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Tuesday, February 6th, 2001

Extreme Accounting 101 and Jews who own German Cars

Esad writes: Dear Luke, My sources within the Extreme Accounting Dept. tell me things were a little tense when their box company refused to complete their order without a c.o.d. payment in excess of $15,000.00! Rob was scrambling around like crazy to raise money to pay this vendor.

And on the other side of the financial spectrum, AVN Emperor, Paul Fishbein recently leased a $100,000 Mercedes, which he lovingly calls "Gino", in deference to the fact that the money he isn't paying Gene Ross allowed him to upgrade his transportation needs! Once again Fishidiot shows tremendous money management skills......maybe AVN on the newsstand part 3? Is this the same man who berates his friends for ordering veal in restaurants yet feels it is ok to drive a car made by a company that was a tool for Hitler and murdered his jewish ancestors? Don't you dare wear a fur to the AVN Awards Show but it is totally ok to drive a Nazi car? Paul donates money to the "Save a Whale Foundation" and then brags to his friends how much he has helped Ron Jeremy!

Jenna Jameson Live On Luke F-rd Live

Listen to Tuesday night's Luke F-rd Live show. With special guests Samantha Sterlyng and Jenna Jameson. Also Kevin Korey aka Mr Nakita Kash, and Brandy Alexandre.

Read the chat here.

Thirty second ad spots on the Luke F-rd Live show cost $250 per month. Email Luke for more details.

Marc writes: best line in the show from jimmy d. (i'm paraphrasing): "i saw a show on A&E called sex and the bible. let me tell you, you jews were a randy lot."

Devoto: CONGRATULATIONS on your show!! You hit the "mainstream" you actually had a FLOODER in the chat room!!

Girls Gone Wild

What do you know about the video series "Girls Gone Wild" (GirlsGoneWild.com) video series? Does the video company that produces the series gets consent from the women shown on tape. Are there any cases where women were unaware that they were being taped. I would love to know your opinion about the videos, and about how you feel about reality porn as well. Email Luke

The company that operates "Girls Gone Wild" is called "girls gone wild," but it appears to be a subsidiary of amx video and mantra films. Anyone know anything about them?

Slavik writes: Luke i've seen Girls Gone Wild crew filming few months ago and yes they do make all girls sign a release form. here is another one like it wildpartygirls.com.

Did Tori Welles Convert To Judaism To Marry Paul Norman?

MrHollywood writes: I'm curious about something. This needn't be posted, just tell me if you know: Did Tori Welles (nee Britannia Paris) convert when she became Mrs. Apstein? Since they have kids together I thought she might have. This, of course, would make the sons Jewish, if their mother is. Just curious. I doubt your other readers are wondering but I was.

Luke: I believe she converted but not to Orthodox Judaism. Some watered down version of the religion.

Teri Diver Dead

Performer-turned-director Teri Diver died January 2, her husband Ren Savant told AVN this week.

"She had apparently taken too much of her headache medicine," Savant told AVN. "She'd been suffering from migraines for several years. When we were still together, [Savant and Diver were separated, but not divorced, at the time of her death] she had been to a neurologist and had several tests done. She had gone through several treatments over the course of about four years, and suffered from really debilitating headaches. A lot of times they're really elusive, and you can't pinpoint what's triggering it or what kind they are, so treating it is kind of a crapshoot."

The drug she was taking for migraines was "kind of an elephant gun," Savant said." You'd end up sleeping for 14-15 hours before it took effect. It's a commonly prescribed drug. I think she built up a tolerance, and apparently she took too much that night."

Porn Ace writes: Aside from Teri Diver being an exceedingly cute and energetic performer there was a very appealing down to earth type of personality that really came through on screen...I'm real sorry to hear about it.

Kid Vegas Vows To Shred Tod Hunter On Internet Gossip Sites

Kid Vegas writes Tod Hunter of InsideAdult.com: Oh yeah, what is all this bulls--- about these has been hookers like Tiffany Minx, who the f--- cares what they are doing, people who leave & try this bulls--- comeback, especially when their are girls struggling to make a name, help them, not these retards who quite & come back, & what is your deal. You don't seem to post too many of my messages. Are you too busy to print my stuff, too preoccupied with banging porn chicks? I hope this makes it to your site, because if it doesn't I am sure it will on Lukes, ainews, & genes, but with alot more about you. f--- this bull s--- you have up, lets have some fun, not a bunch of cry baby bulls--- that looks like a quota you are trying to make to keep your job there. Put some more interesting things up. You know who's Daddy Tod, & I know you won't put this up because your ego is way too big, right? So I have taken you down to be slaughtered this month all month, because you don't report on me, & you head is too swelled up. I am going to shred you like a paper shredder on all sites I can, to regain my title of internet King.

Extreme Tension

Esad writes: Dear Luke, My sources inside Extreme say tensions are high. Most of the employees really despise Gene. He adds nothing to the company, Rob figured out he cannot make money with Gene's site and people are pissed that he supposedly is making so much money.

The wrestling business is in limbo, though Rob is working to make it successful. Gene's adding nothing and the money is tight. that along with owing his box cover designer and others begging for money that'spast overdue, Gene looks like a casualty. However, Rob's a proud guy and doesn't want to admit he made a huge mistake hiring Gene. So he's holding onto him.

My inside source is checking out the validity of the story about Rob paying him up front. If it's true, Gene will be there exactly one year (if they stay in business that long). Also several Extreme employees were aware of the stolen AVN e-mails that appeared on other web sites. Be curious to see if any subpoenas ever come that way.

Seeking Honest Reputable Vendor For Fisting Movies

Fulvio writes: Hey Luke Hi!! I have a question, I'm looking to buy uncut fisting movies up here in NYC. The vendors here are not the most knowledgeable or trustworthy people, plus they hardly speak english. I don't speak Pakistani , so they're not much help!!! I bought movies that should include fisting. . . . but they're censored!! Do you know where i could buy uncut versions of american fisting titles ; "the fist, the whole fist. . . " or "Tampa tushy. . . " etc.. . . . . legal. . . . not copies or bulls---. A reputable honest vendor for movies?

Luke replies: I'm afraid that honest reputable people who speak English well do not sell pornography let alone fisting movies.

Director James DiGiorgio (blpixxx@earthlink.net) writes: Lukey, tell Fulvio that *I* speak English. (One outa two aint bad.) Have him submit a financial statement. If he's got the juice, I got the fists--and the babes to shove them in.. I'll make him so much uncensored fisting s---, he'll wear his wrists out jerking. JimmyD (custom made smut a specialty)

Al Goldstein Ripoff

In a triumph of hope over experience, I looked at Al Goldstein's column in today's AVN.com. And it is a word for word reprinting of a past Screw "Screw You" column by Al in the July 19, 1999 issue of Screw magazine. I suspect that all of Al's columns for AVN.com have been word for word reprintings of his previously published Screw ramblings with a few introductory words thrown in at the beginning.

