Archive for November, 2008
Lee Baxandall (1935-2008)
http://www.naturistaction.org
Naturist Action Committee (NAC) – PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903
Add comment November 28, 2008
7th Annual Rooster Rock Polar Bare Dip
Add comment November 24, 2008
What does Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels think of a potential nude beach in Seattle?
Posted in the naturist forums …
There has been a huge amount of media coverage on the issue of nudity in Seattle Parks. Too much to post each individual story.Are you curious about…
- What Mayor Nickels thinks of all of this? (thanks John for the heads up). How about Bill O’Reilley of Fox News?
- Was this really on CNN?
- Why does KOMO 4 Commentator Ken Schram say that “Kids are not going to be hurt by seeing a naked person.”
- Which two NAC representatives did local talk show host Dori Monson talk to?
- Which lifeguarded beaches does the Stranger’s blog claim that the Seattle Parks is now looking at for feasibility as a clothing-optional beaches?
Find out at the Seattle coverage page on Naked WikiCheers,Daniel
Add comment November 24, 2008
Article: Judge Clears Portland Nude Cyclist
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/index.ssf/2008/11/judge_throws_out_charges_again.html
Judge Jerome LaBarre said the city’s annual World Naked Bike Ride — in which as many as 1,200 people cycled through Northwest and downtown Portland on June 14 — has helped cement riding in the buff as a form of protest against cars and possibly even the nation’s dependence on fossil fuels.
LaBarre then cleared Michael “Bobby” Hammond, 21, of any wrongdoing after two days of hearings that concluded Wednesday. “
Add comment November 14, 2008
National Nude Beach Poll
From Mark Storey
Greetings Naturists:
The Naturist Society is conducting an Internet poll to collect information on skinny-dippers’ opinions about nude beach use. Granted, such polls have little scientific value, but TNS plans to use the info in a series of press releases to promote nude use of beaches in North America. You don’t have to be a member of TNS to participate. If you are interested, go to http://www.naturistsociety.com and click on Please Take our on-line poll near the bottom of the page.Naturally yours,
Mark Storey
Add comment November 14, 2008
NAC Update – Seattle Parks Board Rejects Nudity Ban
Many others were also involved, including the SLUGS own Howard, who did a great job in an on-radio interview.
NAC relies not only on it’s representatives but in a large part on the numerous volunteers who work in the background, write letters, attend these meetings . . . and in general, work toward making it known that we are a voice to be heard, that we are reasonable, and that we want to work together.
My personal opinion is that this attempt . . . seemingly out of the blue . . . was an attempt by a more conservation element of Seattle to set the stage for an outright prohibition of nudity in Seattle . . . much like Everett’s. Rule-making by the new superintendent is the easy way in . . . and once in effect the ‘conservatives’ could go for a law by the City Council to broaden that ban city-wide and criminalize simple nudity. Yesterday’s outcome was a sound slap-down of that edging in.
Of note, on the forums I have read the reactions from many naturists and note that several of them have stated that they immediately went to the NAC website and made a donation. Way to go NAC!
I’ve included several links to interviews and news reports of the fast and furious activities of the past two days. The upshot? Yes, we can make a difference as individual and connected nudists. We made our point of view known and that view was taken seriously and well-received.
Rick
- KING 5 Report on the Board Meeting: http://www.king5.com/video/index.html?nvid=303449
There is a poll on the page below which you should participate in:http://tinyurl.com/5mfuya
- PodCast of KUOW’s call in show “The Conversation” where Howard got about 5 min of air time at their web site http://www.kuow.org/program.php?id=16305
- Poll up at http://www.q13fox.com/pages/main
“Do you think there should be a nudity ban at Seattle parks?
Tell us why by emailing us at tips@q13fox.com” - Parks commission strips plan to prosecute for nudity http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008392162_webnudity14m.html
UPDATE
http://www.naturistaction.org
DATE : November 14, 2008
SUBJECT: Seattle, WA
TO : All naturists
Dear Naturist,
Very good news! The Naturist Action Committee offers this Update concerning a proposed ban on nudity in the public parks of Seattle, Washington. The Board of Parks Commissioners received the proposal at its regularly scheduled meeting on Thursday, November 13.
The Board has rejected the anti-nudity proposal. The matter has been removed from the Board’s agenda for future meetings.
NAC board member Mark Storey attended the meeting, and he addressed the Commissioners on behalf of naturists and others who oppose the proposed prohibiting of nudity.
