obscenity

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2 Live Crew Didn't Make Kagan 'So Horny'

Supreme Court nominee argued against banning 'Nasty' rap album

(Newser) - The search through Elena Kagan's work history has yielded an amusing nugget: She went to bat for notoriously sexual rap group 2 Live Crew. In a 1990 brief for the RIAA when she was an associate at a DC law firm, Kagan argued As Nasty as They Wanna Be "...

ACLU Defends Cussing at Cops

Lawsuits fault police for arresting potty mouths

(Newser) - Swearing is legal, but some institutions—including Pennsylvania law enforcement agencies—need a reminder, the ACLU tells the Philadelphia Inquirer . The organization is suing on behalf of two Pennsylvanians who were arrested and charged with scofflaw offenses for swearing in public; one of them called a police officer a "...

Museum Yanks Nude Photo of Tween Brooke

Pic may violate child porn laws in Britain

(Newser) - The Tate Modern has yanked a nude photo of a young Brooke Shields from an exhibit following a visit by police investigating whether the picture violates child pornography laws in Britain. The controversial photo by New York artist Richard Prince shows a heavily made-up 10-year-old Shields standing naked in a...

Fox Anchor Apologizes to Chickens Everywhere

Ernie Anastos sorry for laying on-air egg

(Newser) - The Fox anchor who stirred up a fricassé when he almost suggested a co-worker go pluck a chicken has apologized for his on-air bleep, reports AP. "I misspoke," said veteran New York broadcaster Ernie Anastos. "I apologize for my remarks to anyone who may have been offended....

F&#% a Cluck: NY Fox Anchor Bleeps Big Time

Ernie Anastos has choice on-air suggestion for weatherman

(Newser) - A veteran New York Fox TV anchor is likely in for a peck of trouble after making an obscene suggestion on air about what the weather forecaster should do to a chicken. "It takes a tough man to make a tender forecast," Ernie Anastos quipped to weatherman Nick...

FBI Squeezed Deep Throat
 FBI Squeezed Deep Throat 
Jun 20, 2009 6:11 AM CDT

FBI Squeezed Deep Throat

Obscenity probe marked the end of FBI efforts against turning cultural tide

(Newser) - The FBI made a huge effort to stop the spread of '70s porn hit Deep Throat, documents newly released to the AP reveal. Top agents and field offices in almost every major city were involved in the probe, in which negatives were analyzed, copies of the film seized, and interviews...

After 1st Rant, Boyle Lights Into Cops

(Newser) - Foul-mouthed songbird Susan Boyle not only had a few choice words about a judge on Britain's Got Talent, she also blew up at fans yesterday and lit into a British bobby who subsequently tried to calm her down, reports the Sun. London cops intervened when Boyle screamed at comments by...

Craigslist Sues SC AG to Stop Charges

AG hails it as a win for his state

(Newser) - Craigslist has filed federal suit against South Carolina’s attorney general to stop him from charging company executives with breaking state prostitution and obscenity laws. AG Henry McMaster called the site’s move a victory, saying “it shows that Craigslist is taking the matter seriously for the first time,...

Recession Creates Nation of Potty Mouths

F-bombs a popular way to react to your 401(k) statement

(Newser) - The state of the economy has made for a lot of bad news, and bad news makes for a lot of cussing, MSNBC reports. “I’ve been dropping the F-bomb every time I look at the Dow,” said one 35-year-old writer. “You see that number and you...

A Kiss Is Not Just a Kiss: Indian Court

Criminal charge against couple dismissed

(Newser) - A married couple accused of obscenity for allegedly kissing in public have been cleared by a judge in Delhi, reports the BBC, where public displays of affection are considered scandalous. The couple was arrested at a railroad station where they claim they were photographing themselves with a cellphone. A conviction...

Facebook Moms Protest Breast Ban

Breast feeding not obscene, angry group declares

(Newser) - A 58,000-strong Facebook group plans to protest the site's ban on breast feeding photos through, er, Facebook. Cyber-organizers are asking users to temporarily swap their profile photos this weekend for breastfeeding pictures banned by the Facebook policy, reports the New York Daily News. The revolt started when the networking...