I've found Al's columns a real bore, incredibly tasteless, embarrassing, and not really in tune with AVN's editorial attitude... But I do think his column has great potential. And it does add content. And I keep reading them hoping they will turn into something. Al is smart, witty and as we all know, he's not even writing any of his columns. His ghost writers do.

And yeah, I'm a little jealous that over the past six months, AVN.com has overtaken me in traffic.

Yes, there is no need for another gossip site. But there is a need for solid skeptical journalism on porn.

According to his mailbag which he printed in a column last week, Al's received tons of supportive email and tons of Jew hating email.

I believe it. But why then have I only received one or two pieces of anti-Semitic email in my 4 years on the web. (Aside from the anti-Semitic schtick of my jewish friend Chaim Amalek). And I have published a ton of material taken from Anti Jewish websites, and I'm constantly harping on jews in porn. But I receive no anti-Semitic email.

I'll give you an analogy. Carol Hemingway, a totally assimilated Jewish radio talkshow host on KABC radio in Los Angeles used to host RELIGION ON THE LINE where she moderated a weekly two hour commercial free discussion between a priest, minister and rabbi every week. Carol never mentioned that she was Jewish. Yet she received tons of antisemitic hate mail. In 1982, Carol was succeeded by Dennis Prager, about the most openly Jewish member of the media, firmly rooted in traditional Judaism and a widely known lecturer and author on Judaism. The station received almost no anti-Semitic email about him. My conclusion: Jews who lead openly and authentically Jewish lives, rooted in Torah and Judaism, attract very little anti-Semitism in modern America. Jews for public office who are not kneejerk secular Jewish liberals also attract little anti-Semitism. America celebrated Lieberman because he was an Orthodox Jew. They would not have if he was secular liberal Jew.

Goldstein, as a foul non-Jewish Jew, will always attract tons of anti-Semitic reactions.

What Is The Oral Law?

Ian writes: Hi Luke, I've seen a number of references on your site to the 'Oral Law'. What is it, please, and can I see what's in it (or is it, by definition, only something that can be heard?).

Luke answers: Before there was the Bible, there was the oral tradition of the people Israel. Eventually this tradition was written down and it forms the Bible. Marching hand in hand with the tradition that became the Bible, was an oral tradition among the people Israel which did many things - such as interpreting the Biblical tradition. This oral tradition also contained laws and teachings apart from the Biblical tradition which were needed for the functioning of the people Israel.

Eventually, about year 150 of the Common Era, the leaders of the Jewish tradition started writing down the Oral Law, also known as the Oral Torah. Torah means teaching. When the Oral Law was put together in its final form, year 200 CE, it became known as the Mishna. For the next 300 years, the Jews leading rabbis (Amorim) commented and discussed the Mishna. Their discussions were eventually written down (about year 500 CE) and they became known as the Talmud.

While the Jewish Bible has become an essential part of the traditions of billions of people, the Talmud is essentially accessible only to relatively learned Jews because of its difficulty. It really can only be learned from the teachings of qualified rabbis, who've spent years studying the text. These rabbis rely for much of their understanding of the Talmud on the oral teachings of their teachers who relied on the teachings of their teachers. In other words, a line of Oral Torah that goes back, according to Jewish tradition, to the divine revelation at Mount Sinai 3200 years ago. According to the tradition, at Sinai, God gave Moses two Torahs - a written Torah (the five books of Moses, the Pentateuch) and an Oral Torah (which is found in the Mishna). Because they both come from God, they are equally binding on the Jew.

Here's a Yahoo link to internet Talmud resources. But remember, these matters are probably beyond the ken of goyim.

Mr Hollywood Jew writes: The Torah is binding, the oral law is commentary and is open to interpretation. In fact, the study of the oral law is all ABOUT interpretation -- and different Orthodox sects interpret much of it differently from one another. But even in Orthodoxy, the oral law does not compare to Torah (the Law of Moses -- the first 5 books of the Bible) in importance. It is VERY important, mind you, especially to extremely fundamentalist movements like the Hasidim, wherein even are found many different sects interpreting the oral law differently. Most Jews today are Reform (a movement which has made Judaism part of the mainstream modern world) or Conservative (which was born as a reaction to the excessive assimilatioist trends found in Reform but stopped short of a return to Orthodoxy), both of which largely dismiss the oral law as significant to Jewish history and theological evolution but not pertinent to modern life. Even modern Orthodoxy tends not to focus on it nearly as much as its more traditionalist brethren (who represent only a tiny minority of American Jews, by the way). I was raised Orthodox but I'm Reform by choice and proud of it. Like most of the Reform majority I resent the Orthodox insinuation that they are the only REAL Jews simply because they are stuck in the past. I'd like to hear Chaim's thoughts on this. I think I know what Luke will say.

Luke replies: Assimilator, sucking the scrotums of the goyim while turning your back on your own oral heritage.

Chaim Amalek writes: (Luke do not publish this as it is late and I have not had the chance to give this even a once over.)

The orthodox would say that the oral law is the talmud, and is on equal footing with the books of Moses. In practice, they spend far more time on this than on the written law. (Girls in talmud torahs know much more about the tannach than the boys do, I have read.)

The other jews like to say that "the past [i.e., the oral law] has a vote, not a veto."

Luke, this is the sort of thing you ought to have explored on your show. If the orthodox are triumphalist, it is becuase they know that the demographic trends are on their side.

Can you get me a date with Heather Graham?

Cloning Of Aging Porn Stars

Chaim Amalek writes: Check out the cover story on the current NYTimes Sunday mag, and the Raelians at: http://www.rael.org/int/english/index.html

Why haven't you discussed cloning of aging porn stars, so that every twenty years or so we can enjoy the same performer over and over again until the end of time? And why are you blocking all discussions of our Space Bretheren? How powerful are they in your field?

Luke says: They are very powerful.

Indigo Nights

Patrick Riley writes on RAME: Victoria (Vicca) proves that her English hasn't improved and that she can't memorize her lines; Dino proves that he should stick to camerawork. Note: as per convention I'll warn you that there is a SPOILER in the text. It doesn't matter much given the nature of the movie but still, if you want to see it, stop reading now.

INDIGO NIGHTS 2000--VCA Producer/Director: Dino Ninn Featuring: Victoria Queen, Aleksandra Nice, Nicole Sheridan, T.J. Hart, Monica, Herschel Savage, Voodoo Child, Brick Majors, Evan Stone, Lee Stone, Dic Tracy, Jim Holliday

Victoria's sister worked for Herschel at his nudie bar and did some hooking on the side (don't they all?). She's been murdered and Lee is the cop on the case but just to be sure (or for some unknown reason) Victoria hires PI TJ to find the killer (initially I'm sure she said "find her sister" but it doesn't matter). Lee visits Herschel who looks about as sleazy as they get (OTOH I haven't had too much experience with nudie bar owners) and in flashback we watch the employment interview for Victoria's sister (played by Victoria, of course with the difference being that when she's playing the sister she wears granny glasses).