MARK STOREY’S REPORT
Mark has filed this narrative report:
The Seattle Parks Board of Commissioners met Thursday evening in Seattle’s Park Headquarters, in part, to receive a staff-generated proposal for a ban on nudity in Seattle parks. Approximately 20 nudity-friendly men and women attended the meeting, hoping to express their disfavor with the ban proposed by Seattle Parks. After preliminary discussion by Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, board Vice Chair Jackie Ramels informed the audience that no public input would be accepted that evening on the topic of the proposed ban, and that everyone would have an opportunity to speak his or her mind on January 8 when the board had scheduled a public hearing for the ban.
Naturists in the audience were disappointed, but I had heard about this policy shortly before the meeting, and signed up to speak anyway. When Ramels asked if I was hoping to speak about nudity, I said, “No, I had no wish to address the proposed ban. I instead wished to praise the board for the Seattle Parks Strategic Action Plan Summary of Public Feedback that I had received that day. Gallagher laughed, and waved me up to the podium, saying, “Bring him up here!”
The only person to speak from the audience, I thanked the Parks Department for organizing such an efficient means of receiving public input a couple of months ago, when they wanted to hear what users of Seattle parks wanted done in the upcoming five years. I said that my wife and I had attended two of the meetings, and were impressed with how well they were run. I was also impressed with the detail of the report, and how among those expressing interest in off-leash dog
areas, swimming pools, green spaces, and other public uses, the one item of interest that outranked all of them was the amazing outpouring of interest in developing a clothing-optional beach at a Seattle Park. Where other requests came in batches of two or a half dozen, the number of comments favoring clothing-optional beaches stretched across 22 pages! I did not remind them that NAC had sent out an Action Alert six months ago, and that many of the comments may have been inspired by NAC. I wanted the board to have clear in their minds in the minutes to come that there were many, many people in Seattle who liked the idea of at least some toleration for nudity in public parks.
I concluded my two-minute address by saying that NAC and local groups looked forward to conferring with Seattle Parks in determining how best to accommodate this broad-ranging user group. I could not tell if the board was amused or not, but Ramels asked the next couple of potential speakers if they too planned on talking about “the Strategic Plan.” All seemed ready to let the board hear from Seattle Parks, and changing the agenda to account for the audience’s clear interest in nudity issues, move directly to the proposal.
Seattle Parks Strategic Advisor Karen Tsao presented the proposal for the ban, sounding a little nervous, but graciously sympathetic to those naturists sitting around her. The board immediately, though calmly, questioned the need for such a ban. Were there really so many complaints about nudity? And what about all those people who seem to enjoy it? Couldn’t Seattle Parks accommodate skinny-dippers by providing a designated portion of beach with signs alerting passersby to the clothing-optional policy there?
Some on the board wished to hear from the public in coming weeks, to hear why so many people clearly wanted a clothing-optional beach. They also wanted to hear why some felt offended. Ramels moved, however, that the board reject the ban for now, to urge Seattle Parks to continue to give use permits as they have in the past (e.g., to naturist groups or for naked bike rides), and to limit future permits to groups who allowed problems to arise or who generated too many complaints. She-and most of the board-felt that a case by case approach to specific groups was better than an overarching ban on nudity in city parks.
Board member Terry Holme made the point that there is a clear distinction between the evening’s proposed ban and the loud call for a clothing-optional beach. While he agreed that the ban was ill-advised at the moment, Seattle Parks should also be open to discussion about accommodating those who wish to sunbathe or skinny-dip in Seattle.
This was outstanding! NAC and its body-accepting friends entered this meeting fearing Seattle Parks would ban nudity, and we walked out with the Parks Board saying “no” to the ban and charging Seattle Parks to enter into discussion about creating the state’s first officially sanctioned nude beach!
Be assured that NAC and its local allies will be presenting naturist-friendly alternatives to Seattle Parks in the days and weeks to come. In a follow-up NAC Advisory we’ll let people know how they can send emails or letters to Seattle Parks to support this effort, even with the cancellation of the now no longer needed January 8 public hearing. For tonight, know that your amazing response to NAC Alerts calling for comments on Seattle Parks’ Strategic Plan and for attendance at tonight’s meeting has paid off better than in any single project I’ve been involved with.
MORE INFORMATION AND RESOURCES
Additional information and links are available, along with this NAC informational update on the web site of the Naturist Action Committee. Go to: http://www.naturistaction.org and then select
“Updates” to find this NAC Update under Current Updates. NAC will distribute new information on this important situation as it develops.
PLEASE HELP NAC TO CONTINUE HELPING NATURISTS!
The Naturist Action Committee is a volunteer nonprofit organization that exists to advance and protect the rights of naturists throughout North America. To do its job, NAC relies entirely on the voluntary generosity of supporters like you. Please donate generously to NAC.
