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A sex worker in Germany

The sex industry consists of businesses which either directly or indirectly provide sex-related products and services or adult entertainment. The sex industry includes adult sex-related products and services such as prostitution, pornography, sex shops, strip clubs, sex-oriented men's magazines, and sex movies and sex channels for television.

The sex industry is subject to a variety of legal restrictions and regulations around the world. For example, participation of minors in the industry is almost universally not permitted, as is the trafficking of people for the purpose of prostitution. The regulations which apply to the industry vary considerably from one jurisdiction to another.

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Participants[link]

"Cream", a lesbian live sex show in Granada

The sex industry employs a multitude of people. These range from the sex worker, also called adult service provider (ASP) or adult sex provider, who provides sexual services, to a multitude of support personnel. Sex workers can be prostitutes, pornographic actors, pornographic models, sex show performers, erotic dancers, telephone sex operators, or webcam sex operators.

In addition, like any other industry, there are people who work in or service the sex industry as managers, film crews, photographers, those working in development and maintenance of websites, processing orders, producing and selling DVDs and other sex articles, printing magazines and books, etc. Some create business models, traffic trading, press releases, negotiate contracts with other owners, buy and sell content, technical support, servers, billing, payroll, organise trade shows and various events, marketing and sales forecasts, human resources, taxes and legal.

Usually, those in management or staff do not have direct dealings with sex workers, instead hiring photographers under contract who have a direct social network with the sex industry and sex workers. Pornography is a product that management and staff in the adult industry professionally markets and sells to adult webmasters for distribution on the Internet.

Brothel business models[link]

Brothels operate using a variety of business models:

• the prostitutes can operate as contract workers who split their earnings with the brothel. They can at times be expected to "tip" support staff (cleaners, limo drivers, etc.). They will usually receive no benefits, such as health insurance, and no withholding for taxes.
• the prostitutes can be employees who receive a small fixed salary and a portion of the money paid by the customer, the balance of which is retained by the brothel.
• the prostitutes pay a fee for use of the facilities, with the brothel owner not being involved in the financial transaction between a prostitute and client. In cases of illegal brothels, this arrangement provides some level of plausible deniability to the facility owner, who maintains that the facility is legitimate, such as a massage parlor, bar, strip club or similar business.

Pornography[link]

Pornography is the explicit portrayal of explicit sexual subject matter for the purposes of sexual arousal and erotic satisfaction. A pornographic model poses for pornographic photographs. A pornographic actor or porn star performs in pornographic films. In cases where limited dramatic skills are involved, a performer in pornographic films may be called a pornographic model. Porn can be provided to the consumer in a variety of media, ranging from books, magazines, postcards, photos, sculpture, drawing, painting, animation, sound recording, film, video, or video game. However, when sexual acts are performed for a live audience, by definition it is not pornography, as the term applies to the depiction of the act, rather than the act itself. Thus, portrayals such as sex shows and striptease are not classified as pornography.

Pornography is classified into softcore and hardcore categories, based on whether or not penetration is depicted,^{[citation needed]} and laws and social attitudes are not as critical of soft core pornography.

The first home-PCs capable of network communication prompted the arrival of online services for adults in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The wide-open early days of the World Wide Web quickly snowballed into the dot-com boom, in-part fueled by an incredible global increase in the demand for and consumption of porn and erotica.

Sex tourism[link]

Both men and women travel away from their home to engage in sex tourism, though the pattern of attraction tends to differ between them. Male sex tourism can create or augment demand for sex services in the host countries, while female sex tourism tends not to use existing sex facilities. Like tourism in general, sex tourism can make a significant contribution to local economies, especially in popular urban centers. Sex tourism may arise as a result of stringent anti-prostitution laws in a tourist's home country, but can create social problems in the host country.

Location[link]

Businesses that provide sex services tend to cluster around military bases. The British naval port of Portsmouth had a flourishing local sex industry in the 19th century, and until the early 1990s there were large red light districts near American military bases in the Philippines. The Monto red-light district of Dublin, one of the largest in Europe, gained most of its custom from the British soldiers stationed in the city; indeed it collapsed after Irish independence was achieved and the soldiers left. The notorious Patpong entertainment district in Bangkok, and the city of Pattaya, Thailand, started as R&R locations for US troops serving in the Vietnam War in the early 1970s.