Back in the present TJ consults Lee and we find out they were cops together and had an affair--this sub-plot goes no further but they screw anyway. TJ wants to go undercover but Victoria beats her to it and for once doesn't have to screw Herschel to get the job. TJ gets a comfort g/g from her and then turns up to hoot and holler at the nudie bar where we stay for most of the rest of the movie. Gawd, these are dismal places!

Dancer Nice lets PL Evan Stone screw her beside the runway. Senator (yeah, right!) Brick arrives in a suit and eyes up Victoria to the consternation of Monica, another whore, and takes Monica off to a couch or seat and screws her. Yeah, even Ted Kennedy would draw the line at that! Who wrote this crap. Nicole dances and screws PL Voodoo. Finally in flashback we watch Brick screw Victoria's sister and then...nah, it's really Monica who killed her out of jealousy. Dic Tracy is the black cop who does no sex. Jim Holliday is credited but I didn't see him. Maybe one of the PL's. Victoria--used to be good back in Hungary but she's filled out and sounds like she's just marking time. Aleksandra--past her sell-by date, womanly. Nicole--big nose, long blonde hair, whorish, lithe body, cantaloupes, overbite. TJ--how old is this woman? Monica--can be seen in MDD #153. Not Monica Cameron. Marginal face, long dirty blonde hair in ropes, thin plucked eyebrows, medium tits, a belt like tattoo around her waist with the ends pointing to her pussy in front and her ass crack in back, tattoo on her right hip, tattoo around left bicep, paintbrush, tight waist, flat belly, wide hips, and a lithe body. She's American and says that she's 21 years old and works as a stripper. Condoms in all scenes. Anal for Victoria only. Facials for Nice and Nicole; the rest are butt and body c/s.

Thighs Wide Open

Patrick Riley writes on RAME: Lincoln is no Stanley Kubrick and Chloe is no Nicole Kidman.

THIGHS WIDE OPEN 2000--VCA Producer/Director: Fred Lincoln Featuring: Chloe Nichole, Brigette Kerkove, Maya Divine, Justine Romee, T.J. Hart, Charlene Aspen, Ronnie Coxx, Evan Stone, Randy Spears, Kyle Stone, Eric Masterson

You don't expect them to porno-ize the mainstream movie do you? That would require talent, skill,... oh, and most importantly, more money than they could afford.

Chloe is the sexually repressed wife of up and coming lawyer Evan Stone. They go to an office party where Brigette, the wife (?) of the top lawyer takes Evan off to another room and says that he must have a bad sex life because he's been accessing sex sites from his office computer. The boss is worried. Brigette lets him f--- her in the ass just to tide him over. Meanwhile, Randy picks up Chloe and gives her the password to a sex club (run by him?), and shows her a porno on TV (just the way to impress a sexually repressed associate's wife at an office function--who dreamed up this unbelievable crap?). She and we watch Ronnie screw Charlene. Later Chloe goes to the sex club which functions during the day--Randy says to expect the unexpected--where she screws Randy, watches some more sex scenes and does a g/g/g with TJ and Brigitte. She's cured, or something, so that night she lets Evan anal (only) her on the kitchen island. It was all Evan's idea!

Chloe-- past her sell-by date. Retire! Brigette--cantaloupes, actually sounds credible as she delivers her lines but too whorish. Maya--Jenny Jones whore Justine--pudgy and whorish TJ--How old is this woman! Charlene--I'd f--- her, after the Lysol bath of course. Condoms everywhere. Facials for Chloe (with Randy only), Maya, and Charlene. The rest are butt or belly c/s. Anals for Brigette, Justine, and Chloe. G/g only for TJ.

More Dirty Debutantes 177

Patrick Riley writes on RAME: Skipped #176 because the girls on the box looked woof-woofs. This one is a slight improvement. Note for Den: Ed apologizes many times in writing for the "technical problems"; personally I didn't see anything significant to apologize for. Veronica Hart should apologize for living; that would make sense!

MORE DIRTY DEBUTANTES #177 2000--Sky Blue Video, 4-Play Video Producer/Director: Ed Powers Featuring: Serena/Catalina, Jade Marxx, Molina, Jay Ashley, Ed Powers

Serena/Catalina says that she's Mexican, 23 years old, long straight black hair, marginal face, lithe body, tight waist, small slightly droopy tits, and a trimmed but still basically hairy pussy. She masturbates. Boring. Later she comes back--presumably Ed paid more bucks-- and he screws her including an anal ending in a facial. She looks like she's having root canal but Ed forces her to say how much she loves it.

Jade Marxx is some sort of internet contract girl for Puuurfect Productions. Remind me not to bother with porn on the internet. She's from San Diego and has a long passable face, small/medium droopy tits, long brown hair, small tattoo left belly, small tattoo left sh back, tattoo rt butt, tattoo rt sh o/s, tiny splooge pubic hair. She looks big but not quite Amazon. Ed rims her, screws her, incl anal, facial. Jay screws her; body c/s. Didn't like this girl; don't know why. Maybe too pushy. All sex noises seemed to be fake but better done than say Alex Quinn. Molina on her return. Admits to prior appearances in fact they even discuss how she's worked on her body. Lots of teeth work. Sounds brain dead. She vaguely masturbates, Ed rims her, & screws her (facial). Pro-sex. No condoms. No interest.

f---PaulFishbein.com

The controversial web site f---PaulFishbein.com has been down for several days. Here's info on the guy who hosted it:

Information lists him as: DONNICK, PHILIP A which matches the phone number for the owner of mediadominace.com, another website hosted on the same server as FPB.com: Domain Name: MEDIADOMINANCE.COM.

XXX writes: Well, it looks like f---paulfishbein.com is now officially offline. The domain no longer resolves and the ip address it used to resolve to now redirects the user to a search engine. Now we must all wait with bated breath for it's return.

By the way, the guy who actually hosted the site (referred to as PD in the stunningcurves write up) is Philip A. Donnick. If you need a detailed technogeek explanation of how I arrived at that, let me know (basically, it involves revealing additional domains that were hosted on the same server as FPB.com, which in turn, reveal him).

I figured you may want to contact this guy because I think he knows more than he is letting on. There are folks "who helped me on some web design issue's" too but I'm sure as hell not going to give up some of my valuable DSL bandwith just for that. Also, I don't buy it when he states "I do not make it a habit to check the sites that I host as favors." If someone asked you to host a site called f---paulfishbein.com, wouldn't you be curious as hell as to it's contents?

Monday evening, Kevin Moore posted this to his site Stunningcurves.com: Last Thursday evening we reported on the controversy surrounding the website f---paulfishbein.com and its desire to smear AVN's Publisher, Paul Fishbein. After we reported info about the possible location of the server and posted info from the owner of the server, the site claimed we "hacked" them. This, of course, is completely false. All information posted in our article is public domain.

