Top 100 Search Terms on BitTorrent

File-sharing news blog TorrentFreak revealed a list of the top 100 search terms on BitTorrent, compiled by torrent Tracking site Kickass Torrents. While mainstream movie “Inception” ranked at No. 1 and the vast majority of terms that made the list are for mainstream movies, “XXX” made it to No. 4, and “porn” made it to No. 9. Other adult search terms that made the top 100: “Naughty America” at No. 45 and “sex” at No. 87 (ranked just one above “Microsoft Office 2010”).

Or unless you count racy Starz series “Spartacus,” which came in at No. 89. -jc

FSC Wants You!

Free Speech Coalition’s Executive Director Diane Duke and Membership Director Joanne Cachapero will be at The AVN Show, in Las Vegas, between Jan. 6-9. FSC will be there to recruit new members and answer your questions about out anti-piracy program (APAP), as well as giving you information that you need about opposition to the proposed .XXX domain and the latest developments with workplave safety regulations, CalOSHA and AHF.

If you would like to schedule an appointment to meet with us to meet at the show, please call (818) 348-9373 or email joanne@freespeechcoalition.com. We’re happy to talk to you about joining FSC, or about your business concerns. See you in Vegas!

If You Control the Internet, Does That Make You Master of the Universe?

Today, amidst controversy on every side, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) approved an as-yet unpublished set of regulations that are supposed to enforce “net neutrality;” that is, to prevent Big Telecom and other big business entities from restricting access to Internet content from their rivals and, theoretically, from any other content they might want to try and block.

The regs also are supposed to prevent discrimination that would favor traffic from broadband providers or their business partners. According to an Associated Press article posted today, broadband providers will allow consumers to access “all legal online content, applications and services over their wired networks — including online calling services, Internet video and other Web applications that compete with their core businesses.”

“Today, for the first time, we are adopting rules to preserve basic Internet values,” said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski, who worked for more than a on developing the new regulations. “For the first time, we’ll have enforceable rules of the road to preserve Internet freedom and openness.”

The Republicans on the FCC don’t like it because they think it’s too much regulation. The Democrats on the FCC don’t feel that the regulations are enough. Internet pundits, free speech bloggers, media analysts and hacker-types have been abuzz all week on the potential (or non-potential) of the new regulations. And politicians on both sides of the Aisle are questioning whether the FCC has overstepped its boundaries as a regulatory body.

But as many of us know, when you do things by committee… well, it’s often impossible to come up with concepts that pleases everyone … or actually work, for that matter.

And that’s the trouble with the Internet – it’s the wild, wild West and the frontier is as infinite as a billion light years worth of uncharted territory. Between the space cowboys and would-be sheriffs, the prophets and profiteers, the pirates and the pioneers – it’s hard to say who will end up Masters of the Universe. Kinda hard to conceptualize, much less regulate so much space.

In U.K. this week, the government announced that they are considering blocking all adult sites, so that those wishing to view adult material online would have to “opt in” to view sexually explicit content. Legislators claim that this action will protect underage Internet users from being exposed to material that could have negative effects on them, while digital rights activists says the move is tantamount to “generalised censorship through the back door.”

British officials are planning to sit down and negotiate with Internet service providers, who would be blocking the content, but several ISPs have already said that the strategy will be impossible to carry out.

Just ask Australia and China.

(Photo: Courtesy of The Smithsonian Institution)

 

Happy Holidays from Free Speech Coalition

“Let the beauty of the story take away all narrowness, all thought of formal creeds. Let it be remembered as a story that has happened again and again, to men of many different races, that has been expressed through many religions, that has been called by many different names. Time and space and language lay no limitations upon human brotherhood.” – Maud van Buren

(Photo: Some rights reserved by the Sharpteam)

Larry Flynt Donates $50,000 to Wikileaks’ Julian Assange

In his Huffington Post blog, Hustler founder and legendary free speech advocate Larry Flynt has posted that he will donate $50,000 to the defense fund of Wikileaks’ founder Julian Assange.

As a voice that many have tried to censor, this is what Flynt had to say about freedom of the press in his post:

“Here’s what I know about censorship: The free flow of information is ultimately less harmful than the impeded flow of information. A democracy cannot exist without total access to the facts.”