Opposition[link]

The sex industry is very controversial, and many people, organizations and governments have strong moral objections to it, and, as a result, pornography, prostitution, striptease and other similar occupations are illegal in many countries.

The term anti-pornography movement is used to describe those who argue that pornography has a variety of harmful effects, such as encouragement of human trafficking, desensitization, pedophilia, dehumanization, exploitation, sexual dysfunction, and inability to maintain healthy sexual relationships.

Sociological objections[link]

Dolf Zillmann asserts that extensive viewing of pornographic material produces many sociological effects which he characterizes as unfavorable, including a decreased respect for long-term, monogamous relationships, and an attenuated desire for procreation.^[1] He claims that pornography can "potentially undermine the traditional values that favor marriage, family, and children" and it depicts sexuality in a way which is not connected to "emotional attachment, of kindness, of caring, and especially not of continuance of the relationship, as such continuance would translate into responsibilities"^[2]

Additionally, some researchers claim that pornography causes unequivocal harm to society by increasing rates of sexual assault,^[1][3] a line of research which has been critiqued in "The effects of Pornography: An International Perspective" on external validity grounds,^[4] while others claim there is a correlation between pornography and a decrease of sex crimes.^[5][6][7]

Feminist objections[link]

Some feminists object to the sex industry, which they argue is exploitative of women who work in it and contributes to the male-centered objectification of women, increases sexual violence against women and undermines the objective of gender equality. They argue that prostitution is a form of male domination and violence against women. Feminists argue that, in most cases, prostitution is not a conscious and calculated choice. They say that most women who become prostitutes do so because they were forced or coerced by a pimp or by human trafficking, or, when it is an independent decision, it is generally the result of extreme poverty and lack of opportunity, or of serious underlying problems, such as drug addiction, past trauma (such as child sexual abuse) and other unfortunate circumstances. Based on these arguments, Sweden, Norway and Iceland have criminalized the buying, but not the selling, of sexual services (the client commits a crime, but not the prostitute).

Some feminists are opposed to pornography, arguing that it is an industry which exploits women and which is complicit in violence against women, both in its production (where they charge that abuse and exploitation of women performing in pornography is rampant) and in its consumption (where they charge that pornography eroticizes the domination, humiliation, and coercion of women, and reinforces sexual and cultural attitudes that are complicit in rape and sexual harassment). They charge that pornography contributes to the male-centered objectification of women and thus to sexism. However, other feminists are opposed to censorship, and have argued against the introduction of anti-porn legislation in the United States - among them Betty Friedan, Kate Millett, Karen DeCrow, Wendy Kaminer and Jamaica Kincaid. ^[8]

Statistics show that 61% of Americans believe it is morally wrong to spend a single evening with a prostitute. Two-thirds of the British population believe that "paying for sex exploits women," and young people are even more likely to hold this opinion: 80% of those aged 18-20 years of age. ^[9]

Other objections[link]

The sex industry often raises objections because it is sometimes connected to criminal activities, such as human trafficking, illegal immigration, drug abuse, and exploitation of children (child pornography, child prostitution). The sex industry also raises concerns about the spread of STDs.

See also[link]

Sexuality portal

References[link]

External links[link]

• Principles for Model Sex Industry Legislation
• Sex Industry - A Guide to Occupational Health and Safety in New Zealand
• "City’s sex industry worth £6.6m a year and growing", news article from The Herald, Scotland.

Alexey Navalny
Born	(1976-06-04) June 4, 1976 (age 36) Butyn, Odintsovsky District, Moscow Oblast
Nationality	Russian
Alma mater	Peoples' Friendship University of Russia Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation Yale University
Occupation	Lawyer
Known for	Political and social activism, blogging
Website
navalny.ru

Alexei Anatolievich Navalny (Russian: Алексей Анатольевич Навальный, born June 4, 1976) is a Russian lawyer, politician, and political and financial activist.^[1] Since 2009, he has gained prominence within Russia, and notably within the Russian media, as a critic of corruption in Russia, and especially of Russian leader Vladimir Putin. He has used his popular LiveJournal blog to organize large-scale demonstrations to address these issues. He also regularly writes articles in several top Russian publications, such as Forbes Russia. In a 2011 interview with Reuters, he stated that Putin's political system is so weakened by corruption that Russia could face an Arab Spring-style revolt within five years.^[2]