The next morning (Friday) the site had been moved to Tripod.com, a free hosting service. Within an hour Tripod had yanked the site, probably because it violated their Terms of Service.

Several hours after that I could no longer access the site. I waited several days and checked back periodically. The URL, officially, has no valid IP address associated with it and has been removed from that server it was originally on. I received a rather angry email from the owner of the server, claiming "a porn reporter, ha, almost as funny a career as a McDonalds Manager". I would like to point out that while I enjoy writing about the adult industry, a McDonalds Manager probably makes more money then me and has benefits, too. I did ask why the site is no longer functioning, but have not received any more responses. It seems that Captain Esad, the former webmaster of f---paulfishbein.com is gone, for now and their identity is still hidden.

Tuesday morning, Luke received this email from Philip Donnick (also sent to Kevin Moore of StunningCurves.com):

"I did feel the name [f---PaulFishbein.com] was crazy, but I had no clue on who Paul Fishbein is. Actually shortly after Kevin contacted me, I emailed paulsucks@hotmail.com and said that I can't host the site cause the material was not right. I told Kevin that the site was going to get pulled in the beginning if it was slanderous. You have to understand that kevin contacted me about 2 days after the site was set up ( so i didnt get around to check the webpage, im not online everyday). After wanting to talk to the webmaster and not getting replies, I canned the site, put it on tripod [where it no longer exists], emailed "esad" that i moved the site , and will redirect for a few days, in the morning to find out that the site was back on my computer because i forgot to edit (delete) the ftp account. It pissed me off, and i killed the site profile, and dns to my machine, put up a redirect page to webcrawler for those whose ISP's cache DNS records. My "valuable" dsl bandwidth is the same $ every month whether I host one site or 100. It costs me no more or less, and 40 or so hits a day doesn't bog down a 1.5 mbs connection. The 'motive' theory is pretty stupid. Up until now I didn't care about who I would host, but now my generosity has changed. Seeing i recieved nothing for hosting this site besides a pain in the ass, and free coverage on frontpage adult news sites (which i guess would be cool if i was a porn star) i've had enough of this BS. Anyways, thats my last comment on this stuff."

XXX says: "Philip Donnick is full of it. f---PaulFishbein.com was all a front for Michael Glogow, Rob Black, Gene Ross etc. Donnick was probably getting paid to be quiet. I think Glogow is writing the actual site, Rob is financing it and Gene is giving Michael much of the material...including the anti-Gene stuff designed to throw us dummies off. Ultimately, that's the set-up (I say 99% I'm on target). This way Rob can always say he had nothing to do with it (Gene will eventually be gone from there and Glogow will be left dangling). Because Glogow actually committed the crime, I think he'll be the first one nailed by AVN's lawyers."

Frankel writes Luke: "You are correct. Gene Ross quit. He wasn't fired. Fishbein had said many times that Ross had a job for life with him.

"Michael Glogow (Ken Wood) was everything you can imagine, only worse. But he will soon be in jail. Paul Fishbein had warring factions at AVN and he tried to settle it and keep everyone happy. That's his nature. Paul protected Glogow and Glogow stabbed him. But Glogow's just a scum bag. Gene goes deeper because Paul took care of him. Paul had blind, stupid loyalty. There was more bad stuff about Gene than has ever come out. The companies hated Gene Ross but Paul kept moving him around in AVN. People who worked there told Paul how disloyal & corrupt he was. Paul put friendship and loyalty before business so he ignored everything. That makes Fishbein a very bad, stupid businessman (Fishidiot as Esad puts it.) Paul knew Gene was working on leaving for years.

"However, Paul claims he has no proof that he ever took a bribe; that nobody had enough power at AVN to give a bad tape a good review or fix an award so any bribes would've been wasted. But if bribes would have worked Paul now believe Gene's hand would have been out. Paul contends that Gene wasn't taking bribes, per se. AVN's system protects that kind of corruption. The scripts, etc. were things Fishbein tried to ignore. Gene defied Paul's warnings and Paul never fired him over it.

"Shame on you Luke F-rd for the last three months, buying in the way you did to Gene's reports. By the way, AVN's business is as good as ever and Paul's marriage is fine."

Esad writes: "Dear Luke, With all the good things that Gene Ross has brought to Extreme since pulling the wool over Fishidiots eyes over at AVN I wonder how long it will take Rob Black to approach me about purchasing f---geneross.com?"

Lynne writes: "It doesn't take power to "give a bad tape a good review" or vice versa...to give a good tape a bad review. All it takes is stupidity and lack of taste, two qualities which abound at AVN. Fake tits, a plus! Misogyny, an extra star! Pimps and 'hos in a black movie, two extra stars!"

Gauge and Needle Marks

MarMac writes on RAME: I just finished watching a video called "Superquick" that had Guage, one of my favorites, in a scene. The video is very funny if you like camp, but the scene with Guage disturbed me. Approximately 52 minutes into the tape, Guage is giving a guy a good blowjob and the camera moves in for a closeup. Shes holding his dick with her right hand and up her forearm there are 3 very distinct marks or bruises which look like needle tracks to me. Now I know that she has some blemishes on her skin that stick out because she is so dark, but I checked a couple of other tapes of hers and they were not evident in those tapes. I was just wondering if anyone else has seen the video I'm talking about or any other video where these marks are clearly seen. Man! I sure hope that she isn't messing around with heroin or anything else like that. We have lost too many of our most beloved stars to drug use.

A followup to that would be this: is there still a rampant drug problem in the industry and is the industry doing anything to help these girls (and guys) to get into rehab? Mind you, I'm not saying that Guage is into drugs, it's just something that I would like someone to look into, for HER sake. Beyond just a great pussy and great tits there is a PERSON that may need help.

Tom suggests: maybe she just got her aids test?

Jason writes: just wanted to respond to the allegations and say: from what i here gauge does not touch needles but has been known to eat a xanax or 20 or any other pill known to man but as for it being from an hiv test, who knows. maybe it's from anasthesia where she had her abortion of god only knows who's kid. maybe if she would've left the xanax alone she would be able to remember who's kid she killed.

Ron Jeremy In Mainstream Short

Ron Jeremy plays a washed up TV exec in the mainstream short film "Chutzpah: The Shmooale Glick Story." Ron has a classic line.

Flashman Calls

Flashman phoned to say he's been hanging out with porn stars all last week at a variety of parties thrown by Howard Stern and Playboy in Beverly Hills. Flash says Howard seeks the next Jenna Jameson to star in his future movies.

