[FYI] (Fwd) excessive Polish anti-porn law

["Axel H Horns" <horns@t-online.de>]

------- Forwarded message follows -------
Date sent:      	Thu, 23 Dec 1999 16:47:46 -0800
From:           	mech@eff.org (Stanton McCandlish)
Subject:        	excessive Polish anti-porn law
To:             	Recipient List Suppressed:;
Send reply to:  	gilc-plan@gilc.org

A somewhat alarmist message, but the details may be of interest.
Sounds like a Polish CDA, though not specifically about the Net.

As I read it, he's saying that existing law covered lewd public
displays, and no one had a problem with that, but this one means to
ban everything sexually explicit, period.


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X-Authentication-Warning: eff.org: warnold set sender to owner-action
using -f Date: Thu, 16 Dec 1999 20:03:01 +0100 (EET) From: Krzysztof
Sobolewski <critto@proterians.net> Subject: URGENT!!! FREEDOM OF
EXPRESSION THREATENED!!!! To: action@eff.org (action mailing list)

 PLEASE SPREAD THAT LETTER AS WIDELY AS IT IS POSSIBLE - EVEN
TO NEWSGROUPS, ALERT LISTS AND USENET GROUPS, AND EVERYWHERE YOU
WANT. THANK YOU FOR ANY HELP.

       FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION THREATENED IN POLAND ONCE AGAIN
     ==========================================================

  Let me introduce myself. My name is Krzysztof (Christopher)
Sobolewski, and I use the nickname "Critto". I'm pro-freedom
activist from Poland, my beloved homeland in Central Europe.

  About an hour ago I've heard it in polish TV - TVP1 - the Sejm
(lower house of polish Parliament) has passed the anti-porn bill. That
bill prohibits "producing, selling, exposing and distribution of the
pictures or photos, where the sexual act is shown in the manner the
genital organs are shown". That extremally stupid law makes those
activities PUNISHABLE UP TO TEN YEARS IN PRISON.
  In the year 1997, the Sejm have decided that ANY porn,
where neither children, nor animals, nor violence is involved,
is legal - it only "can't be shown in the way somebody may do
not wish to" - eg it can't be displayed on street billboards.
It was a wise decision made by representatitves from SLD (left-wing)
and UW (center, liberals); Now, thanks to reps from AWS (right,
sometimes too right) Poland may turn in censostate (if president would
sign
  And I ask you to HELP Poland remain free; to DISTRIBUTE my note,
with or without my personal info; to put some info about that new
stupid law at BLUE RIBBON ALERT pages; I hope that, in Poland, only
one civil liberties organization available - Freepress
(www.freepress.org) will protest against that idiotic bill; but I'm
not sure; anyway, I really ask for help - HELP THE LIBERTY!
    Yours
       Krzysztof (Christopher) "Critto" Sobolewski
*****************************************************************
     Krzysztof Kazimierz "Critto" Sobolewski
e-mail :critto@proterians.net
www    :http://proterians.net/~critto
phone  :+4858 301-72-50
adres  :ul. Krosna 32/2, 80-857 Gdansk, POLAND, EUROPE
***************************************************************** PS.
In some sense I AM blue-ribbon activist; although I didn't start
    the REAL organization, I try to win some people for liberty - by
    informing them about Blue Ribbon and similiar campaigns. And I had
    some contacts with Stanton McCandlish from EFF - Stanton, if you
    read my letter, please help!
PS.1 I don't have anything to do with porn business, I even DO NOT
    read porno magazines; I'm only concerned about the freedom and
    future of my country.

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--
Stanton McCandlish      mech@eff.org       http://www.eff.org/~mech
Communications Coordinator & Webmaster, Electronic Frontier Foundation
voice: +1 415 436 9333 x105   fax: +1 415 436 9993   ICQ: 16631335
PGPfone: 204.253.162.21  ICQ Pager:
http://wwp.mirabilis.com/16631335#pager

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