Currently under house arrest in the U.K. while fighting extradition to Sweden on sex assault charges, many do not consider Assange a journalist. The same could be said about Flynt, who has been sued for obscenity, sued for libel, and famously offered a $1M reward for information leading to the exposure of the sexual indiscretions of lawmakers and politicians. – jc

(Photo: Some rights reserved by Chuck “Caveman” Coker)

AIM’s Sharon Mitchell Speaks Out

In an article posted today on the L.A. Daily News website, Adult Industry Medical Healthcare (AIM) founder Sharon Mitchell spoke out on the recent developments with the clinic and the campaign that she claims is being waged against AIM by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) and the L.A. County Department of Public Health (LACPH).

“I really can’t stress enough that this has been a conspiracy, and I don’t know if that’s the right word,” Mitchell said in the interview, describing the actions taken by both AHF and county health over the last two years.

AHF spokesperson Ged Kenslea responded by calling Mitchell’s claims false and stated, “We’d be happy to have a clinic that services the adult entertainment industry.

“But we’d actually like them to be competent and honor the laws of California with regard to what they need to do to protect patient health and provide relevant information to local public health officials in a timely basis – frankly, neither of which AIM seems willing and able to do at this point,” Kenslea added.

Kenslea also was quoted in a Sept. 2010 article posted at CaliforniaWatch.org, regarding a situation where AHF was implicated in violating privacy rights of patients when state insurance agency MediCal illegally disclosed HIV-positive patients’ information, in order for the organization to offer services to 5,000 individuals. Both the ACLU and two other HIV/AIDS advocacy organizations made claims that MediCal had illegally breached privacy laws in disclosing the results of HIV tests. MediCal’s 2007 $1M contract with AHF was subsequently terminated.

In today’s L.A. Daily News article, LACPH  Director Dr. Jonathan Fielding was quoted as saying, “I don’t think there’s pressure to shut the clinic, but I hope the industry feels pressure to do the right thing. Nobody should have to work in an environment where they subject themselves to life-threatening illness.”

AHF also has filed complaints with regulatory agency CalOSHA against numerous adult industry businesses in its campaign to mandate condom use on adult production sets. And recently, at a “Condoms in the Adult Industry” seminar hosted at UCLA, representatives from AHF, LACPH, Pink Cross Foundation, UCLA’s Center for Reproductive Health, and Free Speech Coalition (FSC) met to discuss the topic of regulation on adult industry production sets. – jc

Performers Can Join for Half-Off Until New Years: We Want You!

Free Speech Coalition (FSC), the adult industry trade association, is pleased to offer all adult industry performers a special half-off membership rate if they join FSC by New Year’s Day 2011.

“Right now, there’s a lot going on in the industry and we want to make sure performers have a place to get involved,” FSC Membership Director Joanne Cachapero said.

“FSC wants to be an information hub for all industry members — information is power,” she added. “Also, it’s important to have a voice on issues that affect the industry. We want performers to feel like they can participate and be part of FSC. They are the backbone of our industry, so this is a good way for FSC to say ‘thanks.’”

An individual professional level membership in FSC is regularly $50 a year. From now until New Year’s, the rate for performers will be $25.

“That’s the price of a few lattes and lunch,” Cachapero said. “It’s a great way to show your support for the industry. The money goes to funding the FSC does with CalOSHA/workplace safety, anti-piracy efforts and fighting the .XXX domain.”

FSC members receive a weekly e-newsletter, free legal referral, networking and special event opportunities, access to the “member’s only” area of the FSC website and Facebook “member’s only” page, as well as discount offers on other member’s benefits.

Performers that are interested in joining can call the FSC office for more information, at (818) 348-9373, or contact joanne@freespeechcoalition.com. Membership applications can be processed over the phone or by mail.

Cartagena, Patient Zeta and Who Do YOU Want Running Your Industry?

What a week, last week.

Between the ongoing campaign waged against the adult industry by AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF), and the 10-year struggle to defeat the proposed .XXX sTLD – today seems like the aftermath of a siege staged on multiple fronts with a nonstop barrage of bullshit bombs being lobbed by our opponents. We are still trying to dig ourselves out from under the debris.