Navalny was named "Person of the Year 2009" by Russian business newspaper Vedomosti.^[3] In 2011, the BBC described Navalny as "arguably the only major opposition figure to emerge in Russia in the past five years".^[4] In 2012, The Wall Street Journal called him "the man Vladimir Putin fears most".^[5] He was the only Russian to be named in Time magazine's 2012 list of the 100 most influential people.^[6]

Early life and career[link]

Navalny is of Russian/Ukrainian decent.^[7] His father Anatoliy Navalny comes from the village Zalissia in Ivankiv Raion, Kiev Oblast, Ukraine. Although Navalny grew up in Obninsk about 100 km southwest of Moscow, he spent his childhood summers at his grandmother in Ukraine.^[8][7]

Navalny graduated from Peoples' Friendship University of Russia in 1998 with a law degree. He then studied securities and exchanges at the Finance University under the Government of the Russian Federation.^[9][10]

In 2000, Navalny joined the Russian United Democratic Party "Yabloko",^[11] where he was a member of the Federal Political Council of the party. In 2002, he was elected to the regional council of the Moscow branch of Yabloko.^[12]

Activity[link]

In December 2007, a meeting was held by the Bureau of the "Yabloko" party, on the issue of Navalny's exclusion from the party, with demands of "the immediate resignation of party chairman and all his deputies, and the re-election of at least 70% of the Bureau."^[13] Navalny was expelled from Yabloko "for causing political damage to the party; in particular, for nationalist activities."^[14]

Navalny is a minor stockholder in several major Russian state-related corporations and some of his activities are aimed at making the financial properties of these companies transparent. This is required by law, but there are allegations that some of the top managers of these companies are involved in thefts and are obscuring transparency.^[15] Other activities deal with wrongdoings by Russian Militsiya, such as Sergei Magnitsky's case, improper usage of state's budget funds, quality of state services and so on.

In October 2010, Navalny was the decisive winner of virtual "Mayor of Moscow elections" held in the Russian Internet by Kommersant and Gazeta.ru. He received about 30,000 votes, or 45%, with the closest rival being "Against all candidates" with some 9,000 votes (14%), followed by Boris Nemtsov with 8,000 votes (12%) out of a total of about 67,000 votes.^[16]

In November 2010, Navalny published^[17] confidential documents about Transneft's auditing. He claims that the published scan is the one of original document. According to Navalny's blog, about four billion dollars were stolen by Transneft's leaders during the construction of the Eastern Siberia – Pacific Ocean oil pipeline.^[18][19]

In February 2011, in an interview with the radio station finam.fm, Navalny called the main Russian party, United Russia, a "party of crooks and thieves". Shortly after, a pro-party lawyer declared that some regular members of United Russia had asked him to proceed against Navalny.^{[citation needed]} In May 2011, the Russian government began criminal investigation into Navalny, widely described in Western media as "revenge", and by Navalny himself as "a fabrication by the security services".^[20][21][22] Meanwhile, "crooks and thieves" became a popular nickname for the party.^[23]

In August 2011 Navalny publicized papers related to a scandalous real estate deal^[24] between Hungarian and Russian governments.^[25][26] According to the papers, Hungary sold a former embassy building in Moscow for $21mln to an offshore company of V.Vekselberg, who immediately resold it to the Russian government for $111mln. Irregularities in the paper trail implied a collusion. Hungarian officials responsible for the deal were detained in February 2011, but no investigation was started on the Russian side.

