Politech: FC: UK may ban tasteless joke book, seizes child porn

[Declan McCullagh <declan () well com>]

The same article reports that UK religious leaders and
Congresscritter-equivalents are demanding that the government censor a joke
book. It makes fun of people who were raped. And: "Other targets include
the disabled and black people, including the blind singer Stevie Wonder."
The frenzied reaction:

  Jack Straw, the Home Secretary, is being urged to
  intervene by Peter Luff, Conservative MP for Mid
  Worcestershire. [...]  The Archdeacon of Aston, the Ven John
  Barton, questioned the kind of people who could find such jokes
  funny. The NSPCC said the book was "appalling" and
  contained the worst material it had heard of. 

Let's hope the politicos and archdeacons morality hounds don't get wind of
alt.tasteless...

-Declan

**********

http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/tim/99/12/10/timnwsnws01015.html?19

Computers seized in child porn sweep

     BY STEWART TENDLER, CRIME CORRESPONDENT
              Joke book is condemned 

  POLICE launched their biggest operation against Internet
  child pornography yesterday, seizing computers in raids
  on 27 homes across Britain. 

  Twenty forces from the north of Scotland to the West
  Country carried out the dawn sweep co-ordinated by
  officers from Greater Manchester Police. Within the first
  few hours officers seized computers or material in
  Durham, Exeter, Pudsey in West Yorkshire, Manchester
  and Ross in the north of Scotland. 

**********

> Date: Sat, 11 Dec 1999 10:14:04 -0800
> From: Lizard <lizard () mrlizard com>
> Subject: Don't they have anything better to do in England?
>
> I love stories like this. Next time some Brit goes on about Americas
> pollution, crime, general shallowness, and corporate culture, I can turn
> about and say, "Yeah, well, at least WE can tell jokes about Stevie
> Wonder!"[1]
>
> (This story, BTW, is attached a probably more important study about Yet
> Another global kiddie-porn sweep. Please note that the targets of the sweep
> are not accused (yet) of actually abusing children, just of having pictures
> of them being abused. I can go into my local Borders, head for the 'True
> Crime' section, and feast my eyes on lurid photos of Actual Crimes Scenes,
> complete with dismembered bodies...but I can't own a picture of a 14 year
> old at a nudist colony, taken circa 1952. (Not that I'd want to, mind you,
> my tastes in women run to those of my age or older. I agree with Florence
> King:"I don't understand pedophiles. In order to abuse a child, you have to
> be in the same room as a child, and I don't know how the perverts stand
it."))
> [1]Such as, "Did you hear about the blonde who gave Stevie Wonder tickets
> to a Marcel Marseu(sp?) concert?"



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