From the Advocate:
Calif. Senator Ashburn Comes Out
“http://www.advocate.com/News/Daily_News/2010/03/08/Roy_Ashburn_Admits_He_is_Gay/
“The California state senator who was arrested for driving while intoxicated after a night at a gay bar announced Monday that he is gay.
Roy Ashburn, who has had a decidedly antigay voting record, made the announcement on KERN radio. Ashburn, a Republican from Bakersfield, said his votes were a reflection of his conservative district.
(snip)
Ashburn had voted against bills on such issues as the statewide Harvey Milk Day and gay marriage, and had even hosted an anti-gay marriage rally.”
From Gay Politics:
Conservative California state senator comes out
California State Sen. Roy Ashburn, a conservative Republican with a solidly anti-gay voting record, came out as gay today on a Bakersfield radio station talk show. Ashburn’s sexual orientation had been the talk of Sacramento since the legislator was arrested for drunk driving after leaving a gay bar in the state capital last week.
(snip)
Radio talk show host Inga Barks wanted assurances that Ashburn would continue to vote in a conservative manner on LGBT rights issues. Ashburn responded, “I believe firmly that my responsibility is to my constituents. I will take a careful look at each measure and apply that standard. How would they vote on this? How would they want me to vote on this,” adding that most people understood what that means.
“I don’t know how else to ask this, but are you going to live this lifestyle now in the district?” Barks asked. Ashburn, who announced he is not running for public office again, said, “I pray to God I can find peace. I want to go back to the senate and work hard for the people of my district…Now you know everything about me.””
—
That didn’t take long. I first blogged about Ashburn here. I expected him to deny it.
How about his cop out though? Would an Evangelical Christian politician vote for what his constituents wanted if they were all atheists? Ok, they probably wouldn’t have voted for him but still I think Ashburn is copping out here. And his little pray for me comment seems to indicate he’s only half way out of the closet.
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:07 PM CST
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From the New York Times:
Officers Won’t Face Federal Charges in Sean Bell Killing
“Citing insufficient evidence, federal authorities said Tuesday that they would not bring a civil rights case against the New York City police officers involved in the killing of Sean Bell, a 23-year-old black man who was shot by the police outside a strip club in Queens on his wedding day.
The decision by the Justice Department came after prosecutors and federal agents reviewed the case, in which five police officers fired 50 shots into the Nissan Altima that Mr. Bell was driving. The car struck a detective in the leg and hit a police van just before the officers began firing their weapons.
(snip)
Detectives Isnora, Oliver and Cooper were acquitted by a Queens judge in April 2008 of criminal charges. The two other officers who opened fire were not charged criminally.”
(snip)
Ms. Paultre Bell said she hoped to get the attention of the White House. “There is a history of black men being killed by police officers, and something needs to be done,” she said. “We’re hoping to eventually meet with President Obama, and that he’ll do something, because this is a national problem.””
—
I don’t see the White House getting involved in this one. More likely this story will just fade away. I originally blogged about this incident here.
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:28 PM CST
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From My San Antonio:
Bibles-for-porn stunt draws crowd at UTSA
“Tired of that old Bible or Quran?
Members of the Atheist Agenda, a student organization at the University of Texas at San Antonio, are encouraging students to trade in religious texts for pornography this week with their “Smut for Smut” campaign.
In the view of club members, religious texts are as smutty as pornography because they contain violence and torture and spark religious wars. But mostly, it’s a public relations stunt meant to ignite debate and attract new members to the club.
(snip)
“It’s a First Amendment right,” said Bradley Lewis, 18, a freshman from Pear-land who said he plans to join the Atheist Agenda. “If religious groups can put out missionaries and go knock on my door and wake me up at 7 a.m. on a Saturday morning, I can put a table outside of the college.””
I love this! This Atheist Agenda group makes an excellent comparison between religious texts and porn. Plus their name is hilarious.