Gay Rant

Razor writes: I enjoyed reading Jeremy Steele's response to the "gay rant." I agreed with most of what he said. As a 41 year-old gay man who's been out for 22 years now, let me apologize, for there many of us (older gay men) who are still living in 19-- (fill in any year prior to "90") and don't understand our culture has evolved. You can no longer judge a man's sexuality by his appearance or interests as you could in decades past. I saw this first hand living in the East Village and Lower East Side of NYC for most of the 90's. The young straight boys began dressing well, were better groomed and looked sweeter. The young gay boys adopted a grundgier look, wore tattered clothes and didn't groom their hair or other body parts. Before I piss off more people, let me say that this was not across the board, but in these two urban neighborhoods, that seemed to be the case. It shattered my stereotypes once and for all, which is a good thing. I personally think straight men should be able to look as groomed as they wish (I have a lot of straight female friends who welcome cleaner looks), and gay men should be able to look as "blue collar" or masculine or scruffy as they wish. Appearance no longer has to do with sexual preference, and anyone out there who still thinks it does (gay, bi or straight) is way behind the times.

One of the reasons these younger straight guys feel comfortable enough to dress nice, shave their balls, dance sexy or whatever else someone may deem "gay" is because they've grown up with gay uncles and lesbian aunts who've shown them it's okay to "be yourself". How can we possibly be upset about the progression of our culture, when this is what most of us have wanted all along? I for one love the fact that all men in the United States are beginning to let go of some of the weight we've carried around regarding our gender. The gay guys who continue to label everything and everyone gay, are no better in my opinion than the portion of the straight population who still refuse to acknowledge it's okay to be gay. Two truths I've found in my lifetime: 1) most guys, straight and gay want to look good... 2) a lot of gays are boring, ordinary people just like a lot of the straight population.

I watch a lot of straight porn (I know, twisted for a guy who's 100% queer), and I love seeing the Euro vids where the straight male porn stars are not afraid to touch each other and show some (non-sexual) affection. Yes, it turns me on watching the men interact, but no I don't think they are gay or have homo tendencies because they are affectionate with each other. There's a natural "brotherhood" that takes place between these men that I think we as American men can learn a lot from. If we start allowing all men in this country to "be themselves" without fear of being "labeled", we may end up creating a better world.

Lynne writes: Sorry, Breeder, but after having the fortunate experience of aiding in the production of almost eighty gay videos during my tenure in the porn business, I confirmed my previously-held belief that I much prefer gay men to straight men in all arenas except coitus.

Not only do they stereotypically dress and smell better and do their own housework, they also spend more time on interior decorating, less time on televised sporting events, and, most importantly, treat me like a human being rather than a piece of meat past its prime. And as to always being right, imagine if not only were you afflicted with that painful condition but also had the misfortune of being born with female genitalia! Definitely a double curse...

Bruce, my late husband, who also was always right about everything, married me, because he was smart enough to realize the advantage in having a woman who was always right -- he could indulge himself in his inherent laziness and focus on his country music collection, never worried that the day-to-day business of life was mismanaged....

Kid Vegas Update

Kid Vegas writes: Luke, I can't say if Ricky Martin is gay, but I can say that I saw Jeremy Steele one day when I walked into Babenet performing solo masterbation with sunglasses on, & alone, with someone on the intercom tell him "I want to be a cowboy," & trust me Jeremy was liking his job, he had a big smile on his face...Truthful words no story, I am baiting of course, opening sheets no won knows. I know people & am there when you least expect me, on your set, in your house, at your work, on the corner observing, laughing, & taking notes. So if you wish to talk then you shall be slayed... Remember I know more about you than you know about me....I have 2 AVN Awards, for as of next month 2 years in this industry, most guys don't have 1 for 5. I am Back in action for 2001, louder than a train, faster than your mom. This is Kid Vegas 2001 Bitch !

Jeremy Steele writes: Regarding Scott's aka: Kid Vegas's comments.. Yeah I work at Babenet, doing solo work.. so what? It's the only regular gig I can depend on.. I was smiling actually, because I was laughing because Scott, who was my friend, at the time, had just come through the door with his girlfriend at the time, Casey, and walked past my door, and I thought it was funny that he caught me there like that. Scott was supposed to get me in with him to Las Vegas, then at the last minute, he pulls this bulls--- about how his director said I had to bleach my head to get in.. I was gonna go to Vegas with Kid Vegas, despite the reputation he has, because I only judge a person based on my experience of them.. Now I can say, yes he's an asshole.. Guess he thinks I'm a fag because of my response to that other moron's gay rant. Scott needs to do the world a favor and take one of those AK-47's he has and blow his own brains out. Scott asked me a couple of times to do deliveries for him, and I'm pretty damn sure it was for dropping off guns, or something else illegal. I declined the offer. OK Scott, that's a big f--- You right back at ya. Keep on bragging... Although some people learned back in 3rd grade that it's the one's who are full of s--- who got to brag about themselves all the time.

I'd like to add that despite my response the other day I am honestly not gay, nor have any gay feelings.. But I sympathize with what some gays go through and it pisses me off if my behavior, because it is different in some way, is considered gay.. Say, for example, if I don't have a firm handshake.. I still know martial arts..and I don't have anything to prove. But I don't and never have had any desire to jerk off to men f---ing. But I've been doing the internet for several years and am beyond used to the whole gay element of it. I've been in California since 1986.. and since then, slowly learned to tolerate gays, then even have gays as friends, without any major hassles. How many well known, straight male performers in the biz have gotten dildoed in the ass, rimmed.. I don't care, but isn't that supposedly gay? I haven't done any videos like that, but for years one of many rumours has been around that I'm gay.. I don't care what people think, except when it effects my financial well-being. And I couldn't care less what someone is, as long as they respect my space. I almost wish I was gay, because I'd be alot wealthier now.. I certainly wouldn't bother with the straight market. Gays treat me with respect, and are more helpful overall, more than the straights, usually, especially this biz.. Some are good friends.. And although they may be attracted to me.. I have no fear of proximity, since noone is touching me, and they know not to..

Mutiny On Luke F-rd Live

Rumdar writes: Luke ..... There is growing militancy among the chat board dwellers on your Tues. evening program. Have you noticed? It is like a line from that movie of a few years ago Network. In other words, "We are bored as hell and not going to take it anymore"

The deal is this Luke. Guests from now on must give 100%. This is show biz baby. No more self pitying personal problems. Never bore the listener (or at least try not to). Those who ignore us, (the chat liners) will be subject to a slew of vituperative comments. We are the SS Bounty and you are Capt. Blye. The crew is restless....beware.

Net Prince writes: Brother Luke, How goes it big guy? Congrats on the dismissal of that frivolous lawsuit Stephen Cohen threw at you. The word is that Cohen's girlfriend, Heather Masters, is going public with their sordid past. She asked for one cool million to disappear, and Cohen cancelled the lease on her condo and threw her out. Heather will not settle down and remain quiet. I expect a lawsuit to be filed before the week ends. Gary Kremen will be able to sit back and laugh about this one.

