If you notice, since Britney started wearing clothes and behaving; Paris is out of town not bothering anybody anymore, thank God, and evidently, Lindsay Lohan has gone gay, we don't seem to have much of an issue.
-Los Angeles Police Chief William Bratton, on his city's recently mitigated paparazzi problem
Criminalizing things: It's what's made Russia grand for years and years (that, and secret torture rooms).
Legislation is currenting being formulated in Russia to heavily regulate emo websites and ban emo and goth dress style in schools and government buildings.
The new laws are apparently being driven by fears that these "dangerous teen trends" encourage depression and suicide.
The legislation defines "emo kids" as "teenagers who wear black, have facial piercings and black hair with fringes that 'cover half the face,'" and it's been met with rampant protesting. One demonstration in Siberia saw a banner that read, "A Totalitarian State Encourages Stupidity." Sensitive but smart, these emo kids.
Stupid tabloids, stars aren't like us at all! That's why, despite the fact that she was arrested in early June in Manhattan for buying both crack and powder cocaine, Oscar winning junkie Tatum O'Neal was yesterday allowed to plead guilty to a lesser charge of disturbing the peace.
Her punishment for disrupting the placidity of New York with her multiple cocaine purchases is two drug treatment classes and a $95 fine. Try pulling that off as a Dominican mother of two on welfare!
[Source]
It’s the moment we’ve all been waiting for: California officials have officially made same-sex marriage official!
At 5:01 PM, clerks began issuing the state’s first same-sex marriage licenses. And, as a proper institution, the ladies went first. Phyllis Lyon and Del Martin, who have been together 55 years, inaugurated the festivities in San Francisco, while Robin Tyler and Diane Olson did it up in Los Angeles county. The latter were the original plaintiffs in the case that led to California Supreme Court’s decision to overturn the ban on gay marriage.
UH OH! "The Associated Press, one of the nation’s largest news organizations, said that it will, for the first time, attempt to define clear standards as to how much of its articles and broadcasts bloggers and Web sites can excerpt without infringing on The A.P.’s copyright."
Huzzah! People in charge of laws that govern other, different people are finally starting to make sense:
The California Supreme Court has overturned a ban on gay marriage, paving the way for California to become the second state where gay and lesbian residents can marry.
The justices released the 4-3 decision Thursday, saying that domestic partnerships are not a good enough substitute for marriage in an opinion written by Chief Justice Ron George.
The polar bear was today recognized by the Bush administration as a "threatened" species. This means that, under the Endangered Species Act, the majestic, apex predator of the Arctic is just one step away from endangered and two steps away from extinction.
Indeed, scientists are concerned. But the Bush administration doesn't give a fuck about scientists. Nor do they give a fuck about you, your kids or your kid's kids. That's why there's this little addendum:
A threatened listing under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) is supposed to provide broad protection to polar bears. Greenpeace, however, noted an exemption (technically known as a 4d exemption) for global warming pollution contained in the ruling.
"Global warming is the biggest threat facing polar bears and this exemption eliminates any real protection the listing could have provided," the group said. "It specifically says federal agencies don't need to consider the impact of global warming pollution on the polar bear.
"This might look like a listing to protect the polar bear but it's really just a way for the administration to protect the interests of the oil and gas industry, as well as get away without taking action on global warming."
The French Parliament is on its way to passing an unprecedented bill that recommends fines and prison sentences for people — like proprietors of those hideous and sad “pro-ana” Web sites — who promote and encourage “extreme thinness.”
VIRGIN SHUNS LOVE "Courtney Love is the latest celebrity to be banned from flying. The singer and her daughter Frances Bean Cobain were headed back to London on Monday … when she decided that her need for nicotine outweighed the consequences of breaking the airport no smoking laws. The smoking violation took place in the first class lounge of Virgin Atlantic at LAX. A spokesperson for the airline confirmed that Love was prevented from boarding her flight and was not allowed to fly out until the next evening."
NO ESCAPE!!!!! "The Los Angeles police chief on Tuesday said a proposed new city law aimed at protecting celebrities from aggressive paparazzi would be ambiguous and impossible to enforce. … Los Angeles councilman Dennis Zine proposed creating a 'personal safety zone' to regulate paparazzi shortly after city police in January spent $25,000 to escort [Britney] Spears from her home across town to a psychiatric unit in the middle of the night. Zine suggested creating a minimum 'personal safety zone' of several feet of clear space between paparazzi and the individuals they are photographing. … Bratton said however that the proposal raised questions about who is classified as a 'celebrity' or 'paparazzo,' whether the LAPD is showing favoritism toward stars and whether the general public is entitled to the same protection."
We all know celebrities love smoking, and good for them, because now — at least in New York — they'll be the only ones who can afford it. After being driven from the bars and made to pay a $1.50 per pack "sin tax," NYC smokers are getting it from the lawman once again, with legislators planning on doubling the already large cigarette tax. This will boost the average price of a pack in New York City to an unheard of $9, thereby making Camel Lights more expensive than crack.
LATE LEGISLATION "A [Los Angeles] city councilman wants to create a buffer zone between celebrities and the paparazzi who often swarm around them. Councilman Dennis Zine said the measure would require several feet of space between photographers and celebrities to ensure a 'personal safety zone.' 'This is about common decency,' Zine said following a city council meeting. 'We don't want to put the media out of business, but there has to be some reason when they do their job.'"
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