—
From the Advocate:
Vatican Staff Implicated in Prostitution Ring
“An usher and a choir member at St. Peter’s Basilica have been accused of involvement in a gay prostitution ring.
Reuters reports that police recorded Angelo Balducci (pictured), who is in an elite ushers’ group called Gentlemen of His Holiness, having phone conversations with Vatican choir member Ghinedu Ehiem about securing male prostitutes. At least one of the prostitutes was studying at a seminary.
In an unrelated ethics investigation, Balducci, who is also a board member for Italy’s public works department and construction consultant for the Vatican, was arrested on corruption charges last month. He is still in jail. His lawyer declined comment to Reuters on the prostitution allegations, and the news agency could not reach Ehiem’s attorney.”
I’m fine with the anyone connected to the Vatican hiring prostitutes only if they reverse their position on gays and sex workers.
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From Racialicious:
African-American Transgender History-50’s Style
“One of the beauties of surfing the Net is that from time to time, you’ll stumble across a nugget of history or some photo that you weren’t even aware existed.
I’ve mentioned that JET, EBONY and the now defunct HUE magazines when they first started back in the day served as historical chroniclers of the Black experience in America. Google just negotiated a deal in which they will be digitizing pre-1960’s EBONY and JET magazines so that you can access their content on the Net.”
This is an interesting nugget of sexual history I didn’t know about.
—
From Towleroad:
CA State Senator Arrested After Leaving Gay Club
“California State Senator Roy Ashburn, who has “a history of opposing gay rights,” was arrested in Sacramento early Wednesday morning for driving under the influence after a CHP officer spotted his SUV weaving in and out of traffic. According to the local CBS affiliate, Ashburn, a divorced father with four daughters, was with an unidentified male passenger. It’s also being reported that he had just left Faces, a gay club in the Sacramento.”
Queerty has an update.
Meet The Man Who Outed CA Sen. Roy Ashburn to the Media (That Refused to Report the Story)
“The television station CBS 13 is being credited with outing California State Sen. Roy Ashburn, arrested on DUI charges this week after leaving a gay bar. But as more details unfurl, we learn other reporters knew Ashburn — whose voting record is anti-gay, are as his public pronouncements — is a homo. And they were tipped off by one guy who says after he first spotted Ashburn, he called the local media, but nobody would carry his story.'’
Smells like a scandal is brewing doesn’t it?
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Found this via somebody’s Twitter feed.
Multigenerational Experiences with & Attitudes About Casual Sex
“There’s a lot of buzz right now about “hooking up,” the newest term for casual sex, though casual sex isn’t new at all — nor does it only belong to the current generation, despite often being presented that way. Unlike a lot of the buzz out there, I’m not interested in telling anyone how to have sex or in presenting any one kind of sex as the one ” best way.” I’m just looking for what’s real, both in sexual attitudes and personal experiences.
Rather, I’m doing this study to try and gather data on multigenerational experiences and attitudes with/about casual sex so as to discover and present a more diverse, realistic and non-prescriptive picture of people’s sex lives and ideas about sex. The data will ideally be used for publication, but your answers are completely anonymous and will only be used anonymously.”
I just took this survey and it’s pretty good. The questions were very inclusive of multiple sexualities and non-judgmental.
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:21 PM CST
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From the Human Rights Campaign:
Take Action: Today’s Virtual Lobby Day on Capitol Hill
“Today, hundreds of Human Rights Campaign volunteers will be in Washington, DC meeting with their members of Congress to tell them it’s time to repeal “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell,” pass ENDA and take action on a number of other priorities for the LGBT community. No matter where you live, you can join in RIGHT NOW!
We’re holding a virtual lobby day to coincide with the meetings taking place on Capitol Hill. All it takes is a few minutes and you can play a critical role in ending the DADT law that forces brave men and women to lie while defending our country. Think of the power of having LGBT people and our allies meeting members of Congress while we fill their inboxes and phone lines with a simple message: “Repeal ‘Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell’ NOW.””
