>***** http://www.wired.com/news/politics/0,1283,41733,00.html
>FBI Goes After Bonsaikitten.com
>by Declan McCullagh (declan at wired.com)
>10:10 a.m. Feb. 9, 2001 PST
>
>...In December 1999, President Clinton signed a law that makes it a
>federal felony to possess "a depiction of animal cruelty" with the
>intent to distribute across state lines -- such as on the Internet.
>During a floor debate, Rep. Elton Gallegly (R-Calif.) claimed that
>"sick criminals are taking advantage of the loopholes in the local
>law and the lack of federal law on animal cruelty videos."... *****
>
>It's not a matter of personal choice but what is compatible with
>capitalism. You _can't_ prohibit standing armies & weapons of mass
>destruction unless you abolish capitalism, whereas you can pass laws
>prohibiting "a depiction of animal cruelty" (however futile such
>laws may be), as Clinton, etc. did, without disturbing capitalism at
>all, merely bringing _hypocrisy_ (it is _cruelty_ to torment cute
>furry creatures, but it is _patriotic honor or military necessity_
>to kill or injure human animals, be they enemy soldiers, enemy
>civilians, soldiers of one's own & allied armies, or even civilians
>in whose name one is fighting) in the USA to a higher level.
Amazingly, as with child porn, the image itself is criminalized - even if there were no actual children or abused animals involved with its production. So it can be a felony to misuse Photoshop here in the land of the free.
Doug