As for those "regulars" in your chatroom who like to stir the pot, tell them to shut the f--- up. You are doing a wonderful job with funny/talkative JimmyD. Another congrats for taking a strong hard stand for Freedom of Speech in your radio chatroom. Your guest...wanted come chatters to be tossed out of your chatroom while she was on your radio show, and you said, more or less, that your policy is not to stifle the voices of your chatroom fans. Thanks brother Luke.

Chaim Amalek writes: Any plans to do anything new tomorrow? That hot new boy DEVOTO (oops - I guess I finally outed myself with that remark), with whom you are fated to engage in a struggle for said groupies and your very slot. (Sign him up and make him your tool, or crush him NOW Luke!) NO stoned porners. NO webgeeks (well, maybe that Meni person). Tell Jimmy D to rustle up some HOT, articulate porn chicks, if he knows of any. And, when things get dull, MOVE THINGS ALONG! Resort to the oral law early and often. All that is needed for you to improve this show and add another dozen listeners is the WILL to be better. Will you be better? PS Let's face it. William Pierce would be the perfect guest for your show.

Rumdar writes: outrageous..the middle portion of my rant was edited. Is this what we can expect from Luke now that the Republicans are in power...? :)

Putative Marc writes: a suggestion for LF live: get some porn starlets on the horn (with a little advance notice, maybe?) and then promote the fact they'll be on the show. get the members of your email gang on another line to berate the porn starlets AND masturbating callers alike. you can be absolved of any complicitness because nobody knows (nor cares) who any of us are. i would be quite happy and proud to co-operate in such a scheme.

I also believe Luke should go after some of the participants kicked off the new Survivor after they do the obligatory interview on Letterman. I am thinking of the Long Island Jewish chick in particular (also a possible mate for Luke). The one who wouldn't eat the bugs last week but came through and swallowed a worm. I don't believe she is long for the program. She may be next to go if her mates don't rid themselves of the inbred bible thumper first.

Rumdar writes: Since almost no one has ever heard of Luke F-rd or his show some of these people might be conned into accepting an invitation to appear.

Devoto writes: "That hot new boy DEVOTO " ONCE AGAIN, Chaim is RIGHT!! Spread the WORD Chaim!! However, fear not Luke, I have no desire for your "slot" as I am heterosexual (but, here are those 10 inches of hot COPY I promised you!).

Onto more important issues: POLITICS. Luke, whom do you favor in the Israeli election, and why? I hear that a change is in the air. Will this lead to widespread viloence if the hard-liner is elected? Inform me of the happenings in the promise land!

Also, PLEASE tell me why Jesse Jackson hired a convicted rapist, dont you Jews have ANY say about what the black man does anymore-according to Pierce you do, SO do something about it, and get this pedophile FIRED! Also, tell Jesse to keep his Jackson Junior in his pants!! Are there ANY major figures of liberal politics that HAVENT had a sex scandal? I feel so left out. I am a liberal, and I have NO subordinates or employees to have sexual relations with! OH, THE HORROR!

Net Prince writes: "As for those "regulars" in your chatroom who like to stir the pot, tell them to shut the f--- up. Another congrats for taking a strong hard stand for Freedom of Speech in your radio chatroom." Net-Prince needs to get some Net-Consistency, or a Net-Education because that is Net-Contradictory. Oh well, if he cant do that, perhaps he can come up with the new menu for McDonald's on-line store? "The Net-Burger, with an order of Net-Nuggets, please."

Chaim writes: Porners are a ridiculously self-serious lot who just don't seem to get it.

During the long night of the reign of Janet Reno I waited for a rain to come along and cleanse the internet of all the garbage and filth. Well, thanks to the last election, it has started to rain on you porners! Tell the porners that we are all rooting for John Ashcroft to cleanse the internet of all that makes these porners rich and obnoxious.

By the way, Rum, Luke has been censoring me as well with respect to this topic. Luke fears this lesbian. He is a shonda (shame) to the patriarchy of his adopted faith. (Our ancestors feared no lesbian.)

PS You oughta have Pierce on to discuss jews and porn, with perhaps John on to rebut all of his assertions. We so seldom get to hear nazis and HollywoodJews debate the issues of the day.

Laura writes: Chaim you refer to liberals in politics with sex scandals. Do you mean such liberals like Newt Gingrich, Bob Barr, Dan Burton, Helen Chenoweth, Henry Hyde, Rudy Guiliani, Bob Livingston?

Rupert Murdoch On Spot Over Huge TV Porn Deal

Jane Robbins writes: Rupert Murdoch faces probably the toughest challenge of his career this week. The media mogul is preparing to convince the business world that he is on the point of pulling off his biggest deal ever - and not, as critics would have it, losing his grip.

The target is a tie-in with American satellite giant DirecTV worth billions which would give him, among other things, a huge interest in the thriving US pornography industry. DirecTV sells more pornographic films each year than Hustler owner Larry Flynt, and has three adult channels, including the Hot Network, which is supplied by Vivid Entertainment, the world's biggest producer of pornography.

Crescent's High Society

Luke says: I was just reading the July 19, 1999 issue of Screw magazine which featured this satirical article by Johnny Scorpio about his days working at High Society magazine, owned by Carl Ruderman's Crescent. Here are some excerpts:

The vice-prez [Carmine Belluci] was a tall fellow named Guinea, and he wore a silk shirt, unbuttoned to show off a bunch of gold chains and his graying chest hair. He wore diamond pinkie rings on each pinkie and he spoke with a lisp...

When we filed out of Guinea's office, a weirdo wearing a bathrobe and pajamas almost ran me down, and didn't even say excuse me. He was unshaven and muttering to himself like a shizo; he reminded me of some nut you'd see feeding pigeons in the park. He walked into the VP's office and slammed the door.

"Who was that?" I asked Morty, our editor-in-chief [Ken Kimmel]. "Oh, that's Mr. Rutterman [Carl Ruderman]," he said. "He's the owner of the company. He's a little eccentric. He comes by every so often to see how things are going."

So now I was admitted into the inner circle of the porn magazine's hierarchy; I had gang-f---ed a chick with the vice president and the editor-in-chief. That's when I was invited to take part in a kind of Satanic virgin sacrifice hosted by the reclusive executive editor, a man with a shaved head who rarely left his office and was allegedly a High Priest in the Church of Satan (I'll call him Chuck). [It's Vivid's Bob Johnson.] It took place at Chuck's Park Avenue mansion. Chuck comes from money and just works in the porn field for kicks.

...Each guy chose a girl and proceeded to tear her clothes off, and once they were naked Chuck began uttering some cryptic incantations and dousing their bodies with goat's blood...

Here's an exclusive picture of Carl Ruderman with his arm around a black man.