—
There’s several links in the above story to take action. While I don’t support people joining the military (Why sign up to kill and die for the ruling class’s pet projects?), I don’t support DADT. If someone really wants to join the military they should be able to do so. Discriminating against gays makes them second class citizens and that’s unacceptable.
To end on a lighter note-click here to hear what the late, great Bill Hicks thought about gays in the military. Gods, he was hilarious.
Posted by Vixen as News at 12:44 PM CST
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From the Texas Tribune:
DNA Deception
“When state health officials were sued last year for storing infant blood samples without parental consent, they said it was for medical research into birth defects, childhood cancer and environmental toxins. They never said they were turning over hundreds of dried blood samples to the federal government to help build a vast DNA database — a forensics tool designed to identify missing persons and crack cold cases.
A Texas Tribune review of nine years’ worth of e-mails and internal documents on the Department of State Health Services’ newborn blood screening program reveals the transfer of hundreds of infant blood spots to an Armed Forces lab to build a national and, someday, international mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) registry. The records, released after the state agreed in December to destroy more than 5 million infant blood spots, also show an effort to limit the public’s knowledge of aspects of the newborn blood program, and to manage the debate around it. But the plaintiffs who filed the lawsuit never saw them, because the state settled the case so quickly that it never reached the discovery phase.
(snip)
Over the last several years, researchers have requested Texas baby blood spots for a variety of medical projects: to study the gene involved in club foot, to inspect the DNA of infants who develop childhood cancer, to examine prenatal lead exposure. Those are the projects state health officials have touted repeatedly before lawmakers and critics. But the least publicized of these research projects is arguably the most interesting. Between 2003 and 2007, the state gave 800 de-identified blood samples to the Armed Forces DNA Identification Laboratory (AFDIL) to help create a national mtDNA database.
(snip)
Eventually, research proposals indicate, federal officials hoped to be able to share this data worldwide, “for international law enforcement and investigation in the context of homeland security and anti-terrorism efforts.”
—
This is some creepy ass shit. The way this program was hidden shows there’s more going on than just “innocent medical research”. The bit about using this data to one day enforce “anti-terrorism efforts” certainly makes my paranoia flare up. Just a few weeks ago I blogged about a Dallas DNA collection database for prostitutes and now this? What the hell is going on in Texas?!?
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:39 PM CST
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From the Washington Post:
Judge says she’ll approve SC gov’s divorce
“South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford’s divorce will become final next month, just over a year after the first lady discovered his affair with an Argentine woman he later called his soul mate.
(snip)
Sanford, 49, is the first sitting governor to divorce in South Carolina, which in 1949 became the last state in the country to allow it. It’s not unheard of for a governor to get divorced in office. New York first lady Mary “Tod” Rockefeller divorced Gov. Nelson Rockefeller in 1962 over his affair with a staff member, and Nevada Gov. Jim Gibbons is in the process of divorcing first lady Dawn Gibbons.
(snip)
His office also noted “first lady” is not an official role and said the state would no longer provide Jenny Sanford with a staff assistant.”
—
I’m a tad surprise they’re getting divorced. You’d think Sanford would have arranged some sort of “deal” with his wife. Like she gets to live in a seperate house with a hefty allowance in exchange for her playing the loving wife at photo ops.
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:30 PM CST
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From Boing Boing:
Film star claims Heathrow security guards printed and circulated naked pictures from body-scanners
“Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan claims that when he went through Heathrow, security staff printed out the naked image of his body from the full-body scanners (scanners that the authorities have claimed won’t ever be used to generate printouts) and circulated them among the staff
(snip)
‘Then I saw these girls - they had these printouts. I looked at them. I thought they were some forms you had to fill. I said ‘give them to me’ - and you could see everything inside. So I autographed them for them.’”
Now weren’t we told this sort of thing wouldn’t happen?!?