Supremes Won't Air Dirty Laundry

Court will delay release of tapes of arguments in indecency case

(Newser) - Election Day is likely to inspire swearing in some places and sure to see off-color language in one unlikely locale: the Supreme Court. But the American public will have to wait until next summer to hear tomorrow's oral arguments in a landmark indecency case, FCC vs. Fox, the Justices...

Lawyer Uses Google to Judge Obscenity

Common search terms can show 'community standards,' he says

(Newser) - A defense lawyer in a Florida obscenity case is trying out a new technique for determining those elusive “community standards” courts have been fighting over for years: what locals search for on Google. The resourceful attorney compared the frequency of local searches for words like “orgy” and “...

Unseemly Word Loses Its Sting
 Unseemly Word Loses Its Sting 
comment
Jun 21, 2008 12:42 PM CDT

Unseemly Word Loses Its Sting

'Near-dirty' term deserves a trip to the showers

(Newser) - The word douchebag is in danger of losing its bite thanks to rampant overuse, writes Richard Dorment in Esquire. It's not that the "toxic mess of a man" population has increased, he observes. It may seem that way, what with reality TV and cable punditry promoting unsavory characters. But...

Judge Quits Calif. Porn Obscenity Trial

Declares mistrial over his own sexually explicit website

(Newser) - The California judge whose risqué website stalled an obscenity trial 3 days ago has recused himself, the Los Angeles Times reports. “In light of the public controversy surrounding my involvement in this case, I have concluded that there is a manifest necessity to declare a mistrial,” Alex Kozinski...

Porn Trial Halted After Judge's Risque Site Found

Offers to step down from obscenity trial after cow porn pics discovered

(Newser) - A federal obscenity trial has been suspended after the Los Angeles Times revealed that the presiding judge—a high-ranking conservative who has been mentioned for the Supreme Court—had his own website featuring explicit photos and videos. The publicly accessible material on Alex Kozinski's site included photos of naked women...

Art or Smut? Bring Your Own Popcorn
Art or Smut? Bring Your
Own Popcorn
Jun 9, 2008 10:00 AM CDT

Art or Smut? Bring Your Own Popcorn

Prosecutors tell jurors it's fetish porn, make a federal case out of it

(Newser) - A Los Angeles jury will watch hours of adult films in an effort to decide if they are art or obscenity, the LA Times reports. A Justice Department task force formed to battle smut has brought a case against a filmmaker whose works depict acts such as bestiality and defecation....

Deposition Earns Hefty Fine for Salty CEO

73 F-bombs spice up testimony; unamused judge wants $29K

(Newser) - A CEO's foul-mouthed deposition could cost him and his lawyer $29,323 for making a "spectacular failure" of legal proceedings, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports. "I've never seen anything like this" in 30 years, said a judge of Aaron Wider dropping 73 F-bombs in 12 hours. Wider and his...

Why Do Kids Love to Cuss?
Why Do Kids Love to Cuss?
Mar 27, 2008 12:34 PM CDT

Why Do Kids Love to Cuss?

Parents and peers foist 'bad words' on virgin ears, but it may not be a big flippin' deal

(Newser) - Kids swear. They swear like sailors. Why is that, and should parents be worried? NPR decided to investigate and found, logically enough, that kids swear because they pick up the words from others, particularly mom and dad. “That’s just language learning,” says psychologist Paul Bloom. “These...

Fonda Swears She's Sorry for Obscenity

Today show apologizes for on-air slip, decency watchdogs want delay

(Newser) - Today host Meredith Vieira got an unpleasant  shock yesterday when Jane Fonda let the C-word slip while discussing the Vagina Monologues, the New York Daily News reports. "It was a slip, and obviously she apologizes, and so do we," Vieira told viewers. Fonda's blooper came when she was...

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