STUART FRIEDMAN -- A PERVERT TO CALL OUR VERY OWN

Well there he was in the flesh, instead of a smile, wearing a trench coat one of "those yar-something hats" and looking amazingly like a weazel. Mr. Cantor himself. A fine example of our upstanding "citzenshipness". So he was caught with enough kiddie porn to stock a small warehouse, but eh...he was a CANTOR - and on and on the media reports. So he was a "Cantor" and "we are all so shocked." Look people get a grip, wake up, smell a few coffee beans and would you pleaaaaaaaaaase stop putting people, especially men in the "clergy" profession, on pedestals?

After all of the -in your face- information and education that has been in the public eye over the last 5+ years, I can't believe people still get "shocked" when a perv is caught with his pants down...so to speak. I don't get it!???? What does it take to wipe out the need that society has for idolization? When a wimpy chebucto man recently didn't like what I had to say to him he called himself a "fine, tax-paying, conservative man". Oh yes I should not forget that he also "is a respected member of the community". Well I had to get away from the computer when I saw the note and go puke. This guy is a perfect example of what is so very wrong in our society. Some people still equate $$$$, paying a certain amount of taxes or social position to decency, honesty and admirable behaviour. Well I won't bore you with the details but let me tell you, if our fine young example of "a respected member of his community" (I'm still trying to figure out where his community is) is someone to be awed and put on a pedestal, we are all in alot of Trouble...(note the capital T).

Men (or women for that matter, I've discovered that some women can be just as odd as pervert men!) in suits, men in clergy dresses, men in police uniforms, men in military outfits, or those in politics...puke puke puke. Don't get me wrong. There is nothing wrong with any of these costumes, however, when they become equated with a sense of power, dominance and instant respect and trust, I begin to get that quesy feeling in my stomach. Trust and respect to me is earned over time and through actions whether a person has long straggly hair and tattoos from head to toe or whether they are clean as a dream with a nice "suit" on, there are no differences. You don't have to be an anarchist to rebel against the social pressure to trust the "well respected members of our community". I certainly do not believe in anarchy but I guess being a bit of a rebel does help.

NO one will convince me that there weren't any signs that Mr. Friedman was a bit "off". Let's face it, the police had something to go on long before he was ever arrested. He was around other adults in the teaching profession, church activities etc. and as far as I'm concerned his behaviour was ignored. It is true that we are all bound by the rule of burden of evidence before accusing someone of anything unethical, however, a bit of questioning and pressure goes a long way to break the spineless bones of people like Stuart Friedman. Questions are always permissable. You are not accusing someone of anything if you ask a question. For example if I say to someone, "do you smoke drugs?" instead of "you are a dopehead", I am accessing information rather than "accusing" someone of something. I still need to work on this one, because in the heat of a confrontation, it is sometimes difficult to frame your suspicions in a way that does not cause repercussions for yourself. It's an art, one worth mastering though!

The punishment? $2000.00 and off to Boston? Well, let's put it this way. He's caught. Mr. Friedman will never truly be a free man as long as he lives and that's a nice thought. I would have rather seen him serve some time in a prison where pedophiles are disdained by the rest of the prison population, however, the case is not over yet. Remember that. He is now heading to the United States where he has some alleged connections with a child pornography ring and....I'm kind of happy about that. The prisons in the states are alot tougher and ... pedophiles are granted no reprieve there in many instances. So...I'm satisfied with the punishment.

The fine?...I think the weak fine serves the city of Halifax well. I think this part of the sentence is not only for Mr. Friedman but for the city as well. It's a punishment in an attempt for IT to learn something! Why be so shocked at finding a pedophile amongst Halifax? There are perverts among us. They are here all over the city, they just haven't been caught yet and...the crime is not only theirs... it is also ours for staying in denial, putting blinders on and putting men (most pedophiles are men) on pedestals where they should never be. Maybe the minor $2000.00 fine will help the people of Halifax realize that noone deserves respect and trust without having earned it over time and with their behaviour. On THAT note - POWER TO THE CHILDREN!

LARRY FLYNT IS MY HERO...AND HELL JUST FROZE OVER

Well I went out to the movies last night with the ex and we got there an hour and a half before the movie started. So what does one do on a date with the ex when we're early for a movie? We went magazine gazing and strange but true, we sat, had a perrier, a snack and talked! Lately, I feel I have been getting to know the person I spent over two years with, for the first time. The subject turned to which movie we wanted to see and unpredictably to Larry Flynt. Of course I passed on seeing the story about his great victorious court battle, and gratefully, so did the ex. Raymond says, " wasn't the constitution of the United States created to make their country, and perhaps the world a better place? People like Flynt, twist it to justify their violence in the name of censorship." He went on to ask, "why do some people come into the world simply to make it worse for others?" Well now, Raymond knows that I wish I had the answer to that one, but I don't.

Some years ago the flamboyant American, Larry Flynt won his constitutional right to continue on with his making of violent pornography and his intellectually stimulating, HUSTLER magazine. In the name of censorship, he wouldn't be stopped. A recent movie apparently depicts Flynt's "struggle" to gain control over his "freedom of speech" and shows him coming out a hero for America, as an activist for human rights. On the bottom of the promotional poster, we see the phrase "you may not like what Flynt does, but are you prepared to have him give up his right to do it?" Quite frankly, my answer? Yes. Real prepared.

