Michigan Couple Pleads Guilty To Obscenity Violations.
Michigan Couple Pleads Guilty To Obscenity Violations.
A Brutus, Mich. couple pleaded guilty to charges stemming from a business they operated for the purpose of selling obscene videos, Assistant Attorney General Alice S. Fisher of the Criminal Division and U.S. Attorney Margaret Chiara of the Western District of Michigan announced today. John Mart Messer entered guilty pleas in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids, Mich. on Monday to one count of engaging in the business of selling or distributing obscene matter and one count of receiving child pornography. His wife, Deborah Messer, pleaded guilty to one count of aiding and abetting the operation of a business of selling or distributing obscene matter. Mr. Messer faces a mandatory minimum penalty of five years in prison on the child pornography charge. The maximum penalty for Mrs. Messer’s offense is five years in prison. Sentencing is scheduled for Nov. 27, 2006. Mr. Messer began selling sexually explicit videotapes in 1996 through JMM Products, a company he founded for that purpose, and continued to do so until his arrest earlier this year. The videotapes included graphic depictions of hardcore sex acts between humans and between humans and animals. The videotapes were advertised through a mail order catalog prepared with the assistance of Mrs. Messer, who also aided and abetted her husband by depositing some of the company’s products in the mail and by typing customer lists and helping to keep the company’s books.
News Article Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:11pm EDT
Porn parade Down Under outdraws Santa Claus.
Two dozen bare-breasted porn stars paraded on motorcycles and military vehicles down the main street of New Zealand's biggest city on Wednesday after beating efforts by Auckland officials to prevent the promotional stunt. Thousands of people, many of them clicking away with cell phone cameras, lined the street for the parade by male and female porn actors, most semi-clad in black leather, to publicize an erotica show which opens in Auckland later this week. The crowd -- four deep in some places -- was reportedly bigger than that for the city's annual Santa Parade at Christmas time. Organizer Steve Crow, a local multimillionaire porn movie distributor and producer, earlier had won approval for the parade from the city council, infuriating the conservative mayor and several councilors. Mayor Dick Hubbard said he would review local bylaws in a bid to prevent any more topless parades in Auckland.
Search Engines Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:10pm EDT
What's the Deal with Search Engines and Text Link Ads?
When did hypertext links become the enemy? Google's PageRank began a burgeoning search engine optimization link building industry that now seems to be out of control. What's the deal with text link ads? Isn't a link just a link? Not really, at least according to recent blog and forum posts.
News Article Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:09pm EDT
Home Office in trouble for advertising porn sites.
The Advertising Standards Agency (ASA) has sent the Home Office to sit on the naughty stair after complaints about a radio campaign promoting online child safety that sent listeners to porn sites instead. The ad, which was to promote an online child safety website, directed listeners to check out the site at www.ThinkuKnow.co.uk. Sadly for the Home Office (no, really, our hearts are bleeding), there is also a website called www.thinkyouknow.co.uk which lists various services such as web hosting, broadband providers, car insurance, online dating and so on. Just one more click, the complainants said, will lead you to adult chatrooms, including www.womenwant.co.uk, which advertises itself as follows: "Find your kinky kicks here! Erotic chat, casual hot sex & more."
News Article Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:08pm EDT
NY Board renews porn debate.
A study of the impacts an adult business would have on the community is expected to be complete next month, announced Town Attorney Joseph Liccardi. "I hope to have it by the next meeting (September 13)," he said. The Town Board will review the 400-page study and copies will be available at the town clerk's office and East Greenbush Community Library for public scrutiny. "The board will then have to decide if they want to make any changes to it," said Mr. Liccardi. The attorney said one problem with the original law limiting where adult establishments can locate was that this type of study had not been done. An Albany consultant on adult use businesses, Robert Penna, has been evaluating the town's existing law and the effect of it and will make recommendations to the town. Following the study, the board may want to rewrite or amend the law. The law came about after Route 20 News and Video opened at 275 Columbia Turnpike. Several residents expressed concern that the shop, which sells adult videos and toys and has an "adult arcade" where persons over 21 can watch sex tapes, was too near residential homes.
News Article Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:07pm EDT
Child porn spam hides Trojan.
Cyber-criminals have launched a "massive spoof email attack" that accuses victims of being associated with a child porn site in a bid to trick them into downloading malware. The messages, which use the subject line 'CP investigation was started', claim that the recipient's email address has been found in a child porn database discovered by the Association of Sites Advocating Child Protection (ASACP). The email actually contains the Agent-CPK Trojan horse. The ASACP has published a warning on its website, informing recipients of the message that they may be at risk of infection.
News Article Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:06pm EDT
MS takes up legal cudgels against typosquatters.
Microsoft has launched a legal offensive against "typosquatters" who register domains containing trademarked terms or misspelled words in the hope that lost surfers will help them rake in ad revenue.Early stages of the campaign include a pair of lawsuits against two, allegedly prolific, typosquatting operations. Redmond has taken up legal cudgels against cybersquatters who use the misspelled domain tactic to "illegally profit through the misuse of Microsoft's intellectual property" using the Anticybersquatting Consumer Protection Act (ACPA) of 1999.ACPA sets damages of up up $100,000 against anyone who, with a bad-faith intent to profit, "registers, traffics in, or uses a domain name that is identical to, confusingly similar or dilutive of" an existing trademark.
Business Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:05pm EDT
Increase Your Profit Without Increasing Traffic.
5 ways to increase your website profit without increasing traffic. To succeed in Internet marketing, you need to learn how to maximize the value of your website visitors. Here are the top 5 strategies on how to squeeze the most profit out of your website.
News Article Wednesday, August 23rd 2006, 12:04pm EDT
Conservatives ask FBI to investigate hotel porn.
Pornographic movies now seem nearly as pervasive in America's hotel rooms as tiny shampoo bottles, and the lodging industry shows little concern as conservative activists rev up a protest campaign aimed at triggering a federal crackdown. A coalition of 13 conservative groups -- including the Family Research Council and Concerned Women for America -- took out full-page ads in some editions of USA Today earlier this month urging the Justice Department and FBI to investigate whether some of the pay-per-view movies widely available in hotels violate federal and state obscenity laws. The coalition also is trying to draw attention to CleanHotels.com, a directory of hotels and motels nationwide that pledge to exclude adult offerings from their in-room entertainment service.