Involvement in 2011 Russian legislative election[link]

Alexey Navalny at the courthouse, December 6, 2011

In December 2011, after parliamentary elections and accusations of electoral fraud,^[27] some 6,000 gathered in Moscow to protest the fraud and some 300 were arrested including Navalny. After a period of uncertainty, Navalny was produced at court and thereafter sentenced to the maximum 15 days "for defying a government official. He plans to appeal the verdict." Alexei Venediktov called the arrest "'a political mistake: jailing Navalny transforms him from an online leader into an offline one.'"^[28] Navalny was kept in the same prison as several other activists, including Ilya Yashin and Sergei Udaltsov, the unofficial leader of the Vanguard of Red Youth, a radical Russian communist youth group. Udaltsov has gone on hunger strike to protest against the conditions.^[29]

Navalny was arrested December 5, 2011, convicted and sentenced to 15 days in jail. Since Navalny was arrested, his blog has become available in English.^[30] On December 7, President Dmitry Medvedev's official Twitter account retweeted a statement by United Russia member Konstantin Rykov which claimed that "a person who writes in their blog the words 'party of crooks and thieves' is a stupid, c*cksucking sheep". This retweet was quickly deleted and described as a mistake by the Kremlin, but gained wide attention in Russia and abroad.^[31]

Involvement in 2012 Russian presidential election[link]

On his release on December 20, Navalny called on Russians to unite against Putin, who he said would try to snatch victory in the March 4, 2012 presidential election.^[32]

Navalny told reporters on his release that it would be senseless for him to run in the presidential elections because the Kremlin would not allow them to be fair. But he said that if free elections were held, he would "be ready" to run.^[32] He then on December 24 helped lead a demonstration much larger than the post-election one (50,000 strong, in one Western-media account), telling the "wildly cheering crowd": "I see enough people to take the Kremlin right now."^[33]

In March 2012, after Putin was elected president, Navalny helped lead an anti-Putin rally in Moscow's Pushkin Square, attended by between 14,000 and 20,000 people. After the rally, Navalny was detained by authorities for several hours, then released.^[34]

On May 8, 2012, the day after Putin was inaugurated, Navalny and another opposition leader, Sergei Udaltsov, were both arrested after an anti-Putin rally at Clean Ponds, and were each given 15-day jail sentences.^[35] In response, Amnesty International designated the two men prisoners of conscience.^[36]

Other awards and honors[link]

Navalny was a World Fellow at Yale University's "World Fellows Program", aimed at "creating a global network of emerging leaders and to broaden international understanding" in 2010.^[37]

See also[link]

• 2006 Russian March
• 2011 Russian protests
• Rustem Adagamov - Russian influential blogger

References[link]

Wikinews has related news: Russia's main airport faces high danger from dump birds

Links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Alexey Navalny

• Navalny's site (Russian)
• Navalny's blog (Russian)
• Navalny's blog translated to English, since 6-Dec-2011 (English)
• His project to fight corruption (Russian)
• Ioffe, Julia, "Net Impact: One man’s cyber-crusade against Russian corruption", The New Yorker, 2011-04-04.
• Navalny at Yale World Fellows program
• Photos of Alexey Navalny

Bill Maher
Maher at a ceremony to receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2010
Birth name	William Maher, Jr.
Born	(1956-01-20) January 20, 1956 (age 56) New York, New York, U.S.
Medium	Stand-up, television, film, books
Nationality	American
Years active	1979–present
Genres	Satire, Political satire, News satire, Observational comedy
Subject(s)	American politics, current events, American culture, pop culture, freedom of speech, environmentalism, religion, human sexuality, recreational drug use, libertarianism, American liberalism, American conservatism
Influences	Steve Allen, George Carlin, Johnny Carson, David Frost, Robert Klein, Don Rickles, Gore Vidal, Lenny Bruce
Notable works and roles	Elliot on Charlie Hoover Host of Politically Incorrect Host of Real Time with Bill Maher Religulous
Website	BillMaher.com

William "Bill" Maher, Jr. ( /ˈmɑːr/; born January 20, 1956) is an American stand-up comedian, television host, political commentator, author, and actor. Before his current role as the host of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher, Maher hosted a similar late-night talk show called Politically Incorrect originally on Comedy Central and later on ABC.