—
I found this on a childfree forum:
Endangered Species Condoms
“Through a network of more than 3,000 volunteers, the Center for Biological Diversity is distributing 100,000 free Endangered Species Condoms in all 50 states to highlight how unsustainable human population growth is driving species extinct at a cataclysmic rate.
At 6.8 billion people, the human race is not only the most populous large mammal on Earth but the most populous large mammal that has ever existed. Providing for the needs and wants of this many people — especially those in high-consumption, first-world nations — has pushed homo sapiens to absorb 50 percent of the planet’s freshwater and develop 50 percent of its landmass. As a result, other species are running out of places to live.
To help people understand the impact of overpopulation on other species, and to give them a chance to take action in their own life, the Center is distributing free packets of Endangered Species Condoms depicting six separate species: the polar bear, snail darter, spotted owl, American burying beetle, jaguar, and coquí guajón rock frog.”
I absolutely love these condoms! One of the many reasons I’m childfree is because I believe the world is overpopulated. We’re breeding ourselves into extinction.
—
From the Chicago Sun-Times:
Pornography bookstore has $30 sex ‘party room’
“A Melrose Park pornography bookstore — run with the help of a former crooked cop with ties to the mob — offers a party room in the back where couples and singles have multiple sex partners as part of organized, late-night sessions.
It costs $30 or more per person to get in to the party room at 15th Avenue Adult Books, run for months out of a nondescript building in an industrial area.
Guests can linger at chairs and tables or get up on a stage and partake in the activities, according to people familiar with the business.
(snip)
Since last year, the Cook County sheriff’s police has sent in undercover officers on several occasions and found nothing illegal happening, a spokesman said.
(snip)
When asked if he had qualms about a onetime associate of organized crime helping operate a business in his town, Serpico said no, adding, “I can’t control what somebody has done in the past.”
The bookstore “is what it is,” Serpico said. “I can’t regulate morality.”"
Serpico is the mayor of Melrose Park. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more politicians felt this way?
—
From Bust Magazine:
A Friend in Need: Abortion Doulas Help Women Through Hard Times
“It’s generally accepted that childbirth is a stressful process. That’s why a woman in labor often opts to have a doula by her side—to nurture her during intense bouts of pain and emotion. But what about when a woman decides to terminate a pregnancy? Nearly three years ago, a small group of reproductive-rights activists came up with the concept of offering doula support for the “entire spectrum of pregnancy”—including abortion—and created The Doula Project to do so.
(snip)
At this point, the service is very limited. Mitchell explains that it takes some doing to convince abortion clinics to allow an extra person in the room during a private procedure. Still, The Doula Project is working on expanding by installing doulas in two clinics in New York City, starting an affi liate group in Atlanta, GA, and putting together a doula training kit in the hopes that the idea continues to spread. More information can be found at www.doulaproject.org.”
A friend of mine who had an abortion once told me that she wished she had a companion with her during the procedure. A good friend went with her but had to wait in the reception room.
—
From Feministing:
Quick Hit Update: “Kill Your Hooker” Facebook group changes name to avoid deletion
“As an update to yesterday’s What We Missed that called attention to the horrendous Facebook group, “Kill Your Hooker So You Don’t Have to Pay Her”, one of our readers alerted us to this: Apparently, everyone’s speedy organizing has resulted in the group changing their name (and link) to make it seem as if the group doesn’t exist anymore. But oh, does it still.”
This is some fucked up shit. There’s a lot of updated links on this post. If you’re on Facebook you can check this horrible group out.
—
Let’s end on a high note shall we?
From the New York Times:
Transsexualism No Longer Viewed as Mental Illness in France
“France has removed transsexualism from an official list of mental illnesses, according to an order issued by the French Ministry of Health reported Friday by French news media. The order issued Wednesday removed “gender identity disorders” from an article of the social security code related to “long-term psychiatric diseases.” According to media reports, France is the first country in the world to do so.”
