Freedom

In June, Russia passed into law a ban on “propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations among minors.” Supporters defend it, saying it doesn’t outlaw homosexuality, simply restricts the discussion of nontraditional relationships among people who are below 18 years of age, but recent brutal clashes between lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans activists and allies have already shown how desperate the situation is for anyone who identifies as LGBT. How can anyone see this position as anything other than a government sanction of homophobia? And how will it affect the 2014 Olympics?

On Sunday, malicious software, known as malware, was identified on several sites hosted by Freedom Hosting, which provides consumers the ability to run hidden services, designed to protect their creators from being identified. While these are used for legitimate reasons, many hidden services are used for criminal purposes as well.

Last week, prime minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron announced that the government would be cracking down on porn by instituting opt-in filters with service providers. Basically, if you live in the U.K., you will be forced to give voice to whether you want access to the “corroding influence” of adult content.

It took two special sessions, working through protests and a filibuster, but governor Rick Perry of Texas finally got to sign into law one of the most restrictive abortion bills we’ve ever seen in the United States. The repercussions are serious: this bill will eliminate 37 out of 42 clinics in the state, basically leaving west Texas without access to clinics at all. So why is the pro-choice movement beating up on a 14-year-old?

The world’s first and largest Android adult app store wasted no time tapping into the Glass market. This week, Mikandi, as they’re called, released Tits and Glass, an app that encourages Glass users to take advantage of their ability to generate POV content, by enabling them to upload racy pictures into a stream for other users to rate — think Instagram, minus the filter-focus, all adult themed. Sounds like a winning proposition? Google didn’t think so.

Brian K. Vaughan, co-creator of the space opera SAGA, released a statement on his blog saying that Apple had banned its 12th issue. As it turned out, it wasn’t Apple but CosmiXology, the distributor of SAGA, who had preemptively censored the comic. But fans should be cautioned not to breathe a sigh of relief — this is a clear red flag about the power of ambiguous policies and seemingly arbitrary censorship events from digital outlets.

Once upon a time, you could get adult content when you queried Google Images for obvious search terms like “tits” and “vagina.” In a silent move, Google has turned that ease of search off, so now, unless you search “tits naked” or “vagina porn”, you’re going to get pretty safe for work images of women in slightly revealing tops for the “tits” and medical imagery for “vagina.” Google is silently closing shop on adult content.

You might remember John Brennan, the guy who stripped naked in the middle of Portland International Airport in Oregon in response to Transportation Security Agency regulations. The TSA was not amused and law enforcement took him into custody. But guess what? A judge agreed he was within his legal rights!

Last week, Jim Stamas, the Republican Majority Floor Leader for Michigan’s House of Representatives decided to bar Lisa Brown (D-West Bloomfield), from speaking on any of the bills the House is attempting to pass before adjuring for the summer. The reason for the ban? She said “vagina.” To talk about a bill regulating abortion. What was she thinking, right?! See for yourself.

You don’t get any more anti-gay than the Family Research Center (FRC), which launched a new campaign recently to save marriage by combating “fake” (i.e., gay) marriages in the United Sates. “The Left has launched the deceptive ‘Commitment Campaign’ to mislead Americans and impose affirmation of same-sex ‘marriage’ — fake marriage — on every state, county, city, school, and workplace,” reads their site.