Earlier this month I blogged about the lawsuit against Shell. To my surprise the case has already reached settlement.
From Center For Constitutional Rights:
Settlement Reached in Human Rights Cases Against Royal Dutch/Shell
“Today, the parties in Wiwa v. Shell agreed to settle human rights claims charging the Royal Dutch/Shell company, its Nigerian subsidiary, Shell Petroleum Development Company (SPDC or Shell Nigeria), and the former head of its Nigerian operation, Brian Anderson, with complicity in the torture, killing, and other abuses of Ogoni leader Ken Saro-Wiwa and other non-violent Nigerian activists in the mid-1990s in the Ogoni region of the Niger Delta.
The settlement, whose terms are public, provides a total of $15.5 million. These funds will compensate the 10 plaintiffs, who include family members of the deceased victims; establish a Trust intended to benefit the Ogoni people; and cover a portion of plaintiffs’ legal fees and costs. The settlement is only on behalf of the individual plaintiffs for their individual claims. It does not resolve outstanding issues between Shell and the Ogoni people, and the plaintiffs did not negotiate on behalf of the Ogoni people.”
Posted by Vixen as News at 3:20 PM CDT
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From this gallery.
Back in college I dyed my hair blue. But it didn’t look nearly so cool as this model’s.
Posted by Vixen as Sexy Sensations at 11:41 PM CDT
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The best of this week’s blogs by the bloggers who blog them. Highlighting the top 3 posts as chosen by Sugasm participants. Want in Sugasm #168? Submit a link to your best post of the week using this form. Participants, repost the link list within a week and you’re all set.
This Week’s Picks
Every Time You Orgasm, An Angel Gets Its Wings
“There is nothing that screams “fuck you” to the pain and the hurt in the world than screaming “fuck me” to the person in your bed.”
HNT: Spanked
“I wasn’t sure how I felt about him. But tonight, I was sure.”
A Thousand Kisses
“This wasn’t enough. I knew that I had to try something else.”
Mr. Sugasm Himself
Congratulations, you’re invited!
Sugasm Editor
Sex Work And Honesty: Religion
Editor’s Choice
Food, fun and commitment
More Sugasm
Join the Sugasm
Chloe courtesy of Viviane’s Sex Carnival.
Posted by Vixen as Sugasm at 5:52 PM CDT
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“I thought of you as I sucked his cock.”
-regular client
Posted by Vixen as Quote Book at 12:02 PM CDT
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From Gay Agenda:
GA Speaks with John Gechter (Vincent DeSalvo)
“So by now you may have heard of John Gechter, aka Vincent DeSalvo, the gay porn star for Randy Blue who was suspended from Grove City College (GCC) in Pennsylvania, for a period of no less than one year for behavior unbecoming of “school values”, after it was discovered he was involved in gay porn.
(snip)
John has a total 135 credits, more than enough to graduate, but because of his suspension, he will not be allowed to apply for graduation, which means of course, he will not be graduating from GCC, but is likely to have to transfer to another university or college, resulting in loosing credits, and prolonging his college career.”
The link above has an interview with Gechter. It’s a little under an hour. He gives an update on his situation and muses on his future plans.
Posted by Vixen as News at 3:44 PM CDT
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As I’ve written in my Sex Work And Religion series, religion comes up more then I expected when I started PSO work. If a client asks my religion I tell them the truth-I’m Pagan.
Growing up in the Midwest I’ve had my share of religious discrimination. I blogged some about that here. In college I wore a pentacle and got screamed at for it numerous times. Assholes would get inches from my face and bellow that I was a sinner, that I was going to burn in hell. It shook me up and certainly made an impression on me-I founded a Pagan student group and got involved in political activism.
Answering the religion question honestly is one of my little “issues”. It’s like the childfree answer. I just have a knee jerk reaction to it. I’m not going to fake having kids and I’m not going to fake religious beliefs.
But I try to be polite. Even though it’s 2009 there are a lot of misconceptions about Paganism out there. I’ve had clients ask if I worship Satan. When will that rumor ever die out?! I explain that I don’t believe Satan exists so therefore can’t worship him. That seems to do the trick. One time I was even asked if I sacrificed animals. It was hard not to laugh at that one as I assured him I most certainly did not. People actually believe that? Eek. Even if I only dispel such stereotypes to a handful of people it still helps.