This is excellent news! I hope more countries take France’s lead and do the same.
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:25 PM CST
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From CNN:
Obama meets with Dalai Lama despite Chinese objections
“President Obama met with the Dalai Lama — the exiled Tibetan spiritual leader — at the White House on Thursday despite strong objections from Chinese government officials.
The meeting has the potential to further complicate Sino-U.S. tensions, which have been rising in recent months. China has warned it would damage Beijing’s ties to Washington.
(snip)
During the meeting, Obama stressed his “strong support for the preservation of Tibet’s unique religious, cultural and linguistic identity and the protection of human rights for Tibetans,” according to a White House statement.
—
I’m glad Obama finally met with the Dalai Lama. Remember, he blew off the meeting off last year so he could meet (ie kiss ass) with Chinese representatives.
The Tibetan people’s fight for independence is an important movement that hasn’t gotten much press of late. You can find out more here.
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:39 PM CST
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From Prison Planet:
A Familiar Pattern: “Anarchists” Disrupt Peaceful Protest in Vancouver
“Once again, so-called “anarchists,” clad in black with their faces masked, have engaged in violent protest and property destruction, this time in Vancouver during the 2010 Olympics.
“A loosely organized group of ‘thugs’ from central Canada promoting anarchy were among 200 anti-Olympic protesters who marched through downtown Vancouver Saturday, smashing plate glass windows at Hudson’s Bay and TD bank, overturning newspaper boxes and assaulting bystanders, police say. They used spray paint on cars and transit buses, tore down signs and threw about road construction barricades as they marched down the street,” reports CTV.
(snip)
Photographs released showed the supposed “anarchists” wearing the same boots as the police arresting them. “Protest organizers on Wednesday played the video for the media at a news conference in Ottawa. One of the organizers, union leader Dave Coles, explained that one reason protesters knew the men’s true identities was because they were wearing the same boots as other police officers,” CBC News reported on August 23, 2007.
“Quebec provincial police admitted Thursday that three of their officers disguised themselves as demonstrators during the protest at the North American leaders summit in Montebello, Que.” The police refused additional comment.”
—
I believe I was at a protest where agent provocateurs stirred up trouble. Back in the day, Mr. Radical and I went to one of the big anti-war protests in SF against the Iraq War. The protest was peaceful until, just like in Vancouver, some “anarchists” showed up. There were already anarchists in the march. But these late arrivals showed up and immediately started breaking windows and setting American flags on fire. Word on the street was that the violent anarchists were actually police officers there to stir up violence so that a large number of real protesters could be arrested.
Some protesters were arrested. And what image made the news that night? A close up of a burning flag. It certainly seemed like staged provocation to me.
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:41 PM CST
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From Daily News:
Wannabe dancer found guilty of setting fire to woman in bikini bar feud
“A Tarzana woman was found guilty Thursday of dousing an exotic dancer and single mother with gasoline and setting her on fire last year outside the Tarzana bikini bar Babes N’ Beer.
Rianne Theriault-Odom, 28, who had been rejected as a dancer at the club, faces mandatory life sentences for the guilty verdicts of one count each of aggravated mayhem and torture. The Los Angeles Superior Court jury acquitted her of a third count, attempted murder and the lesser charge of attempted voluntary manslaughter.
(snip)
Busby, a single mother of two from Simi Valley, spent five months in the hospital and underwent 30 operations after the Feb. 5, 2009, attack. The burn and skin-graft scars were still strikingly visible on her legs and face as she sat in the courtroom.
(snip)
Musante also indicated that prosecutors may now go back and reassess whether to charge Nathaniel Marquis Petrillo, 23, of Reseda.
Authorities originally sought Petrillo along with Theriault-Odom in the attack, and they were arrested together. But prosecutors decided at that time they did not have enough evidence to charge Petrillo.
Petrillo, however, figured prominently during testimony and in surveillance video documenting the attack.”