Flynt has an ax to grind and it isn't about freedom of speech. It is about his maddening need for power and dominance. His ax usually grinds in his creative works as well, usually by way of a woman or young girl having her head or other body parts removed from the rest of her. Hey, but don't censor it, then the rest of us will allllllll be in trouble. Well, if we're all making movies and writing works depicting women and children as, literally, pieces of meat; if we glorify rape and murder; if we all associate such horrific violence with sex and lovemaking; then perhaps we all should be censored and our rights for free speech should be quelched.

A few years ago I wrote an article in my university newspaper where I criticized a Vanity Fair Article on Madonna. Now I like Madonna and see her as a talented young woman but I do not like some of the work she has done, on her route to stardom. The Vanity Fair Article showed Madonna dressed up in little girl's outfits in a playground as she was posing in very provocative situations. I was angered by this association and it was just one step away from kiddie porn. Hundreds of children are found gagged, beaten and raped in similar playgrounds like the one Madonna was doing "her thing" in. Hundreds of more children are abducted from similar playgrounds. Well I got my anger out with the written word as I often do. I was then lambasted by the editor (who interestingly quit her posting shortly after our little cufuful) in the name of censorship. "After all, TaMarah" the editor scorned, " You are a poet...how could you suggest burning Madonna's articles or work?". Well I can only say...."Yes, I'm a poet. I will also say that I would gladly sacrifice a few of my poems to save a few lives of children." If it means that I have to give up something of myself in order that a child can live in safety and without fear of violence, I would gladly give up some of my rights to write and publish! The catch comes through in what we, as artists and writers, do write.

Of course it's a tricky subject. Stop Flynt's right to create and where does it end? In my books it ends when you have graphic sex purposely mixed with graphic violence. Sure some people like to dress up as kids and do their hanky panky, others like to be chained and whipped before the big event. These are all erotic adult games that are personal preferences. Two adults making decisions for mutual pleasure. Anything goes. However, depicting children in the public eye as sexual objects or using graphic imagery that promotes the link between sex and violence is over the line in my books. Common sense is lost in the debate for freedom of speech. Censorship Rules! Larry Flynt was heard in Parliament not because he advocated for freedom of speech but because he was rolling with $$$. Let's face it, $$ in this society, particularly in the rooms where legislation is made, is power. Politics and the law are about power, Larry Flynt is consumed with power and so the two go hand in hand. Flynt does not advocate freedom of speech. He advocates barbaric treatment of women. He supports rape and violence towards women and he has got the money to put where his mouth is....so.....We've no more freedom of speech than we used to have before Flynt came along, but we have alot more support for the production of violent pornography. Larry Flynt my hero? When hell freezes over.

THE COVERT LAW OF COPYRIGHT

It is not very often we read or hear about the details around the intricacies of copyright law. Copyright is one of those laws that are with us but that rarely gets identified or talked about perhaps since it is not often that it needs to be dealt with. Perhaps being a published poet gives me a little bit more insight into the necessary evils of copyright, though I doubt if I know much more about the subject than the average Joe or Jo-anne! The most important thing I know about copyright is that it is an automatic right granted to a writer/author of any material upon its creation. The copyright is extended beyond the grave for 50+ years...and then it remains there until someone challenges its legitimacy. The creation need not be akin to a Shakespearean Sonnet, it can be a simple note, letter or diary and perhaps even in the new techno-age...an email - though the copyright laws around E-mail and the Internet are still in the early stages of being created.

While researching some information for this article, I discovered something that irritated me just a tad about a creation I had made a few years ago. I had worked on a 6 month contract creating an educational program for a non-profit agency. The program was completed on sched and it was deemed a success. My contract term ended and that was the end of my program...or so I thought...and in actuality, since I had been working under a contract for a particular agency...the program was not considered "mine" but "theirs." If I had of contracted my services out to them as an "independent consultant", then I would have maintained the copyright to the educational program that was created. Well rumour has it that my program worked well in practice as well as theory, however, it got up and running under a different name, under a different author with just a few edits! Eghad....oh well a lesson learned is a lesson taught my friends, so beware the copyright thieves...:)

Our copyright law is determined by the Federal Copyright Act.. As long as the writer/creator is a Canadian citizen or, a resident whose country follows the International Copyright Conventions, copyright protection is granted. (Cynthia Scott, Legal Focus, p.1, 1996)

Copyright Infringement may be difficult to prove or enforce but the Federal Copyright Act does offer all Canadians and some of our visitors protection under its law. Often the law goes unchallenged. For example everytime time one of us tapes our friend's cd unto our cassette player we are committing an "offense" and breaking copyright law. Though this seems petty, those in the entertainment field who produce the work, consider this act piracy and far from petty. This "offense" may be minor compared to larger issues around copyright infringement. Penalities can land a person in jail for 6 months and/or fines for up to and including $25,000. For more serious situations the person caught in the act of "stealing" another's creations can face up to 5 years in prison and/or fines up to and including a million bucks!!! (Cynthia Scott, Legal Focus, p.1, 1996) So, if you don't want to mess with the copyright police, it might be wise to be as creative as you possibly can next time you are sending your lover a note. Create your own "hotmail" or it may end up costing you more than you bargained for. Good luck and remember "put it in writing" but make sure you are original!