Maher is known for his political satire and sociopolitical commentary, which targets a wide swath of topics including religion, politics, bureaucracies of many kinds, political correctness, the mass media, greed among people and persons in positions of high political and social power, and the lack of intellectual curiosity in the electorate.^[1] He supports the legalization of marijuana and same-sex marriage, and serves on the board of PETA.^[2] He is also a critic of religion and is an advisory board member of Project Reason, a foundation to promote scientific knowledge and secular values within society.^[3] In 2005, Maher ranked at number 38 on Comedy Central's 100 greatest stand-up comedians of all time.^[4] Bill Maher received a Hollywood Walk of Fame star on September 14, 2010.^[5]

Early life and education[link]

Maher was born in New York City, the son of Julie (née Berman), a nurse, and William Maher, Sr., a network news editor and radio announcer.^[6] He was raised in his Irish American father's Catholic religion, remaining unaware that his mother was Jewish until his early teenage years.^{[7][8][9][10]} Due to Maher's father's disagreement with the Catholic Church's position on birth control, he stopped taking Maher and his sister to Catholic church services when Maher was thirteen.^[11]

Maher was raised in River Vale, New Jersey, and graduated from Pascack Hills High School in Montvale in 1974. He received a B.A. in English and history from Cornell University in 1978.^[12]

Early career[link]

Maher began his career as a stand-up comedian and actor. He was host of the New York City comedy club Catch a Rising Star in 1979. Thanks to Steve Allen, he began appearing on Johnny Carson's and David Letterman's shows in 1982. He made limited television appearances including a recurring role in Sara (1985), appeared in Max Headroom (1987), two separate appearances on Murder, She Wrote (1989, 1990), a recurring role in Charlie Hoover (1991) and other productions. He has also appeared in several films, usually in a comic role. His feature film debut was in D.C. Cab (1983), and he also appeared in Ratboy (1986) Cannibal Women in the Avocado Jungle of Death (1988) and Pizza Man (1991), among others.

Television career[link]

[edit] Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher

Maher assumed the host role Politically Incorrect with Bill Maher, a late-night political talk show that ran on Comedy Central from 1993 to 1997 and on ABC from 1997 to 2002. The show regularly began with a topical monologue by Maher preceding the introduction of four guests, usually a diverse group of individuals from show business, popular culture, political pundits, political consultants, authors, and occasionally news figures. The group would discuss topical issues selected by Maher, who also participated in the discussions.^[13] Jerry Seinfeld, a regular guest on the show, stated that Politically Incorrect reminded him of talk shows from the 1950s and 60s "when guests interacted with each other as much as with the host."^[14]

Politically Incorrect won an array of awards, including an Emmy Award for Outstanding Technical Direction, two CableACE awards for Best Talk Show Series, and a Genesis Award for Best Television Talk Show. Maher earned numerous award nominations for his producing, writing and hosting of Politically Incorrect, including ten Emmy nominations, two TV Guide nominations, and two Writers Guild nominations. ABC decided against renewing Maher's contract for Politically Incorrect in 2002, after he made a controversial on-air remark shortly after the September 11 attacks.^[15] He agreed with his guest, conservative pundit Dinesh D'Souza, that the 9/11 terrorists did not act in a cowardly manner (in rebuttal to President Bush's statement calling 9/11 hijackers cowards). Maher said, "We have been the cowards. Lobbing cruise missiles from two thousand miles away. That's cowardly. Staying in the airplane when it hits the building. Say what you want about it. Not cowardly. You're right." Maher later clarified that his comment was not anti-military in any way whatsoever, referencing his well-documented longstanding support for the American military.^[16][17][18]

In the context of the attacks, some corporate advertisers found the comment too insensitive and controversial. Several companies, including FedEx and Sears Roebuck, pulled their advertisements from the show, costing the show more than it returned.

The show was cancelled on June 16, 2002, and the Sinclair Broadcast Group had dropped the show from its ABC-affiliated stations months prior. On June 22, 2002, just six days after the cancellation of Politically Incorrect, Maher received the Los Angeles Press Club president's award (for "championing free speech"). Maher was on the board of judges one year for the PEN/Newman's Own First Amendment Award.