I blogged about this story here, here and here.
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 11:02 PM CST
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From True Slant:
Corporation running for Congress
“Relying on the Supreme Court’s ruling allowing corporations to be treated as ‘people’ for political donation purposes, a Maryland based corporation, Murray Hill, Inc. is throwing its hat in the ring, seeking to represent Maryland’s 8th District in Congress.
Promising a campaign that “puts people second, or even third”, the company is challenging Democratic Congressman Chris Van Hollen in the district’s Democratic primary.”
The article above includes a YouTube video that I recommend watching.
From Murray Hill’s website:
““Until now,” Murray Hill Inc. said in a statement, “corporate interests had to rely on campaign contributions and influence peddling to achieve their goals in Washington. But thanks to an enlightened Supreme Court, now we can eliminate the middle-man and run for office ourselves.”
(snip)
The campaign’s designated human, Eric Hensal, will help the corporation conform to antiquated “human only” procedures and sign the necessary voter registration and candidacy paperwork. Hensal is excited by this new opportunity. “We want to get in on the ground floor of the democracy market before the whole store is bought by China.””
—
This is hilarious. It doesn’t change the Supreme Court’s decision but it makes for excellent social commentary. Short of revolution what other options are really left?
Posted by Vixen as News at 10:36 PM CST
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From Gawker:
Barista Prostitution Sting Stuns Washington State Espresso Purists
“Police in Everett, Wash., have broken up a prostitution ring operating out of an espresso stand. The baristas were the prostitutes. Welcome to the future.
From the Everett Daily Herald:
Five baristas are accused of engaging in prostitution at an Everett bikini espresso stand following a two-month undercover police investigation into complaints that the women were selling more than coffee.
Detectives say the women were charging up to $80 to strip down and flash customers while fixing lattes and mochas.
Investigators saw the women expose their crotches, lick whipped cream off their co-workers’ private parts and pose naked for pictures inside the Grab-n-Go Espresso stand at 8015 Broadway, according to police reports obtained by The Herald on Wednesday.”
I bet the whipped cream show was popular! I picked Gawker’s version of this story because they mention Bikini-Baristas.com-a site featuring not only pictures of baristas in bikinis but news about the coffeehouses as well. Talk about a niche site.
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From Carnal Nation:
Maryland Report Cards Now Come With Ex-Gay Propaganda
“We all know how well gay rehabilitation programs work–they don’t–but that doesn’t stop ex-gay ministries from aggressively pursuing young people dealing with their identities. Website teachthefacts.org reports that an ex-gay group calling itself PFOX (Parents and Friends of Ex-Gays & Gays) recently took advantage of a Maryland public school district, disseminating information about ex-gay outreach programs along with high school students’ report cards.
Montgomery County, just to the north of Washington, is one of the most affluent counties in the country, with just over a million residents. But the County lost a 2006 lawsuit filed by PFOX for violation of First Amendment rights. A judge ruled that the school must distribute any literature distributed by non-profit groups, as long as the literature wasn’t considered hate speech.”
This ex-gay movement is such bullshit. But I want to argue a more general point. Why is any non-school related literature being distributed by this school? Shouldn’t report cards just contain report cards?!
—
From The Birmingham News:
Former stripper gets $100,000 in lawsuit: Blamed club for drunken wreck
“A Jefferson County jury on Tuesday found in favor of a former stripper at The Furnace who claimed she was hurt in a 2007 wreck because the club failed to stop her from driving home after on-the-job drinking.
The jury awarded Patsy Hamaker of Bessemer compensatory damages of $100,000 and no punitive damages. The amount covers the cost of her outstanding hospital bills, but it falls short of the $1.2 million she sought.
(snip)
Hamaker claimed wantonness, alleging she was hurt because the club recklessly disregarded its own safety rules. Those rules limited dancers to two alcoholic drinks a night. In addition, the club had policies on what to do when a dancer is drunk and unable to drive, which included keeping her in the building, taking her keys, and calling a friend or a taxi to pick her up, testimony showed.
