Porn industry to Rick Santorum: Butt out

Nick Ut / AP file

Hustler magazine magnate Larry Flynt says there's no evidence porn is harmful.

By James Eng, msnbc.com

The porn industry has an X-rated reaction to Rick Santorum?s vow to crack down on pornography if he?s elected president: Butt out.

Two giants in the industry contacted by msnbc.com scoff at the Republican presidential candidate's?claims that porn is causing ?a pandemic of harm? in America and contributing to violence against women.

Nonsense, says Hustler publisher Larry Flynt.? Absolutely no proof, says Steven Hirsch, founder and co-chairman of Los Angeles-based Vivid Entertainment, one of the largest makers of erotic movies.

---

Flynt notes that a 1969 commission set up by President Lyndon Johnson spent millions of dollars studying the impact of porn and concluded there was no evidence such materials were harmful.

?You have guys like Santorum come along and they bring out the bogeyman every chance they get,? Flynt said. "You will be hard-pressed to find anyone that can point out to you a study that shows harm is caused to anyone exposed to porn materials."

?I find it ironic that Republicans (like Santorum) are out there wanting less government and government intruding into our lives, but when it comes to moral issues they want government to legislate morality," says Hirsch. "It doesn?t work. It will never work.?

Santorum, a former Pennsylvania senator who is trying to woo social conservatives, says on his presidential campaign website that if elected he will hire an attorney general who will ?vigorously? enforce federal obscenity laws curtailing distribution of hardcore porn.

He also says that studies have shown porn causes brain changes in adults and children, and that every family should be concerned about its harmful effects.

Santorum says he would enforce US obscenity laws that Obama ignores

The little-discussed position paper made the Internet rounds after The Daily Caller published a column this week calling attention to it.

Though Santorum rattles off a list of social harms that he says is caused by porn, he doesn?t specifically call for a ban on all porn in his website statement. Instead, he says, he?s most concerned about exposure to ?hardcore? porn.

?While the Obama Department of Justice seems to favor pornographers over children and families, that will change under a Santorum Administration,? he writes.

Hirsch says a crackdown by the attorney general won?t work.

?We?ve seen that before. John Ashcroft was that guy. Edwin Meese was that guy. They can prosecute but ultimately it?s juries that decide what is and isn?t obscene,? Hirsch says. ?Over last 20 years there have been very, very few obscenity convictions.?

Hirsch suggests making a deal with Santorum: ?We will stay out of his church, and he will stay out of our bedrooms."

Santorum says he backs the efforts of the War on Illegal Pornography coalition, which is lobbying?Congress, 2012 political candidates and the government?to crack down on what it describes as "the growing amount of hardcore pornography available in America."

Santorum isn?t the first presidential candidate to vow to target porn.

Former GOP presidential candidate Michele Bachmann went further than Santorum. She signed a pledge vowing to support a constitutional amendment to ban all pornography and same-sex marriage.?

{"contentId":"10721342","totalVotes":"72603"}

Do we need tougher enforcement of laws regulating hardcore porn?

More content from msnbc.com and NBC News

Follow US News on msnbc.com on Twitter and Facebook

Source: http://usnews.msnbc.msn.com/_news/2012/03/16/10721342-porn-industry-to-rick-santorum-butt-out

rockefeller center art basel 2011 art basel 2011 straight no chaser straight no chaser bcs standings bcs standings

Australia pile on misery for hapless W. Indies

Australia maintained their six-year unbeaten run against the West Indies when they cantered to a 64-run victory in the first one-dayer on Friday after the home side suffered an embarrassing batting collapse.

Chasing a modest 205 target, West Indies, who had lost 14 of their last 15 one-dayers against the Australians coming into the match, were well set at 97 for three in the 24th over.

But they then lost their next six wickets for a paltry seven runs and despite a final-wicket flourish with skipper Darren Sammy hitting 35, with five fours and three sixes, the Windies were still left looking for a first win over Australia since 2006.

A fourth-wicket partnership of 64 between Marlon Samuels, who made 35 with three huge sixes off one over by left-arm spinner Xavier Doherty, and Dwayne Bravo (32 off 43 balls with five fours and a six) had put the West Indies in the driving seat.

But once Bravo, bowled by Dan Christian, and Samuels had been dismissed in successive overs, West Indies were bowled out for 140 in the 33rd over with Doherty taking 4 for 49 off eight overs.

