War-dead Web site leads to Polk obscenity arrest

[DemocratSinceBirth]

Polk County officials arrested a Lakeland man on obscenity charges Friday after investigating his graphic Web site, which has gained international attention for allowing U.S. soldiers to post pictures of war dead on the Internet.

The charges against Christopher Michael Wilson, a former police officer, are likely to reignite the debate about obscene material in the Internet age. It also raises questions about whether the federal government played a part in motivating the prosecution.


http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/southwest/orl-obscene08_105oct08,0,5285652.story?coll=orl-home-headlines

[NNN0LHI]

1. Army won't pursue charges in posting of grisly war-zone photos on Web site

http://www.estripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=31091&archive=true


Army investigators won’t pursue criminal charges against anyone involved in a Web site that posts sometimes-grisly photos ostensibly submitted by U.S. soldiers in war zones. The site offered soldiers free access to pornographic materials in exchange for the photos.

The site, which normally charges visitors to look at amateur pornography, had drawn the ire of the Pentagon and Muslim advocacy groups, prompting an Army inquiry. But late Wednesday, an Army spokesman said the Criminal Investigation Command did not find enough evidence to pursue felony charges.

“While this may not rise to the level of a felony crime, it’s still serious,” Army spokesman Paul Boyce told The Associated Press.

If investigators could prove soldiers had used government computers to post photos, charges could be pursued.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

2. I Still Can't Find The Site...

eom

[peekaloo]

10. .

www.nowthatsfuckedup.com

[pretzel4gore]

3. they're breathalysing prom goers in amerkkka now

nothing them brainless knuckle dragging pigfukkers do surprises...there should be bounties on busheviks

[DemocratSinceBirth]

4. I Want To See The Site And Decide For Myself

by the way i find depictions of violence much more disturbing than depictions of sex....

[leftchick]

5. I have seen them

they were posted here a couple of weeks ago. The link to the site that is. They were very grisly but I would not call it porn. Two completely different issues.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

6. No-He's Being Prosecuted For The Sexy Pictures...

I want to see for myself if they are obscene....

[pretzel4gore]

8. go to rotten.com if you want to see hideous

that's all they are. the strange thing is that death bestows innocence on the dead, and when they're mangled up, especially by boors with bangbangs, then the needlessness of the deaths seems clear....i've never killed anyone, and that wasn't easy (fact is, too many people could use '5 in the noggin' from my experience lol) and thanks to some higher power, or just good luck, no one has died at my hands.....when in iraq you have such a blatant illegal invasion/occupation of a country, then the people featured in those pictures are the nightmares of the men responsible for the deaths, if they have any wits. Few in history have been as blessed as the common american (canadian, westerner etc) citizen, and this confronts the truth that, as the ancient greeks believed 'men learn by suffering' At least an iraqi, or a palestinian, or any oppressed person anywhere has his/her suffering to prepare him for hell, if he/she goes there....westerners largely haven't got this experience. The pictures from iraq might haunt the responsible partys' sleep, but i hope not. Men who murder civilians should all live soft sweet lives...hahaha

[YDogg]

7. Polk County (FL) does not welcome adult businesses ...

... or related endeavors (locally hosted porn sites, etc.).

Here's a report on the arrest from one of their local papers:
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051008/NEWS/510080427/1039

As I recall, the current sheriff (Grady Judd) made his name closing down topless establishments in Polk County in the '80s. Maybe early '90s. There are periodic busts in the news still, but my sense of things is that adult establishments / owners of these places know they are not going to last here. Community standards kind of thing, routinely trumpeted in the local press. This is probably the first major bust of this type since Judd became sheriff a year or so ago.

Not saying that I agree with this sort of affront to free speech, I'm just reporting this to be the case in Polk County as I understand it.

[paineinthearse]

9. I agree, war is obscene

The man should be tried, convicted and given the medal of freedom for publishing the truth.