Most clients respond positively. “Does that mean you worship nature?” is a common response. I answer yes. “Are you a witch?” others ask. Again I say yes. Witch is one of those tricky terms. It’s a risk to say I am one to clients, lest they jump onto the Hollywood myths that I eat babies or some such nonsense. But I think Pagans should reclaim the word witch, much like lesbians do dyke.
It turns out clients like to incorporate my “witchiness” into their fantasies. “I knew you had cast a spell on me!” they’ll say. That’s a fun fantasy so I’ll play along. It usually starts out with me putting a spell on them to submit to me completely. Then I make them serve me in various ways, incorporating their fetish as part of my training. If they want strap on play that becomes part of the spell. If they want to focus on pussy or ass worship I program their mind to only want those things.
Recently I had a client that annoyed me. I’ll call him Bad Stereotype because he was one. The call started off normal. I controlled him, trained him with strap ons, made him go out and bring back cock for me. Easy enough. Then in the middle of the fantasy he asked me my religion. Non sequitur questions in the middle of a fantasy used to surprise me; I’m used to it now. I gave my standard “I’m Pagan” answer.
BS got all excited. “I knew you were! You can take me to your Satanic rituals!” “My what?!” I asked. I was more taken off guard then upset at this point. He repeated himself and said he could tell I was a witch, that I looked like one. BS then launched into a fantasy where I took him to a Satanic ritual where women’s blood was drunk as a sacrifice. Then everyone declared themselves as Satan’s servants and vowed to do his will. It was some messed up shit.
I made an attempt to disillusion him. I told him I didn’t believe in Satan nor did I drink blood. He didn’t want to believe me. He just kept going back to his fantasy. I was starting getting defensive and feeling offended. But it was becoming obvious he was pretty drunk. He kept forgetting my name and doing the beer burp.
So I gave up on the honesty, grabbed some knitting and just “mmm’d and oooooh’d” for the rest of the call. He came and hung up. BS called me back a few weeks later. During our last call he was more sober. He didn’t ask any religious questions or repeat his fantasy. I was relieved.
Sex Work And Honesty Series
Sex Work And Honesty: Being Childfree
Sex Work And Honesty: Being Too Honest
Sex Work And Honesty: When The Truth Hurts
Sex Work And Honesty: Political Opinions
Sex Work And Honesty: Not Owning A TV
Sex Work And Honesty: The Correct Answer
Sex Work And Honesty: Relationship Status
Posted by Vixen as PSO Confessions at 1:05 PM CDT
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From the Telegraph:
Shell execs accused of ‘collaboration’ over hanging of Nigerian activist Ken Saro-Wiwa
“After a secret trial, widely viewed as rigged, Mr Saro-Wiwa was convicted of murder and executed in November 1995 along with eight other members of the Movement for the Survival of the Ogoni People (MOSOP). To international outrage, Mr Saro-Wiwa’s body was burned with acid and thrown in an unmarked grave.
Almost 14 years later, Mr Anderson, a Nigerian-born British citizen, is about to face a civil jury trial along with 15 other Shell executives concerning their alleged role in encouraging a brutal government crackdown on the Ogani people and in failing to use their influence to prevent the execution of the activists known as the Ogoni Nine.
(snip)
Should the jury conclude that Mr Anderson and other executives were culpable in Nigeria’s suppression of the protest movement, which led to numerous murders and the executions of the Ogoni Nine, they could be liable for huge damages to the families of those executed. The lawsuit asserts that as Mr Saro-Wiwa’s campaign grew, Shell become worried that it would hit oil production across the Niger Delta, disrupt its operations and tarnish its image abroad. The multinational “sought to eliminate that threat, through a systematic campaign of human rights violations,” the lawsuit alleges.
(snip)
Court documents allege that there was “a pattern of collaboration” between Shell and the military “to violently and ruthlessly suppress any opposition to its exploitation of oil and natural gas resources in the Niger Delta.”
A month after Mr Saro-Wiwa’s execution, Shell executives initialed an agreement with the Nigerian government to pump $4 billion into a natural gas project.”
—
I protested against Shell over Saro-Wiwa’s death back in college. A group of us had signs and picketed a Shell gas station. That feels like ages ago. I wonder how this trial will turn out.
