Andrew; Move to the UK!

[MajGenl.Meade]

the highest number of homosexual women per head in the UK

Shurely not?

[Gob]

San Francisco lawmakers are set to vote on whether to ban nudity in public places, in an escalating fight against a group of nudists.



The proposal would make it illegal for anyone over five to "expose his or her genitals, perineum or anal region" in most public locations.

Exceptions would be made for certain street fairs and events.

A federal lawsuit has already been filed arguing the proposal infringes on free speech rights.

The ordinance plan follows complaints about a growing number of naked men who have been gathering in a public plaza in the city's Castro district, a hub for the gay community.

Earlier, the city passed a law requiring a piece of cloth between a nude resident and a public seating place, but after that proposal was passed, the number of nude men who flocked to the plaza increased.

"I don't think having some guys taking their clothes off and hanging out seven days a week at Castro and Market Street is really what San Francisco is about," district supervisor Scott Wiener said. [titter!] "I think it's a caricature of what San Francisco is about."

A first offence would carry a maximum $100 (£62) fine, but prosecutors could also penalise offenders up to $500 and hand down a year in jail.

Last week, about two dozen people undressed in front of San Francisco city hall in protest at the proposed ban.

One demonstrator, McCray Winpsett, 37, told the Associated Press the ordinance went too far in undermining a tradition "that keeps San Francisco weird".

[oldr_n_wsr]

Whatever!

[Gob]

A man known as "the naked rambler" has appeared in court charged with breaching an Anti-social Behaviour Order a day after it was imposed.

The interim order, granted by magistrates, states Stephen Gough, 54, must wear clothing that "at least cover his genitalia and buttocks" in public.

He denied he had breached the order by walking out of court naked on Thursday minutes after it had been imposed.

He was remanded in custody to appear at Southampton Crown court on 25 March.

The interim Anti-social Behaviour Order (Asbo) imposed on Mr Gough, of Chamberlayne Road, Eastleigh, is effective for all of England and Wales until 10 May.

If orders are broken offenders can be imprisoned.

It was granted on Thursday after a joint application by Eastleigh Borough Council and Hampshire Constabulary.

[MajGenl.Meade]

"a joint application".... of course

I heard this story on SAFM news at 1pm. They also carried an item about a simulator which will be displayed at the oh I don't know "Handicapped Show" in the Cape next week. It models technology that can be put into a car to allow even-more-than-usually-less-abled people to drive (sounds quite good actually). But the boffin who was being interviewed began by citing the case of a certain young lady who, in his words, "was born without arms but is able to drive and that's some feat".

Oscar may be suing for patent infringement

Meade

[Lord Jim]

He denied he had breached the order

If he wants to avoid breaching the order, than he needs to get himself some breaches....

[MajGenl.Meade]

You'd think that's what his briefs would have advised

[Gob]

He's at it again.

A "naked rambler" has been jailed for flouting an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo) banning him from being naked in public.

Stephen Gough, 54, denied breaching the order minutes after it was imposed by Southampton magistrates, by leaving court wearing only boots and socks.

He offered no defence and was given an 11 month sentence.

He was not allowed to appear at Portsmouth Crown Court for his trial after refusing to wear clothes.

Simon Jones, prosecuting, said the naked rights activist was arrested after leaving the magistrates' court on 28 February while holding the order stating that he must cover his buttocks and genitalia.


The court heard that Gough, of Chamberlayne Road, Eastleigh, refused to take clothes offered to him by police.

Jurors returned a guilty verdict in less than 10 minutes.

Following sentencing, Anton Allera, senior district crown prosecutor for the Crown Prosecution Service, said: "We hope that these convictions will reassure members of the public that his behaviour will not be tolerated."

Gough has previously been convicted of nine public order counts of going naked in public in Hampshire.

Judge Sarah Munro QC said Gough, who had been remanded in custody while awaiting trial, would be eligible for release from prison on 14 August.

Gough, a former Royal Marine, has now been sentenced to more than six years in prison for his belief that it is his human right to be naked in public.

He has received 28 convictions, mainly in Scotland, for being nude.

Eastleigh Borough Council and Hampshire Police had jointly applied for the Asbo in February.

Gough gained notoriety in 2003 and 2005 when he walked naked from Land's End to John O'Groats and was the subject of a TV documentary.

[Lord Jim]

That's funny, that other story had me thinking about this poor mentally ill fellow; I was going to do a search to see if there had been an update on his latest pathetic antics....

What a sad and pointless way to waste one's life...