"We knew it was an average score and knew it should be enough if we bowled well," said Australia captain Shane Watson.

"Dwayne Bravo was batting very nicely so we knew we needed a breakthrough but the surface was offering help to the quicks and spinners. Xavier Doherty came back really nicely when he changed ends. All the bowlers were good today."

Sammy admitted it had been another poor day for the home team.

"We are very disappointed. Losing six wickets for seven runs set us back a little bit," he said.

"Hopefully we can bounce back in the second match on Sunday. We have two more games here, we have a history of getting better as a series goes on."

Australia had made 204 for eight off their 50 overs after winning the toss and electing to bat on a typically slow Arnos Vale pitch.

Twenty20 skipper George Bailey marked his one-day debut with the top score of 48 off 67 balls with five fours, a steady performance which earned him the man of the match award.

Opener David Warner was the next best with 40 off 55 balls, an innings which also featured five boundaries.

Australia went into the game rocked by the decision of veteran wicket-keeper Brad Haddin to return home for personal reasons.

Matthew Wade, who is behind the stumps for the one-day series, failed to shine, out for a first ball duck, caught by Dwayne Bravo off slow bowler Sunil Narine.

Dwayne Bravo, the vice-captain, took 3-58 with fellow seamer Kemar Roach claiming 2-33.

Spinners Narine and Marlon Samuels pinned down the Australians, conceding just 53 runs off 18 overs while the tourists' failure to score a six highlighted the sluggish nature of the pitch.

Skipper Shane Watson made a brisk start, scoring a quickfire 21 before he was out lbw to Dwayne Bravo.

Warner and Peter Forrest added 60 for the second wicket but Forrest struggled to 26 from 64 balls when he was stumped off Samuels.

Warner was out four balls later in the same Samuels over, falling to a fine diving catch by Kieron Pollard in the covers.

David Hussey was caught behind for a seven-ball duck off Roach before brother Michael hit 32 from 57 balls when he was out, caught at long-on off Bravo.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/australia-win-toss-bat-against-west-indies-133912939--spt.html

mario williams vcu jordan hill unlv sam young ncaa bracket ramon sessions

Nanaimo Sports | Recreation | Lifeguard Rodeo

add to outlook add to google calendar remind me send to friend

Share

Saturday, March 17th, 2012
2:00 PM to 4:00 PM

Cheer on lifeguards from all over the Island and the Lower Mainland as we celebrate lifeguard skills in a fun competition setting.

Some of the activities include:

*Lane rope rolling
*Change the oxygen regulator
*Kickboard stacking obstacle course
*Rescue the dummy
*Relay races

...and much more!

Lifeguard teams will be in costume and compete for prizes.

http://www.nanaimo.ca/assets/Departments/Parks~Rec~Culture/Parks~and~Rec~Special~Events/LifeguardRodeo.pdf

Source: http://www.harbourliving.ca/event/lifeguard-rodeo/2012-03-17/

wormwood bcs bowl games phoebe prince jose reyes college football bowl schedule college football bowl schedule double mastectomy

Pact sets China's filmmakers fighting for silver screens

BEIJING (Reuters) - Underdogs fighting off a foreign invasion or small-time hopefuls competing against all odds for the spotlight.

Those could be plot lines for Hollywood scripts - or the real world plight of China's movie producers, now that Beijing has approved imports of a new wave of American blockbusters.

A deal hammered out during Vice President Xi Jinping's visit to the United States last month paved the way for the import of 14 premium format films, such as IMAX or 3D, which will be exempt from China's annual quota of 20 foreign films per year.

That pleased U.S. trade officials, who were pushing China for concessions after winning a 2009 World Trade Organization dispute dealing partly with film access.

But while Chinese theatre owners are likely to welcome the opportunity to fill more seats by screening Hollywood spectacles, the deal means more competition for China's already out-gunned directors and producers on silver screens in their own country.

"The imports of these movies, I believe, will be a huge shock to Chinese filmmakers," said Qin Hong, the chairman of Stellar Megamedia, a major Chinese film producer and cinema owner.

Qin said the deal could make it very difficult for China's small film producers to survive and consolidate industry resources into the hands of a few major film conglomerates.

China was more than a year behind schedule in opening access to U.S. films following the WTO ruling, something of an outlier for China, which has complied closely with the global trade body's decisions.