JohnnyScorpio@hotmail.com writes Luke: I worked for Crescent as associate editor of CHERI in '95-'96. I heard that Marc Medoff used to work there, and I know that he knows a lot about the business... He writes and takes photos for lots of men's mags, or at least he used to. (I read on your site that he has his own business now, dealing with photos and editorial material. I wasn't clear what it was. Does he supply men's magazines with material? Is he like an agent who receives photos and stories from others and he markets them?) Once I met Medoff when he was editorial director for Gallery and Fox--he interviewed me for a job but didn't hire me. I've written porn freelance for SCREW and others for about ten yrs. But I only heard gossip when I worked in the Crescent offices. I sat in meetings with Bellucci and Chew, and Ken Kimmel was my Ed-In-Chief, and Bob Johnson was Executive Editor of all the mags. I am still writing stories for Live Young Girls (a Crescent pub) but maybe that's over after this big shakeup at the company.

BTW, I met Seth Warshavksy. in Seattle when he flew me out there (from NY) to interview me for a vacancy for executive editor of Club Love (in '96). Scott Schalin (who used to be with Hustler) had the position and was leaving. Seth promised to hire me and I quit Crescent. But then he ignored my phone calls, leaving me high and dry, without a job, 'cause I quit as associate editor at CHERI. He hired someone else for executive editor.

Crescent had 200 employees when I was there, and editors there went to different mags at different companies. Rick Hall was managing editor of High Society. He went to Hustler's Leg World when they started it, and he was ed-in-chief. He's not there anymore, he left 1 or two yrs. ago. Mike McPadden worked at Crecent and he went to Genesis and was its managing editor. Then Genesis was sold to Swank about 3 or 4 yrs. ago, so everyone there lost their jobs. Originally, McPadden was an editor at Barely Legal, when that magazine was still pretty new. The art director of SCREW worked with McPadden at GENESIS, then he went back to Screw. So it's a lot of the same people working at different publications. McPadden wrote a bunch of porn scripts for Gregory Dark, too. I like the world of porn magazines, it's interseting. I currrently contribute articles and stories to a funky San Francisco sex newspaper called YANK. It' s sold in street boxes in the Bay Area for one dollar and 25 cents. Mostly it has hooker ads in it, but it also has writing in it. Does L.A. have something similar?

Four or five years ago Crescent started with the young girls mags, because they noticed that Barely Legal was selling really well. So they changed LIVE magazine to LIVE YOUNG GIRLS. Then they put out a few other young girl titles--purely 18, candy girls, finally legal. And like you said, lately I noticed that CHERI is doing hardcore and raunchy stuff, penetration and pissing. Do they sell that in Canada, I was wondering? I attributed it (the ever raunchier content) to their trying to compete with the Internet. From what you're saying, that High Society's sales figures are way down from five years ago, it sounds like this may be the last gasp of men's magazines. Do you think that they are going to die out before too long?

You're welcome for the Screw story. The sex part was just bs (mostly). The Japanese amateur girl was true, but I did not share her with the rest of the guys. Colleen I think was an ex-stripper, but she didn't give bj's to the staff. Screwin' the woman on the conference table was made up--but the ed's would get girls (potential models) to strip down in the conference room. Never heard of any actual banging on the table. A couple of parties they threw I went to were pretty good. One was a bachelor party, for the art director. Took place on a Saturday afternoon, in a rented space on East 14th Street (NYC). About a dozen porn chicks and models doin' lap dances, getting nude, doing lezzie stuff. But no out-and-out f---ing and sucking. Maybe some guys got a blow job, but I didn't. X-mas party had a girl named Bella (I think she uses the name Sasha Sweet in X-vid's) dressed as Santa claus, and I was dressed as elf. China Lee was there, and another familiar chick (can't think of ! her name). This party was in the office. The girls strip down, there's a band playing, etc.

Morty in the story is Ken Kimmel, who was ed-in-chief of CHERI for a long time. Mr. Ruderman--no, he didn't walk in with a bathrobe. He would drop in occassionally. Once I happened to ride up in the elevator with him. He seemed a little nutty. He was with this middleaged lady who is like his assistant or something. They were communicating through signals in the elevator.He was dressed all in denim garb--jacket jeans cowboy boots and hat. Maybe bolo tie too.

Guinea is Carmine Bellucci (VP--but while I was there he got his title changed to Sr. VP). David Bernstein is the guy who signs the checks (CFO).

Reclusive exec editor character is Bob Johnson. But it's not true that he came from money and was working in porn for kicks. While I worked there he lived in Staten Island. (That's one of the five boroughs of NYC, the most suburban one.) He was pretty nice to me. When I moved into a new apartment he gave me some furniture-- a nice couch, an ottoman, a lamp, etc. I went by his house on a Saturday when I moved and loaded the stuff into the moving van. He showed me around his house; his wife and daughter were out at the time. He actually wanted me to stay and hang out for awhile but I told him I should be going because I had hired a van and two movers and I was being charged by the hour. In his office at Crescent he had a framed certificate that said he was a priest in the Church of Satan. That Church of Satan thing was no big deal. He was a regular guy, it wasn't like he tried to project an evil character. He told me that Satanism is basically Social Darwinism. I read the Satanic Bible but put it down halfway through. It's a common sense kind of book, it doesn't have to do with casting spells and magic. I read Johnson's Anton LaVey article and thought it was pretty good. Johnson seemed smart about the magazine business. He was aware of the big picture I think. He was very good at coming up with catchy coverlines. He knew the finer points of punctuation--editors would ask him questions and he knew the rules. The comments he made in meetings were insightful. Originally he was editor of HAWK magazine. I think he started Hawk. I noticed one time that the H in Hawk on the cover of the mag had an eagle figure on it--the German eagle that the Nazi's used as an insignia. I pointed this out to Bob and he said, "That's scary--you're the first person who ever noticed that." I had nothing against Bob Johnson, I thught he was basically a good-natured guy. Others seemed to resent his position of authority (executive editor), and were perhaps jealous of his paycheck. When I was there he was getting 86,000. The Satanic party in the story is all made up.

The dildo sucking photo shoot in amsterdam was true--it's called the "CHERI SUCKATHON" and it was an annual feature (this was before they started showing hardcore) in which models sucked on dildos. This was Carmine Bellucci's idea. BTW, many of the photo sets come from Europe.

Marc writes Luke: i enjoy reading behind-the-scenes stuff about these mags that everyone knows by name, but nobody thinks about who is making the "editorial" decisions--high society, genesis, cheri, et al. i'd like to read more about their history and their current evolution. so much about playboy, penthouse, hustler, nobody bothers to get down to disseminating what makes the second-tier magazines tick.

do a series where you invite yourself to the offices of these aforementioned magazines. get some fresh background on their history and where they're headed. take lots of pictures. unveil it in a regular series covering trends in second-tier skin mags, and how they operate. it'll get attention for LF.com. nothing works better on the web, as you know, than media about other media: high society, celebrity skin, score, voluptuous, naughty neighbors, swank, club, genesis, live young girls, etc. etc.

Luke: I would happily do this except that these publications hate me.