NAC
PO Box 132
Oshkosh, WI 54903
Or call toll free (800) 886-7230 to donate by phone using your MasterCard, Visa or Discover Card. Or use your credit card to make a convenient online donation: http://www.naturistaction.org/donate/
Thank you for choosing to make a difference.
Naturally,
Bob Morton
Executive Director
Naturist Action Committee
Naturist Action Committee (NAC) – PO Box 132, Oshkosh, WI 54903
Executive Director Bob Morton – execdir@naturistaction.org
Board Member Mark Storey – storey98@aol.com
Online Rep. Dennis Kirkpatrick – naturist@sunclad.com
Add comment November 14, 2008
SHORT NOTICE: Stop a Nudity Ban in Seattle Parks!
From Daniel
We need your help tomorrow – THURSDAY!The Seattle Board of Park Commissioners is meeting tomorrow to discuss a new rule
*** BANNING ALL NUDITY*** in Seattle’s Parks.
Again, the meeting is scheduled for tomorrow, November 13th at 7 p.m. in the Park Board Room
in the Parks administration building in Denny Park at
100 Dexter Ave N, Seattle, WA 98109
http://tinyurl.com/6nkqsc (Google Map)
If you can attend this meeting it would be great! You don’t have to speak, but signing in on the signup sheet with in favor of clothing-optional recreation in Seattle Parks would be a big help.
More info
http://www.seattle.gov/PARKS/parkboard/
Please help if you can!
Daniel
Likewise, events such as the World Naked Bike Ride would be severely hampered as the ride makes stops at Seattle Parks. Carried further, the ever popular Fremont Solstice Parade with the nude bicyclists always ends up in Gasworks Park with an easy (and well-tolerated) popular take on public nudity. That would all be ended if a conservative Parks administration has the authority to ban nudity within the parks system. Time to stop this precedent-setting agenda before it becomes established. Don’t allow Seattle to become a conservative backwater. There is room for clothing-optional opportunities in Seattle’s Parks system. Attend the meeting and make the case for use by all of Seattle’s diverse culture, including clothing-optional.
Rick
Add comment November 12, 2008
Semi Off Topic: Keep Your Surfing Safe
There is a dearth of information dealing with nude hiking so when I come across an article or blog posting, myself, and I suspect most of you, would click the link and check the posting to see what they have to say. The Google Alert I got in my email reads (in part) “Hiking nude may be the ultimate experience of freedom … nothing between you and the air …” Good so far. Certainly an article that I’m going to read further. Problem here is that there is more than meets the eye when you click through to this link …
The link does indeed follow through to a seemingly authentic blog posting . . . if you have time to read it because within seconds of loading the page you are redirected to a malicious web site designed to infect your computer. The only reason I got the above screen image is because I was prepared to stop the page loading before the redirect happened.
The actual post is a meaningless garble of words . . . just enough to fill a blog posting and make it seem authentic. I’ve noticed that searches and postings about nude recreation are increasingly being used by phishers and malicious hackers as a social-pretext to target people who may already feel nervous about even surfing to a site that has anything to do with nudism. You expect this sort of thing if you go checking out porn sites and, if we got our computer hopelessly infected after visiting a porn site would any of us admit it? I suspect the malware purveyors are expecting the same response from those who search for and click through on links leading to the subject of nude recreation such as nude hiking. Unfortunately, those who may have a genuine interest in learning about nudism are now being targeted by drive-by downloads.
This particular website of potential interest never gets loaded before the visitor is redirected and gets an alarming popup warning.
The popup warning as you are redirected to a malicious website
The scan in progress with animated progress bar and ‘found’ infections
“Remove All” or “Ignore”? Well, actually, you don’t have the choice. Click either one and the download starts.
Fortunately, Firefox and the latest versions of Internet Explorer do not allow the download to progress without your permission. Just be warned that if you do save this file and then run it, you will be installing a particularly nasty piece of malware on your system. Surf safely. Don’t fall for this kind of junk!Add comment November 9, 2008
Skinny-dipping a legal right in Denmark
A couple from Northern Zealand cannot ban naked bathing from a beach in front of their house.dthis_pub = ‘politiken’;
The decision means that a couple from Skodsborg just north of Copenhagen, cannot put up a ‘Nudism forbidden’ sign on a beach in front of their sitting room window.
Bothered
The couple say that they are bothered by naked bathers, who they claim engage in sexual activities on the beach. But the local court in Lyngby decided on June 13 this year that naked bathing, which has been allowed in Denmark for the past 32 years, is still allowed. The High Court upheld the verdict of the lower court and ordered the couple to pay costs.
Add comment November 6, 2008