If his mind ever clears, and he actually comes to realize how much he has lost pursuing this delusion that he's some sort of "freedom fighter" I wonder if he would be able to bear it...(no pun intended....)

[Gob]

The man known as the "naked rambler" was re-arrested as he left prison.

Stephen Gough, 54, from Hampshire, refused clothing from police and was held as he left Winchester prison.

He had been jailed for 11 months in June for breaching an anti-social behaviour order banning him from appearing naked in public.

The Ministry of Justice said it did not comment on release dates in individual cases, but it is understood he had served most of the jail term on remand.

The naked activist was jailed on 19 June for breaking the terms of his interim Asbo, which stated he must cover his buttocks and genitalia.

[oldr_n_wsr]

Gotta admire the guy. He stands up for his beliefs.

[Gob]

That's where he hangs his hat!

[oldr_n_wsr]

That's where he hangs his hat!

And holds his donuts.

[MajGenl.Meade]

.. and his dinner fork

[Gob]

Some sense coming out of Europe for a change.

The so-called naked rambler Stephen Gough has lost his case at the European Court of Human Rights after claiming he suffered repression over his nudity.

Mr Gough, 55, complained about his repeated convictions and imprisonment.

Since 2003 he has been arrested dozens of times in Scotland and England for being naked in public.

He was convicted a number of times for breach of the peace, with his sentences increased with each offence and was often rearrested as he left prison.

Between May 2006 and October 2012 he enjoyed a total of seven days' liberty and spent most of his detention in segregation because he refused to wear clothes.

Mr Gough, from Eastleigh, Hampshire, went to the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) in Strasbourg complaining about the "repressive" measures taken against him, relying on Article 8 - the right to respect for private and family life - and Article 10 - freedom of expression.

The ECHR dismissed his case.

After the verdict he said: "How can nature expressed in human form be indecent?

"How can any sane person be offended at seeing the human body?

"Today's decision from the ECHR is a disappointment.

"I expected them to take the wider view. They have not. Then again, what great endeavour ever succeeded without having to surmount many obstacles that stood in its way.

"Why should it be any different for me? I have no choice but to continue."

The court said: "The applicant's case is troubling, since his intransigence has led to his spending a substantial period of time in prison for what is, in itself, usually a relatively trivial offence.

"However, the applicant's imprisonment is the consequence of his repeated violation of the criminal law in full knowledge of the consequences, through conduct which he knew full well not only goes against the standards of accepted public behaviour in any modern democratic society but also is liable to be alarming and morally and otherwise offensive to other, un-warned members of the public going about their ordinary business."

It continued: "Article 10 does not go so far as to enable individuals, even those sincerely convinced of the virtue of their own beliefs, to repeatedly impose their antisocial conduct on other, unwilling members of society and then to claim a disproportionate interference with the exercise of their freedom of expression when the state, in the performance of its duty to protect the public from public nuisances, enforces the law in respect of such deliberately repetitive antisocial conduct."

Regarding Article 8, the court said: "Any interference with the applicant's right to respect for his private life was justified under Article 8 for essentially the same reasons given by the court in the context of its analysis of the applicant's complaint under Article 10 of the convention."

Earlier this month, Gough was jailed for two-and-a-half years after walking out of prison wearing only his boots and socks.

The former Royal Marine was found guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of breaching an anti-social behaviour order (Asbo).

[Gob]

A man known as the naked rambler made legal history after appearing nude via prison video link at the Court of Appeal.

Stephen Gough lost an appeal against a conviction for the breach of an Asbo. He appeared from Winchester Prison where he is serving a two-and-a-half-year sentence for breaching the order banning him from being naked in public. His counsel Matthew Scott argued Gough should have been allowed to appear naked at the original trial. Lady Justice Rafferty refused Gough's appeal. Clive Coleman, the BBC's legal affairs correspondent, said Gough, 56, almost certainly made legal history by appearing in his natural state.

Gough was found guilty by a jury at Winchester Crown Court of breaching the Asbo in October 2014 and sentenced to 30 months imprisonment. He had refused to put on clothes as he left Winchester Prison after being imprisoned for a previous breach. At his trial, the judge refused his requests to appear naked and he was tried in his absence. Mr Scott argued at the Court of Appeal the judge should have made arrangements to allow the trial to take place with the defendant present, but naked.

On the video link, he appeared seated and naked at the prison, with his lower half obscured by a table. Gough was dubbed the naked rambler after completing a nude trek from Land's End to John O'Groats in 2003.
He has faced repeated convictions and prison spells totalling about eight years. He has previously argued there was nothing intimidating about him appearing "in his natural human state".