And this week, more than ever, we would like to ask the question: Who do YOU want calling the shots for the adult industry? People that are your colleagues and represent your better business interests? Or people like ICM’s Stuart Lawley and AHF’s Michael Weinstein?

On the AHF front – seems like strange timing that on Dec 9th, Patient Zeta, aka Derrick Burts/Cameron Reid/Derrick Chambers, would go public AND within 24 hours, Adult Industry Medical Healthcare (AIM) was shuttered by the county over a paperwork issue.

And while the LA Times took advantage of sensational headlines and published Burts’ tawdry confessional via video verbatim, the LA Weekly raised some interesting questions, including whether or not the adult industry was in danger of being run out of California. LA Weekly writer Dennis Romero also asked some questions as to the credibility of Burts’ claims – like any skeptical journalist might.

On the 13th, AHF President Michael Weinstein praised LA City Councilman Bill Rosendahl for making a motion to the city attorney for an explanation of the process the city’s employs to make sure that adult production sets are “safe workplaces” before being issued necessary permits. Weinstein also wrongly stated that FSC and FSC Executive Director Diane Duke called for “the industry [i.e. AIM and adult production studios] to continue to operate outside the law.”

FSC’s position is the same as it’s ever been – we are working with lawyers, CalOSHA’s Board of Directors, experts in regulatory procedure, industry businesses and INDUSTRY STAKEHOLDERS to help develop industry-appropriate regulations. If adult content producers are “operating outside the law” whatsoever, it’s likely because the regulations imposed on them were written for medical clinics, not adult production sets. We are calling for regulations that are appropriate and acceptable to concerned parties. Mr. Weinstein seems interested in calling attention to his campaign.

And as for AIM “operating outside the law,” it quickly was apparent that the clinic was briefly closed due to a paperwork error. AIM has until the end of January to correct the error, according to a letter issued by the county. Not exactly the perfect storm of opposition against AIM that Weinstein seems to want to call down on the clinic and spin for his own purposes.

Meanwhile, FSC’s Diane Duke and FSC Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas were in Cartagena, Columbia, when Patient Zeta broke his silence – another bit of strange timing.

The pair were there to oppose the .XXX “sponsored” Top Level Domain, proposed by Internet registry ICM and its President Stuart Lawley. We are happy to report that, after battling against approval of the domain for ten years, Internet regulatory organization ICANN decide on Friday to put off any decision until it can consult with its Governmental Advisory Committee (GAC).

Some blogs today say that a decision won’t be made until ICANN’s next meeting in February. And, surprisingly, some newspapers are reporting, complete with quotes from Lawley, that .XXX was passed – specifically, papers located in Florida where ICM is based.

Well, we can say that we are certain .XXX has not been approved as of last week. And we hope that it is never approved because it will provide no benefit to the thousands of adult webmasters that will have to pay fees for domain addresses that they don’t want; that .XXX will make it much easier for anti-adult entities to block adult websites; and it will be easier for underage users to locate adult material. And that’s just for starters. It sets a dangerous precedent to classify domains by content, and for fees from those domain addresses to go to fund a regulatory board that gets to call the shots in regards to that content.

Over here at the FSC, one of our mottoes is an old one: “The truth will set you free.” And while some industry members may not have warm and fuzzy feelings for FSC or may not understand what we do over here – we hope that you can see that we are working hard to defend your rights, promote your better business interest and protect your businesses and way of life. Because there are people out there that have their own agendas and could profit from targeting the industry with weapons of mass confusion.

As the adult industry trade association, we are a pro-adult voice for the industry to our opponents, the media and the public at large. And without a voice, you might not have a choice. We should mention here that the 2011-12 FSC Board of Directors election is now taking place; if you are an active FSC member and have not received you ballot, please contact joanne@freespeechcoalition.com. This your opportunity to choose who will represent you, as the industry faces many challenges.

Last, but not the least bit of news from last week – sadly, on December 5th, legendary performer/director John Leslie (aka John Leslie Nuzzo) passed away. Many touching tributes were written about Leslie but in the Marin Independent Journal, a quote from his wife Kathleen stood out, as she commented on his career.