The sluggish resolution also took a personal visit by Xi, who is widely expected to assume China's presidency for the next decade, underscoring the difficulties in tense U.S.-China trade relations heightened by a tepid global economy and sharpened rhetoric from U.S. politicians in an election season.

China's film industry has been growing rapidly, with box office revenues jumping more than 25 percent annually over the past decade, according to state media.

But for all the films Chinese producers are cranking out, their pull at Chinese box offices, like their budgets, often pale in comparison to big Hollywood features.

In 2011, ticket sales topped 13 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), about a fifth of U.S. theatre revenues. But almost half of that came from showings of 50 foreign films.

The rest was split among China's 791 domestic productions, the head of China's film and television watchdog said, according to state media.

SILVER SCREEN LINING

Industry experts say Hollywood's looming shadow means Chinese producers will need to focus on quality over quantity if they are going to elevate their appeal to a Chinese audience.

That sentiment was echoed by Chinese director Zhang Yimou last week in a statement to media during the annual session of China's parliamentary advisory body, of which he is a member.

But even as one of China's most celebrated directors, Zhang's movies are out-performed.

His "Flowers of War" was China's top earning domestic film last year, pulling in about $74 million. That is a far cry from the country's 2011 box office favorite, the third installment of Hollywood's Transformers series -- which raked in almost $174 million, according to Artisan Gateway, a Shanghai-based Asian film consultancy.

Competing on the grounds of good scripts and quality acting is one thing, but adding the gloss and sheen of a big production requires budget and technical expertise that China currently lacks.

Christopher Bremble, who heads Beijing-based special effects firm Base-FX, said China's movie industry is playing catch-up, and certain fields, such as special effects, lag 15 years or more behind Hollywood.

Still, Bremble said China is a country of fast learners and that the new film deal could be a silver lining to spur higher quality domestic movies.

"There was a time that 'made in China' meant not very good. Now, of course, 'made in China' means iPads, iPhones, high-tech," he said, noting that the film industry is going through a similar upgrade.

A larger Hollywood footprint in China could also mean more partnership opportunities for Chinese film and production companies down the road.

Qin, of Stellar Multimedia, said film producers thanked the government for its help in resisting Hollywood's drive into the market after China joined the WTO, but that the movie deal marked an "appropriate opening", one that ultimately was needed to drive quality and creativity.

"We can't forever exist under a protective umbrella. We need to develop and expand on our own," he said.

(Reporting by Michael Martina; Editing by Ken Wills and Elaine Lies)

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/pact-sets-chinas-filmmakers-fighting-silver-screens-100117327.html

underwood buffalo wings superbowl kick off time 2012 new york giants hot wings recipe 7 layer dip recipe chris carter

Going to Extreme Lengths to Purge Household Toxins

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Some new parents are going to extreme lengths to protect their children from household toxins. But how far is too far?

Source: http://feeds.nytimes.com/click.phdo?i=25051d6156c1e557471159fbe97ac862

brine turkey uc davis super committee walmart black friday ad 2011 nl mvp nl mvp verlander

New single ion clock is '100 times more precise' than existing atomic models

Researchers at the University of South Wales have developed a new type of atomic clock that measures an atom's neutron orbit instead of the electron's flight path. This method is apparently accurate to 19 decimal places, with several lasers shifting electrons in a certain way, allowing Professor Victor Flambaum to measure the "pendulum" motion of the neutron. It's purportedly close to 100 times more precise than its predecessors -- all with no freezing involved. These existing atomic clocks may be accurate beyond 100 million years, but for this new breed of hyper-accurate timekeeping, you'll only need to reset the clock once every 14 billion years. And we have no idea how they calculated that.

New single ion clock is '100 times more precise' than existing atomic models originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 14 Mar 2012 15:23:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink The Verge  |  News.com.au  | Email this | Comments

Source: http://www.engadget.com/2012/03/14/single-ion-clock-more-precise-than-atomic-models/

walter isaacson walter isaacson zodiac killer battlefield 3 review battlefield 3 review real housewives of new jersey coraline

A Quick Description principle Varieties of Home Loans

[unable to retrieve full-text content]Regardless of form of home finance loan you would like to have out, make sure you recognize you can have enough money for to generate the monthly payments, and this employing your home finance loan will let you ...

Source: http://cantholdmytongue.com/?p=903

rod parsley barry sanders jr nick carter sister recruiting rankings san onofre paula deen birth control recall