him for threatening wholesalers and stopping distribution of its current issue in California.

Lawrence Ferlinghetti, owner of CITY LIGHTS BOOKSHOP, and a clerk in his store, were arrested by Juvenile Bureau Captain William Hanrahan for selling works "not fit for children to read" specifically the abovementioned poem HOWL and the MISCELLANEOUS MAN. ACLU counsel Lawrence Speiser attacked the constitutionality of the state law under which the arrests were made.

midst also and not just as a nasty accusation to smear fallen idols. Actually, Soviet law prescribes extremely severe sentences of long years of "corrective labor therapy" for the mildest homosexual offenses, while according to the I.C.S.E. NEWSLETTER, a reform in the Polish Penal Code makes that the first Slavic country to do away with special laws against homosexuals and treat all sex offenders under same law.

ORGANIZATIONS

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In recent decision nixing Michigan censorship law (under which a bookseller was convicted for selling THE DEVIL RIDES OUTSIDE) the Supreme Court said "protection of morals of youth cannot be used as pretext for quarantining adult reading habits.' Their recent rulings have mostly been rough on the censors, but a decision late in June upheld conviction of Samuel Roth in N.Y. (for advertising PHOTO AND BODY, GOOD TIMES and AMERICAN APHRODITE #13) and David Alberts of Los Angeles. Justice Brennan, for the court, said obscenity is "utterly without redeeming social importance" and cited international agreements, state and federal laws to restrain it. The Court rejected the ACLU argument that obscenity is protected under the Free Speech clause of the First Amendment. But the continuing debate as to just what is obscene remains . . .

Marxist dogma firmly believes that prostitution (like most other social ills) is purely a capitalist evil. Soviet law and propaganda long ignored its existence in "socialist" society. Now in Poland, Hungary and even Russia, the matter is being dealt with openly, with new regard for the persistence of socio-moral problems which run deeper than superficial politicoeconomic structures. Soon they may even notice homosexuality in their

one

The CULTUUR-EN ONTSPANNINGS-CENTRUM, probably the world's largest homophile organization, celebrated 10th Anniversary in Amsterdam this March. Membership has grown steadily since 1947 to 2700 this year. With activities in Amsterdam, the Hague, Utrecht, Rotterdam and Arnhem, the C.O.C. is primarily a social club, unlike American homophile organizations. Founder and president Bob Angelo, in an interview in March I.C.S.E. NEWSLETTER, described C.O.C.'s early legal difficulties, said they are now a respected part of community. He felt their large membership, and 2,000 circulation of their monthly VRIENDSCHAP (Friendship) was good showing for small Netherlands. The C.O.C. took lead in organizing INTERNATIONAL COMMITTEE FOR SEX EQUALITY, also sponsors 3 large week-end study conferences each year and recently produced the highly successful world premiere performance of GAME OF FOOLS (published by ONE.) Peter Wildeblood (whose third book is on way) expected to make several speeches to C.O.C. groups in June.

DER KREIS (The Circle) club and magazine of Switzerland, celebrating its 25th Jubilee in Zurich this year at their Autumn gathering, Oct. 6th. The tri-lingual magazine, now print-

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