astrid."
After Jada Pinkett Smith was interviewed by Britain's Daily Mail,
polyamorists rallied behind her marriage. "In our marriage vows, we didn't
say 'forsaking all others,'" said Smith in the interview. "The vow that we
made was that you will never hear that I did something after the fact.
"If it came down to it, then one can say to the other, 'Look, I need to
have sex with somebody. I'm not going to if you don't approve of it — but
please approve of it."
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.suntimes.com/lifestyles/847804,CST-FTR-extreme18.article
To respond, write to: the author at pwiser@suntimes.com or the
editors at letters@suntimes.com or comment at bottom of article
Looking for some fetish footage?
by Bashirah Muttalib (opinion column)
Variety
March 18, 2008
Looking for some fetish footage for your next police drama, sci-fi,
horror, vampire film or reality TV show?
The Hollywood Bondage Ball, produced by Matthew Grim and Courtney,
creators of Club Dungeon and Sexopolis, is opening its doors for film and
TV rights to shoot onstage performances and crowd shots.
"We've come to realize no other night in Hollywood is quite like this,"
said Grim, adding they don't usually allow footage to be shot of the stage
and their guests. "We combine the raw edge of the fetish underground," he
said, "dark burlesque, cyberpunk go-go dancers, bizarre displays of
suspended human art… with huge mainstream crowds and celebrity guests."
Michael Gross, producer of pics "Ghostbusters 2," "Beethoven" and "Dave,"
said the ball is "cool, like going to a sci-fi convention with an emphasis
on sex instead of Wookiees."
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117982647.html?categoryid=8&cs=1
To respond, write to: the author at bashirah.muttalib@variety.com or the
editors at tim.grey@variety.com
Former 'swinger' party host pleads guilty to assault in Portsmouth
by Charles McMahon
Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover, NH)
March 12, 2008
PORTSMOUTH – The man involved in the Port City "swingers" parties pleaded
guilty on Tuesday to assaulting one of his tenants at his Cutts Street
triplex last year.
Joseph Ranguette,72, of 42 Cutts St., pleaded guilty to a Class A
misdemeanor charge of simple assault in Portsmouth District Court.
His guilty plea affirms that on Jan. 12, 2007, he hit one of his tenants
during a dispute sparked by recent media attention to the property due to
the hosting of biweekly sex parties.
The assault came shortly after newspaper articles revealed swinger parties
were occurring at the Cutts Street residence, despite having been asked by
city officials to curtail the club operations.
Ranguette owns the apartments on either side of the former Middle Door
Swingers Club, which had been in operation for more than 15 years.
The city had been monitoring activities at the residence which had been
advertised on the Internet as a place "for couples and singles to explore
themselves, unleash their passions, discover their sensuality, try
something new, watch others enjoy and take part."
City officials had asked that the activity stop because it didn't comply
with zoning ordinances since the home is not being used as a residence.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.fosters.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080312/GJNEWS_01/736091511/-1/FOSNEWS
To respond, write to: the author at cmcmahon@fosters.com or the
editors at letters@fosters.com
Dan Savage and The Sexies!
by Dan Savage (advice and opinion)
via The Metro Times (Detroit, MI)
March 4, 2008
Now, for a little sex-positive journalism: Recently, the sex-negative
journalism of a certain teeveenewz reporter – Kandiss Crone of WLBT News
in Jackson, Mississippi – annoyed me so much that I devoted an entire
column to slapping Crone around. I even urged my readers to send Crone
angry e-mails and, er, used sex toys. Perhaps I went a little overboard.
Crone isn't the only "journalist" out there doing idiotic, sex-negative
work. Fact is, most of what gets written and published about sex is
negative and sensationalistic.
This sad state of affairs inspired the National Coalition for Sexual
Freedom, the Center for Sex & Culture, Babeland, and journalist Miriam
Axel-Lute to launch the Sex-Positive Journalism Awards. By drawing
attention to good, sex-positive reporting, the "Sexies" hope to promote
fair, accurate, and nonsensationalized coverage of sexual topics.
"The fact that sex-positive journalism is so rare means we need the help
of all of you readers out there to help us turn up those gems of good,
objective, sex-positive reporting," says Axel-Lute. "Especially in
mainstream sources."
I'm proud to have been asked to serve as a judge for the first annual
Sex-Positive Journalism Awards. The deadline for submissions for the first
annual "Sexies" is March 23, 2008. (The piece must have been published
during 2007.) Anyone can submit a piece for consideration at the "Sexies"
Web site: www.sexies.org.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.metrotimes.com/editorial/story.asp?id=12528
To respond, write to: mail@savagelove.net
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
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org