“I never had a problem when I met him with what he did,” Kathleen Nuzzo said of her husband’s career. “It was our livelihood. It’s an incredible industry with people fighting for First Amendment rights and freedom of expression.”

Thank you Mrs. Nuzzo. They had been married for 23 years.

A memorial for John Leslie will be held at the Sportsmen’s Lodge in Studio City, CA, on Dec. 15 at 7pm. – jc

(Photo: Some rights reserved by James Yardley)

From Cartagena: ICANN Declines Approval of .XXX Until Further Negotiations with GAC

At its Board meeting this morning, ICANN’s Board of Directors voted to postpone the decision to enter into a contract with ICM for a .XXX sponsored top level domain.  The Board directed its staff to develop a plan for trying to resolve differences with the GAC (Government Advisory Council) through formal negotiations. Free Speech Coalition (FSC) Executive Director Diane Duke and FSC Board Chair Jeffrey Douglas were in Cartagena lobbying against ICM’s application for .XXX.

 
“ICANN is obligated to seek consultation from the GAC,” Douglas said. “It would have been an unwise decision to disregard GAC’s resolute opposition, potentially having grave impact on ICANN’s multi-community model.  The sponsorship community is opposed, and ICANN’s Government Advisory Committee is opposed. The only entity that would have benefited from an immediate approval was ICM.”

 
If subsequently approved, ICM’s .XXX will bring with it a regulatory board, IFFOR (International Foundation for Online Responsibility) charged with developing “best practices” registrants would be required to follow. ICM refuses to disclose the names of those who agreed to serve on the board and develop policy for the .XXX online presence. Accordingly, the policies to which domain holders will be required to adhere have yet to be disclosed.

 
ICM Registry has promised a range of public interest benefits as part of its bid to operate the .xxx domain:

 
• Take appropriate measures to restrict access to illegal and offensive content;
• Support the development of tools and programs to protect vulnerable members of the community;
• Maintain accurate details of registrants and assist law enforcement agencies to identify and contact the owners of particular websites, if need be; and
• Act to ensure the protection of intellectual property and trademark rights, personal names, country names, names of historical, cultural and religious significance and names of geographic identifiers drawing on best practices in the development of registration and eligibility rules.

 
ICM revealed Tuesday during its presentation to the Intellectual Property Constituency that it would not honor the promise it made to the adult community and allow adult businesses to park their domain names for a nominal fee.  However, ICM plans to provide that opportunity for mainstream companies. The Free Speech Coalition has been fighting .xxx for over 10 years, concerned with the regulatory aspect as well as the likelihood that some governments, including the US, would attempt to mandate migration to .XXX while others governments would block it altogether.

 
“ICM’s proposal will cost adult businesses millions and compromise the online adult industry,” Duke stated. “As the industry’s trade association it is our responsibility to guard against these types of threats. Special thanks to our sister trade associations EROS and AITA for their support and for the countless dedicated individuals and companies who donated time and resources. This is truly a collective, ongoing community effort. The adult industry should feel very proud.”

Statement from Adult Industry Medical Healthcare (AIM) on Patient Zeta, LA Times Article

Adult Industry Medical Healthcare (AIM) has issued this statement concerning the article this morning in the LA Times (please refer to our earlier blog post). In an effort to keep industry members and concerned parties informed on the latest events, we are posting AIM’s statement here:

“Despite Patient Zeta’s self-identification and sharing of information regarding HIV status and test results and the HIV status of a person identified as a girlfriend, AIM is bound by California and Federal statutes to protect the medical privacy of patients and AIM remains committed to providing screening and testing services to performers as well as our civilian population while maintaining medical privacy.

AIM’s statements made to the media and every report to the California Department of Public Health were based upon the information provided by Patient Zeta to AIM.  As part of AIM’s standard protocols, Patient Zeta was offered counseling, documentation of test results, and information and direction regarding resources and treatment.  Any statements made by Patient Zeta which portray AIM as not providing appropriate and proper services are not truthful and are self-serving.

Aids Healthcare Foundation, has a history of aggressive and hostile actions against AIM, and the most distressing aspect of this situation is that Patient Zeta is simply being manipulated for AHF’s own purposes and in furtherance of their agenda.”