Maher's remarks after 9/11 were not the first time he had sparked controversy on Politically Incorrect. In the same year, Maher was widely criticized for comparing dogs to retarded children. He apologized for his comments.^[19]

[edit] Real Time with Bill Maher

In 2003, Maher became the host, co-producer and co-writer of Real Time with Bill Maher, a weekly hour-long political comedy talk show on the cable television network HBO. During an interview, Maher told Terry Gross (on NPR's Fresh Air) that he much prefers having serious and well-informed guests on his program, as opposed to the random celebrities that fleshed out his roundtable discussions on Politically Incorrect.^[20]

As with his previous show, Politically Incorrect, Maher begins Real Time with a comic opening monologue based upon current events and other topical issues. He proceeds to a one-on-one interview with a guest, either in-studio or via satellite. Following the interview, Maher sits with three panelists, usually consisting of pundits, authors, activists and journalists, for a discussion of the week's events. In the segment "New Rules" at the end of each show, Maher delivers a humorous editorial on popular culture and American politics.

In late May 2005, Alabama Congressman Spencer Bachus sent a letter to Time Warner's board of directors requesting Real Time be cancelled after remarks Maher made after noting the military had missed its recruiting goals by 42 percent. Bachus said he felt the comments were demeaning to the military and treasonous. Maher stated his highest regard and support for the troops and asked why the congressman criticized him instead of doing something about the recruitment problem.^[21]

Real Time has earned widespread praise. It has been nominated for more than ten Primetime Emmy Awards and six Writer's Guild awards. In 2007, Maher and his co-producers were awarded the Television Producer of the Year Award in Variety Television by the Producers Guild of America.^[22] Maher holds the record for the most Emmy nominations without a win, having been nominated on 22 occasions and not winning once. Eleven of the nominations were for Politically Incorrect, while nine were for Real Time. The other two were nominations for two of his HBO comedy specials: Bill Maher: I'm Swiss and Bill Maher: The Decider.^[23]

HBO announced in July 2011 the show was renewed for a tenth season.^[24]

Christine O'Donnell[link]

On September 17, 2010, Maher aired a clip of Delaware Republican Senatorial candidate Christine O'Donnell from the October 29, 1999 episode of his old show Politically Incorrect on his current show Real Time with Bill Maher,^[25][26] where she discussed that she had "dabbled in witchcraft." This was one of the most notable of numerous controversial statements by O'Donnell that made her the most covered candidate in the 2010 mid-term election cycle.^[27][28]

Political commentator[link]

Maher is a frequent commentator on various cable news networks, namely CNN, MSNBC, and HLN. Maher has regularly appeared on CNN's The Situation Room with Wolf Blitzer^[29] and has also been a frequent guest on MSNBC's Hardball with Chris Matthews,^[30] The Rachel Maddow Show^[31] and Countdown with Keith Olbermann.^[32] Maher has also appeared as a guest on HLN's The Joy Behar Show.^[33]

Maher hosted the January 13, 2006 edition of Larry King Live, on which he was a frequent guest. Maher appeared as a special guest on the June 29, 2010 edition of the show, on which CNN anchor Larry King announced his retirement.^[34] Maher co-emceed the final show of Larry King Live on December 16, 2010 with Ryan Seacrest.^[35]

Since May 2005, he has been a contributing blogger at The Huffington Post.

Views and beliefs[link]

Politics[link]

Maher and Ingrid Newkirk, founder of PETA. Maher is on the board of directors of the animal rights group.

Maher eschews political labels, referring to himself as "practical".^[36] In the past, he has described himself as a libertarian and has also referred to himself "as a progressive, as a sane person".^[37][38]

Maher favors a partial privatization of Social Security, ending corporate welfare and federal funding of non-profits, and legalization of gambling, prostitution, and marijuana. Maher is a member of the advisory boards for both the NORML and Marijuana Policy Project, organizations which support regulated legalization of marijuana.^[39][40] He describes himself as an environmentalist, and he has spoken in favor of the Kyoto treaty on global warming on his show Real Time. He often criticizes industry figures involved in environmental pollution.^[41]

Maher is a board member of People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.