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:24 PM CDT
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From Sex SF:
June: Sexiest sexy festival month ever
“This is definitely a good month for worthwhile local festivals. The 6th San Francisco Sex Worker Film, Art, & Music Festival officially kicked off this past weekend and promises to be a thrill for both the intellect and the libido. Smart, kinky, and fun, the Sex Worker Fest is a positive and educational week-long extravaganza that occurs in tandem with the ongoing 12th Annual Queer Arts Festival, a whopping month-long festival featuring over 400 artists in over 100 performances taking place in 18 venues all over San Francisco. The only question at this point is how you’re possibly going to fit everything into your schedule.”
Oh man, I have to make it out to the Sex Worker Festival one day. It sounds so cool! Did you go? Email me details! (and pics)
—
From Boing Boing:
Manga collector faces 15 years in jail because some of his comics included sexual images of children
“A US manga collector has plead guilty to possession of child pornography because some of the many thousands and thousands of comics he owns depict children in sexual situations. He now faces up to 15 years in prison and a life of being treated as a child molester, though there’s no evidence he is a pedophile or has ever interfered with a child in any way.
The 39-year-old office worker was charged under the 2003 Protect Act, which outlaws cartoons, drawings, sculptures or paintings depicting minors engaging in sexually explicit conduct, and which lack “serious literary, artistic, political, or scientific value.” Handley’s guilty plea makes him the first to be convicted under that law for possessing cartoon art, without any evidence that he also collected or viewed genuine child pornography. He faces a maximum sentence of 15 years in prison…”
This story shows how broken our legal system has become. After reading the DC Madam book I wonder if Handley had a bad lawyer.
—
While getting the link for the above story I found another from Boing Boing:
Online Personal Narratives from Patients of Murdered Late-Term Abortion Provider
“Salon’s Kate Harding has collected a number of first-person accounts from women (and families) who were patients of the recently murdered Dr. George Tiller. As I understand it, he was one of only three providers of late-term abortions in the USA, and widely considered the most expert practitioner in this extremely controversial area of health care. Snip:
Susan Hill, President of the National Women’s Health Foundation, who knew Dr. Tiller for over two decades and referred girls and women to his clinic, said in a phone interview, “We always sent the really tragic cases to Tiller.” Those included women diagnosed with cancer who needed abortions to qualify for chemotherapy, women who learned late in their pregnancies that their wanted babies had fatal illnesses, and rape victims so young they didn’t realize they were pregnant for months. “We sent him 11-year-olds, 12-year-olds who were way too far along for anybody [else] to see,” said Hill. “Eleven-year-olds don’t tell anybody. Sometimes they don’t even know they’ve had a period.”"
Will abortion ever stop being such a big deal? Sometimes I think women won’t be truly liberated until we have full control over what goes in and out of our vaginas.
—
From The Clitheroe Advertiser and Times:
Stripper is banned from sacred mountain
“A man who stripped on one of Asia’s highest peaks has been banned from the mountain and accused of ruining the scenery, national park officials have reported.
The 30-year-old man will be kept off Jade Mountain, Taiwan, for up to three years after a friend took photos of him naked on the 3,952m peak and posted them online.”
To me being naked in nature is a holy act. Strip down to your birthday suit and commune with the nature spirits I say!
—
From CNBC:
Prostitutes in Canada Get Training for the Olympics
“As the prostitution industry grapples with the recession, prostitutes in Canada are gearing up for the next big thing: The 2010 Olympics in Vancouver.
(snip)
A Canadian agency that provides support for Vancouver’s sex workers (Remember, prostitution is quasi-legal in Canada) is working up a brochure — hey, I read it for the articles — to prep them on how to handle requests for photographs and interviews, Canadian media are reporting.
“We just want our members to feel safe,” Kerry Porth, a spokeswoman for the Prostitution Alternatives Counselling and Education Society (PACE) told the Canadian Press. “Media attention to the area can be a little less than compassionate and we don’t want them to feel like animals in a zoo.”"
We sex workers definitely need to educate ourselves on how to deal with the media.
Posted by Vixen as News at 8:45 PM CDT
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From this gallery.
Her balance is impressive. I bet she does yoga.
Posted by Vixen as Sexy Sensations at 7:44 PM CDT
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Today I had a call while having my morning coffee. I must not have been fully awake because I spilled coffee all over my leg while talking. One moment I’m sipping it, the next moment I have hot liquid splashing my thigh.
Naturally I gasped in pain because damn it hurt. Mid gasp I managed to close my mouth and turn it into a mmm noise. The client thought I was moaning in pleasure.
I was wide awake after that. We continued the call while I silently changed shorts and cleaned coffee off my chair.
Posted by Vixen as PSO Confessions at 11:24 PM CDT
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