Stratfor advises governments, businesses, organizations and individuals about geopolitics, business trends, and how to cope with them. One of their specialities is evaluating the impact of activists on public debates. Stratfor’s May 31 report on “Sustainable Consumption: The Push for Using Less” (may require a paid subscription) focuses on energy and the environment, but suggests […]
San Francisco: Loss of Porn Shop Brings Hope to Tenderloin District
Being a liberal city is no guarantee that porn shops will be free of secondary effects, such as crime and drug use. This May 21 article in BeyondChron, “San Francisco’s Alternative Online Daily”, calls the replacement of a porn shop with an art gallery a “breakthrough” for the Tenderloin district: When an art gallery moves […]
Omni Hotels Drops Porn, Reaps Rewards
A few years back, Omni Hotels removed porn from its entertainment system. The results, reports James Harder, were bags of supportive mail and an increase in movie-rental profits… Hotels were among the first publicly held companies to profit from porn, networking their rooms to provide a flow of X-rated movies. It’s a route almost all […]
What Porn Is: Selections from Mainstream Porn (explicit language)
We have quoted before from Robert Jensen’s essay, “A cruel edge”, published as “Cruel to be hard: Men and pornography,” in Sexual Assault Report, January/February 2004. We’ll revisit this article in a moment to explore what today’s porn is actually like. But first, let’s review some of the comments about porn made recently at Political […]
Porn Director: The Idea that Porn Actresses Are Not Prostitutes Is Silly (explicit language)
Candid comments from people who work in porn routinely skewer attempts by academics and porn defenders to ennoble the porn industry.“Billy Watson” is the blogmaster at I Shoot Porn (explicit). In his June 1 post, “I Be Google’n”, he laughs at the notion that porn actresses are not prostitutes. He also gives ranges for what […]
MacKinnon: Framing Torture as Porn Magically Makes It Acceptable
Catharine MacKinnon, Elizabeth A. Long professor of law at the University of Michigan, observes that torture and abuse typically get a free pass when they’re framed as commercial entertainment. Some excerpts from “X underrated”, published in The Times Higher Education Supplement (May 20, 2005): A…magical framing move occurred in connection with the scandal surrounding Abu […]
Valley Advocate: “Springfield Porn Store Comes Under Fire”
We are pleased to see the Valley Advocate cover the Amazing.net/Apremont Triangle situation in its May 31-June 6 edition. The article is similar to a May 24 post at Heather Brandon’s Urban Compass blog. From the article: Springfield Mayor Charles Ryan addressed a group at a May 17 event downtown to say that he will […]
The Impact of Internet Pornography on Marriage and the Family: A Review of the Research
Jill Manning is a Social Sciences Fellow in Domestic Policy for the Heritage Foundation. She testified about the impact of porn to the US Senate in November 2005 (transcript). She summarizes her findings: Since the advent of the Internet, the pornography industry has profited from an unprecedented proximity to the home, work and school environments. […]
“Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes” Screens in Northampton on June 3; Q&A with Director Byron Hurt
Men’s Resource Center for Change invites the public to a screening of Hip-Hop: Beyond Beats & Rhymes. Showtime is this Sunday night, June 3, 7pm at Northampton’s Academy of Music. The screening will benefit VOICE MALE: The Magazine of the Men’s Resource Center for Change. It will include remarks and Q&A with director Byron Hurt. […]
“Singles Expert”: Partner Objects to Porn? Sneak It When She’s Not Around
There are wise advice columnists, and then there are others. Don Diebel, “Americas #1 Singles Expert”, advises men to conceal their porn use from a mate until they can assess her attitude towards it. If she doesn’t like it, says Don, sneak it when she’s not around… My focus this week is on pornography. You […]