Free Republic

A panel of federal judges admonished Alex Kozinski, chief judge of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, on Thursday for being "judicially imprudent" and "exhibiting poor judgment" by placing sexually explicit photos and videos on an Internet server that could be accessed by the public. Kozinski's conduct had "created a public controversy that can reasonably be seen as having resulted in embarrassment to the institution of the federal judiciary," according to the panel's opinion, written by Anthony J. Scirica, chief judge of the U.S. 3rd Circuit Court of Appeals. The judges ruled, however, that Kozinski's actions did not constitute...

In a move that will allow movie studios to inject racy jokes into the trailers they use to promote their more adult-oriented films, the nation's largest theater chain has decided to permit restricted, "red band" trailers in its multiplexes. The move by Regal Entertainment Group, which operates 6,388 screens in 39 states and the District of Columbia, likely will lead to similar decisions at a number of the nation's other major chains. As last week's ShoWest convention of movie theater owners in Las Vegas drew to a close, the Knoxville, Tenn.-based circuit began notifying the studios of its decision. The...

Tony and Julie Elwood booked the first A380 double suite but the journalists clamouring to see inside their room prevented them from beating the sex ban Steve Bleach The A380 may have the world’s first airborne double bed, but it won’t be put to the obvious use if Singapore Airlines has its way: “If couples used our double beds to engage in inappropriate activity, we would politely ask them to desist,” said the company’s Stephen Forshaw. “There are things that are acceptable on an aircraft and things that aren’t, and the rules for behaviour in our double beds are the...

Cure for killer bug - but there's a catch KATE FOSTER IN THE annals of medical history, this could go down as one of the most effective but stomach-churning treatments ever devised. Scientists seeking a cure for a deadly superbug have successfully treated patients using human faeces. Trials in a Scottish hospital have shown patients suffering from the Clostridium difficile bug can be cured using 'donor stool' administered via a tube through the nose into their stomach. Clostridium difficile was last week at the heart of a damning report into cleaning failures at the Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells NHS Trust...

The filmmaker who ate nothing but McDonald's meals for a month for his Oscar-nominated film "Super Size Me" gave a profanity-laced, politically incorrect speech at a suburban Philadelphia high school, but not everyone was lovin' it. Speaking at Hatboro-Horsham High School's first-ever health fair, Morgan Spurlock joked about the intelligence of McDonald's employees, about "retarded kids in the back wearing helmets" and teachers smoking pot in the balcony. The special education students in the back row were led by teachers out of the hourlong presentation. "If you put the whole package together, the use of the F-word and poking fun...

Television bombards children with sex and violence, entertainment-industry critics say, and they want the government to help shield kids from it. But a string of broadcast, cable and satellite executives - and the actor who played mobster Ralph Cifaretto on HBO's "Sopranos" - on Tuesday urged Sen. Ted Stevens not to go too far. "We're already starting to self-police ourselves," said the actor, Joe Pantoliano, representing an industry group called the Creative Coalition. It's been nearly two years since pop star Janet Jackson bared her breast and its jewelry on live television, fueling calls for Congress to crack down on...

The easiest way to get a "green light" for a movie in Hollywood these days is to steal someone else's old idea. That old idea, however, must be updated. With Hollywood there's just one formula: cinematic remakes of vintage TV shows or old movies are almost always made sleazier -- more sexual, more violent, more obscene and more cynical -- than the original. According to Hollywood's calculations, today's young audiences will be disappointed if there isn't an over-the-top raunchy moment every two minutes or so. This is the mandate to be "modern," to avoid the stench of appearing -- watch...

New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton (D-NY) has long been rumored as desperately seeking the democratic nomination for president in 2008. And while many political observers fully expect the power hungry former First Lady to hit the campaign trail within only a few months of being re-elected as a US Senator in 2006, US News & World report claims to have a confirmation of sorts. From USNews.Com's Washington Whispers: Hillary's in… You don't have to take it from us about Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton 's desire to run for president. Her brothers, Hugh and Tony Rodham, say it's true. Friends...

WASHINGTON - When you think about news shows, what comes to mind? There's "Meet the Press." And "Face the Nation." And now, Howard Stern's radio show. That's right. The Federal Communications Commission (news - web sites) ruled Tuesday that Stern's raunchy radio program is a "bona fide news interview" program. The decision was in response to a request made by New York-based Infinity Broadcasting Operations Inc., which wanted a ruling that its widely syndicated Stern show is a news program and exempt from equal time requirements for political candidates. The decision will allow Stern to put actor Arnold Schwarzenegger (news)...

What if Rupert Murdoch hadn't bought The Sun in 1969? Quite possibly, Neil Kinnock would have become Prime Minister in 1992. Almost certainly, Britain would be less raunchy today. Undoubtedly, the Royal Family would have retained more dignity. Arguably, the Mirror pensioners might not have lost their money. And Manchester United might not have been strong enough to win the Champions League. Or, then again, it might not have made much difference at all.Of all the programmes in the What If? television series (currently showing on BBC4), the Murdoch question has been the hardest one to answer. On any view...

MEMPHIS, Tenn. (AP) Sam Phillips, who discovered Elvis Presley and helped usher in the rock 'n' roll revolution, died Wednesday. He was 80. Phillips died at St. Francis Hospital, spokeswoman Gwendolyn McClain said. No details were immediately available about the cause of death or how long he had been hospitalized. Phillips founded Sun Records in Memphis in 1952 and helped launch the career of Presley, then a young singer who had moved from Tupelo, Miss. He produced Presley's first record, the 1954 single that featured ``That's All Right, Mama'' and ``Blue Moon of Kentucky.'' ``God only knows that we didn't...