Before the 2004 U.S. presidential election, Maher became candid in his stated opposition to the re-election of George W. Bush and in his support for John Kerry.^[42]

Known for protesting against the demonization of the word "liberal", during the campaign Maher criticized Kerry for being ashamed of the word. On his show, the comedian has noted the paradox of people claiming they distrusted "elite" politicians while at the same time wanting elite doctors to treat them and elite lawyers to represent them in court.^[43] Maher supports the death penalty. Since the 9/11 attacks, he has endorsed the use of racial profiling at airports.^[44]

He was originally against the Iraq War, and has summarized his opinion by saying that the United States and the world have had to pay too high a price for the war. He is skeptical of Iraq surviving without civil war.^[45]

In the 2008 U.S. presidential election, Maher announced his support for Barack Obama.^[46] Although Maher welcomed Obama's electoral victory, he has subjected him to criticism once in office for not acting boldly on health care reform and other progressive issues.^[47]

On February 23, 2012, after his 'Crazy Stupid Politics' special streamed on Yahoo! Screen, Maher announced that he was contributing $1 million to Priorities USA, the Obama SuperPAC.^[48][49]

Religion[link]

Maher is highly critical of religion, and views it as not worth the bother. He has referred to himself as an apatheist - a pragmatic atheist - on Scarborough Country on April 24, 2007, and again in July 2011.^[50][51] He has reiterated this stance in subsequent interviews, rejecting both the certitude of the existence, as well as the certitude of nonexistence of deities, concluding, "I'm saying that doubt is the only appropriate response for human beings."^[52] He is an advisory board member of author Sam Harris's Project Reason, a foundation that promotes scientific knowledge and secular values within society.

Maher and director Larry Charles teamed up to make the feature film Religulous (2008), described by trade publication Variety as a documentary "that spoofs religious extremism across the world." It was released on October 3, 2008.^[53][54]

While Maher is critical towards Christianity, he is an outspoken critic of religion as a whole, including Islam. On October 29, 2010, during a Real Time segment, Maher commented on a news story saying that the name Mohammed had become the most popular baby name in the United Kingdom. He asked, "Am I a racist to feel alarmed by that? Because I am. And it’s not because of the race, it’s because of the religion. I don’t have to apologize, do I, for not wanting the Western world to be taken over by Islam in 300 years? Sharia law is being institutionalized in England? Well, then I am right, I should be alarmed."^[55] He later defended his comments on CNN, saying, "And when I say Westerner, I mean someone who believes in the values that Western people believe in that a lot of the Muslim world does not. Like separation of church and state. Like equality of the sexes. Like respect for minorities, free elections, free speech, freedom to gather. These things are not just different from cultures that don’t have them. ... It’s better. ... I would like to keep those values here." ^[56]

Maher received the Richard Dawkins Award for 2009 from Atheist Alliance International "for his efforts to further the values science and reason in the world."^[57]

Maher was ranked first by MormonVoices, a group associated with Foundation for Apologetic Information & Research, on its Top Ten Anti-Mormon Statements of 2011 list for saying "By any standard, Mormonism is more ridiculous than any other religion".^[58]

Health care[link]

Maher has stated that the AMA is a powerful lobbying group and one of the primary reasons why the United States had failed to enact health care reform.^{[59][dead link][60]}

On August 24, 2009, Maher was a guest on The Tonight Show with Conan O'Brien. On the topic of getting health care reform legislation passed, Maher stated that Obama should forget about trying to get 60 votes for it, "he only needs 51." "Forget getting the sixty votes or sixty percent — sixty percent of people don't believe in evolution in this country — he just needs to drag them to it, like I said, they're stupid; get health care done, with or without them."^[61]

Maher has expressed the view that most illness is generally the result of poor diet and lack of exercise, and that medicine is often not the best way of addressing illness. In an episode of his show about the 2008 presidential candidates' health plans, Maher stated that poor nutrition is a primary cause of illness, and that "the answer isn't another pill."^[62] He also has said:" If you believe you need to take all the pills the pharmaceutical industry says you do, then you're already on drugs!"^[63]

He has expressed his distaste for the pharmaceutical and health care industries in general, on the grounds that they make their money out of curing people who are made sick by consuming unhealthy food that corporations urge upon the public. He maintains that mass consumption of high-fructose corn syrup is a contributor to the rise in frequency of obesity in the United States.^[64]