Marc writes: why would they hate you? you rarely write about them compared to the vivids or wickeds. hey, if you can't do it from a journalistic POV just put a link on your site asking their employees to email you insights from the inside...

Luke answers: They hate me for many reasons. Mainly that I have revealed many of their trade secrets and corrupt dealings. But hey, any employee at these magazines is welcome to Email Luke.

Stephen Cohen Files To Dismiss His Lawsuit Against Luke F-rd

On January 26, through his attorney Robert S. Dorband, Stephen Michael Cohen filed to dismiss his lawsuit against Luke. That means I currently have no outstanding lawsuits against me. One lawsuit from a porn star I settled out of court. One suit against me by Laurie Holmes was dismissed by the court in a rare sweeping judgment. And now this. Hooray!

"Those who sow in tears will reap in joy." (Proverbs)

Bob Jones writes: I tried to do some looking into Stephen Cohen and sex.com, but didn't find very much. Except that I interviewed once with one of the (many) judges who've convicted and sentenced Cohen.

There are a lot of Stephen M. Cohen's out there, many of whom are (apparently) lawyers, and at least one is a judge. This may have made it easier for Cohen to perpetrate what appears to have been his usual scam, impersonating an attorney. (This, as I'm sure you could surmise, is right at the top of my personal list of Deadly Sins, along with filing a frivolous lawsuit, discovery abuse, impugning the reputation of an attorney for engaging in legitimate buy highly profitable conduct, and trying to negotiate down legal fees.)

I do wonder if he's the same Stephen M. Cohen convicted of drunk driving in Pennsylvania in 1980. Cohen v. Penn., 414 S.2d 740 (Pa.Cmwlth. 1980). Or the same one tried for possession of marijauna (consumed apparently with a young prostitute) in California in 1970. Cohen v. Superior Court, 5 Cal.App.3d 429 (1970). There's like a 10 year gap, between the late 70s and early 90s, between his convictions, and I don't think he was in prison that long. What was he doing? Inquiring minds want to know...

About Kremen v. Cohen: (Again with the standard disclaimer that I am not a lawyer. With the additional disclaimer that this is not meant to be a comprehensive treatment of trademark, just a little bit of necessary info.)

There were two suits. Kremen filed an action against Cohen in California, seeking to get back his domain name. Cohen filed a RICO action against Kremen and his attorney in Oregon, but it was stayed pending the outcome of the California case. It will presumably now be dismissed.

The California case was pretty straightforward. Essentially, Kremen said that Cohen stole the name using a forged document claiming to be from Kremen's roomate; Cohen admitted writing the document, but claimed the roomate was paid to sign it. Cohen's major defense was that, from a BBS he ran in the 1970s, Cohen acquired a trademark in "Sex.com".

Kremen's Claim: Kremen's claim is that Cohen forged a document, purporting to be from Kremen's roomate, and sent it to NIS transferring the domain name. Kremen asked the court to declare that he had never agreed to transfer the domain name. Cohen accused the roomate of lying on the stand, and said he paid the roomate $1000 for the domain name. He offered no evidence of this, and the court dismissed it out of hand. The court found that Cohen did, in fact, forge the document.

Cohen's Claim: Cohen claimed that even if he did forge the document, that was A O.K. because he owned the trademark "sex.com." On this theory, Kremen never had a right to register the domain name sex.com, and Cohen's little forgery just did very quickly what courts would have done anyway. This was utter bulls---.

It is important to understand a little bit about how trademarks work. The theory of trademark law is that, unlike books and inventions (protected by copyright and patent) trademarks are really easy to come up with. Trademarks (except in some unusual circumstances) are therefore not something worth protecting for the benefit of the owner. The law could (except in some unusual circumstances) give two s---s whether Bob's Auto-Mart has to come up with a new name.

However, the law cares very much about consumer confusion. Consumers do get some benefit from being able to know, when they buy Neutrogena soap, that it is made by the Neutrogena company and will be the same as the soap they bought last week.

This is the limit (except in unusual circumstances) of what trademark law protects. For that reason, a trademark is only infringed if the other use can cause customer confusion. If you own "Bob's AutoMart" in New York, you can't stop me from opening "Bob's Pizza" in New York, or "Bob's AutoMart" in Florida, because consumers aren't going to confuse me for you. You also can't (except in unusual circumstances) trademark a generic names that describe the product offered rather than the producer, like, say, "The Furniture Store."

To make trademark easier, the government established a system of trademark registration. When you start to use a trademark, you can register it, and that proves that you owned it first. It doesn't mean that another use is necessarily an infringement, but it is proof that if someone else is infringing, that you and not they have the right to the mark.

Cohen never registered sex.com as a trademark. He apparently only used it as the title of some chat room on his BBS. Since it was not registered, Cohen had to prove to the court that: 1) "sex.com" is a sufficiently unique name that it was worth of protection; 2) that customers so associated "sex.com" with Cohen in the 70s that the mark had acquired "secondary meaning"; and 3) that Cohen had the mark first.

Cohen failed on 1 and 2, and never made it to 3. The court found that "sex.com" is probably generic. (I think, I'm not sure but I think, that if it is generic it clears the way for sites like wwwsex.com.) No evidence was presented to show that sex.com had acquired secondary meaning in the 70s, except for a dozen people who used the BBS and said they remembered the name. This was insufficient, because Cohen had to prove not just that he used the name, but that customers came to associate the name with Cohen's products. Cohen didn't even come close.

The Judgement: Cohen's claims were partially dismissed, and the court ordered Cohen to transfer the domain name back to Kremen.

The Remains: Cohen filed an appeal, and asked that the order to transfer the domain to Kremen be stayed pending the appeal. I believe the request was denied.

American Elites Take Their Cues From The Underclass

Charles Murray writes in today's Wall Street Journal:

Respectfulness toward, and imitation of, underclass behavior extend to the other classic signals that used to distinguish nice people from riff-raff. Appearance? The hooker look in fashion, tattoos, and body piercing is the obvious evidence, although Toynbee would probably see as much significance in wearing jeans to church. I find the intriguing element here to be the respectfulness extended toward underclass appearance. No one in the public eye calls any kind of dress "cheap" or "sleazy" any more.

Sexual behavior? As late as 1960, sleeping with one's boyfriend was still a lower-class thing to do. Except in a few sophisticated circles, a woman of the elites did it furtively, and usually with the person she expected to marry. Behavior that is now considered absolutely normal was considered sluttish in 1960.

Within the underclass, the vacuum has been filled by a distinctive, separate code. Call it thug code: Take what you want, respond violently to anyone who antagonizes you, gloat when you win, despise courtesy as weakness, treat women as receptacles, take pride in cheating, deceiving, or exploiting successfully. The world of hip-hop is where the code is openly embraced. But hip-hop is only an expression of the code, not its source. It amounts to the hitherto inarticulate values of underclass males from time immemorial, now made articulate with the collaboration of some of America's best creative and merchandising talent.