Last week, two legal actions broadly redefined the landscape concerning the kind of media Australians are allowed to possess and view. Although both actions were taken in isolation, their combined impact has made a mockery of laws intended to protect us.
Beyond ridiculous, our laws are so out of sync with the world at large, they have now become unenforceable.
In the first of these legal actions, Sydney judge Michael Adams ruled that a pornographic cartoon featuring the likenesses of cartoon family The Simpsons constituted child pornography, even though these representations were not in any way
resembling of real people. Apparently the pornographic cartoon could fuel the demand for material that does involve the abuse of children.
Which begs the question: has Judge Adams ever watched The Simpsons? The casual, almost reckless child abuse that occurs every time Homer strangles Bart is precisely the sort of "abuse" that judge Adams seeks quash. As near as I can tell,
television broadcasters and everyone who watches any episode of The Simpsons where Homer throttles Bart (there are many, many such episodes, plus last year's feature film) have violated Australia's laws concerning the distribution and viewing of
materials which depict child abuse.
And let's be blunt: Homer does abuse Bart. There's no other rationale for Homer's behavior. It is child abuse. And any materials which depict child abuse in any way are wholly illegal under Australian law.
...Read full article
Update: Simpsons Porn
21st August 2010. Based on article
from abc.net.au
William Bellew was convicted earlier this year after he was found with more than 100 images on his computer that were subject to charges.
The original trial heard Bellew liked to manipulate the images to resemble characters from the Simpsons.
Bellew was originally sentenced to a year of weekend detention, but he appealed against the severity of the sentence.
Today's order from the Supreme Court has imposed a six-month suspended sentence and a 12-month good behaviour bond.
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