In a discussion with Michael Moore about the film Sicko, Maher said, "The human body is pretty amazing; it doesn't get sick, usually, for no reason. I mean, there's some genetic stuff that can get to you, but, basically, people are sick in this country because they're poisoned. The environment is a poisoning factor, but also, we gotta say, they poison themselves. They eat shit. People eat shit, and that's, to my way of thinking, about 90 percent of why people are sick, is because they eat shit. Would you agree?"^[65]

On October 9, 2009, on his HBO show, Maher debated the effectiveness of flu vaccinations with Bill Frist and stated, "Why would you let them be the ones to stick a disease into your arm? I would never get a swine flu vaccine or any vaccine. I don’t trust the government, especially with my health." Maher also expressed skepticism about the seriousness of the swine flu and whether completely healthy people could die from it. His comments have generated criticism, and his remarks have been called unscientific and even harmful.^[66]

Maher responded to the criticism, noting, "What I've read about what they think I'm saying is not what I've said. I'm not a germ theory denier. I believe vaccinations can work. Polio is a good example. Do I think in certain situations that inoculating Third World children against malaria or diphtheria, or whatever, is right? Of course. In a situation like that, the benefits outweigh costs. But to me living in Los Angeles? To get a flu shot? No."^[67]

He supports the current abortion laws and giving the terminally ill the right to assisted suicide.

Criticism of 9/11 conspiracy theories[link]

Maher has been a critic of 9/11 conspiracy theories. On October 19, 2007, Maher confronted several 9/11 truthers and had them ejected from his show audience after they interrupted the live show numerous times by calling out from the audience. The incident drew significant media attention and praise from Fox News talk show host and frequent critic John Gibson.^[68]

Personal life[link]

Maher has never married. In 2003, he began dating former Playboy Cyber Girl Coco Johnsen. In November 2004, at the end of their 17-month relationship, she sued him for USD $9 million for "pain and suffering" for alleged "insulting, humiliating and degrading racial comments." Her suit^[69] stated that Maher promised to marry her and father her children, support her financially, and purchase a Beverly Hills home. Her suit also alleged that she quit her job as a flight attendant and occasional model to be with him. Maher's lawyers in their response filed on November 23, 2004, in Los Angeles Superior Court said Maher is a "confirmed bachelor, and a very public one at that" who "never promised to marry [Johnsen] or to have children with her."^[70]

Maher's filing stated that, after the relationship had ended, Johnsen "launched a campaign to embarrass, humiliate, and extort ridiculous sums of money from Bill Maher." Johnsen accused another former boyfriend of rape and kidnapping in 1997, and the charges were later dismissed for lack of evidence.^[71] Her lawsuit against Maher was dismissed on May 2, 2005.

Maher next to his star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in September 2010

Maher enjoys his bachelor status and states that he does not want to get married. On his website, he is quoted as saying, "I'm the last of my guy friends to have never gotten married, and their wives — they don't want them playing with me. I'm like the escaped slave — I bring news of freedom."^[72]

In 2005, he began dating Karrine Steffans, best-selling author and former hip hop model.^[73][74][75] When commentators suggested there was a pattern to his dating because both his girlfriend and former girlfriend were black, Maher said, "People say I'm into black women. Robert De Niro is into black women. I'm just into women who are real, and they happen to be black."^[74]

From 2009 to 2011, Maher dated the neuroscientist and science educator Cara Santa Maria.^[76]

Credits[link]

Bibliography[link]

• True Story : A Novel, 1994 (ISBN 0-7432-4251-3)
• Does Anybody Have a Problem With That? Politically Incorrect's Greatest Hits, 1996 (ISBN 0-679-45627-9)
• Does Anybody Have a Problem with That? The Best of Politically Incorrect, 1997 (ISBN 0-345-41281-8)
• When You Ride Alone You Ride With Bin Laden: What the Government Should Be Telling Us to Help Fight the War on Terrorism, 2003 (ISBN 1-893224-90-2)
• Keep the Statue of Liberty Closed: The New Rules, 2004 (ISBN 1-932407-47-2)
• New Rules: Polite Musings from a Timid Observer, 2005 (ISBN 1-59486-295-8)
• The New New Rules: A Funny Look at How Everybody but Me Has Their Head Up Their Ass, 2011 (ISBN 0-39915-841-3)

Filmography[link]