But The Furnace said employees tried repeatedly to stop Hamaker from driving away that night and that it was Hamaker’s choice to drink.”
I don’t see how the club is at fault here. Hamaker chose to drink on the job. The strippers I know never drink while working. They have an arrangement with the bartenders to substitute something non-alcoholic for the drink the customer bought them.
—
From NBC Washington:
Bethesda Has Sex Parties? Well, Not for Long
“Today is the last day to head over to Bethesda’s very own sex club. Paul Pickthorne is renting a home in the wealthy D.C. suburb, and in his free time, he hosts sex parties.
(snip)
Pickthorne’s hosted four of these parties since the summer, he said. He identifies himself as a practitioner of BDSM, short for “bondage and discipline, dominance and submission, sadism and masochism.” But neighbors have been complaining about his practices.
Police investigated the parties, but didn’t find anything illegal about them. But zoning officials were able to issue a complaint against Pickthorne. Since he accepts money from attendees, his parties are considered a commercial enterprise. The notice gives Pickthorne three days to end the sex parties, which would make Feb. 4 the last day.”
As I was typing up this post I checked for updates and found one for this story:
From UPI:
Man barred from charging for sex parties
“Officials in Maryland’s Montgomery County said a man would be allowed to continue holding sexual fetish parties at his home if he stops charging a cover.
(snip)
However, County Council member Roger Berliner, who brought the events to the attention of inspectors after complaints from his neighbors, said Pickthorne would be allowed to continue the parties if he stops charging for admission.
“Certainly one has to respect everyone’s constitutional rights,” Berliner said.”
Years ago, Mr. Radical and I were at a party at a friend’s dungeon. During a needle play demo one of the women in attendance burst into the room. “The cops are here! Everybody be quiet and stay put!” We all froze. (I’m tempted to point out that it was so quiet you could hear a pin drop but I’ll just move along.)
The party organizer chatted with the cops and was told to basically “keep it down this late at night”. Still though, it was a scary moment. There was nothing illegal going on. We were all consenting adults. Hell, there’s wasn’t even alcohol at the party. But still the fear in the room was palpable. We were doing something kinky-could we be arrested for that?
As a kinkster myself, I’m impressed to read Berliner’s comment. Researching this story I was expecting to read that the parties were just simply shut down. What a pleasure to find out they haven’t been. Mind you it still sucks that the guy’s been fined.
I’ve been to several dungeons where an attendance fee is charged. The money gets put into a fund to buy food and drinks for future parties. I don’t see how that’s violating code. Perhaps Pickthorne can ask for donations instead?
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:29 PM CST
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From SWOP, LV:
Her crime? Sex work in New Orleans
“Tabitha has been working as a prostitute in New Orleans since she was 13. Now 30 years old, she can often be found working on a corner just outside of the French Quarter. A small and slight white woman, she has battled both drug addiction and illness and struggles every day to find a meal or a place to stay for the night.
These days, Tabitha, who asked that her real name not be used in this story, has yet another burden: a stamp printed on her driver’s license labels her a sex offender. Her crime? Sex work.
New Orleans city police and the district attorney’s office are using a state law written for child molesters to charge hundreds of sex workers like Tabitha as sex offenders. The law, which dates back to 1805, makes it a crime against nature to engage in “unnatural copulation”-a term New Orleans cops and the district attorney’s office have interpreted to mean anal or oral sex. Sex workers convicted of breaking this law are charged with felonies, issued longer jail sentences and forced to register as sex offenders. They must also carry a driver’s license with the label “sex offender” printed on it.
(snip)
Advocates and former defendants claim that the decision over who is charged under which penalty is made arbitrarily, at the discretion of police and the district attorney’s office, and that the law disproportionately affects Black people, as well as transgender women.
(snip)
Advocates have said the ideal solution would be to get state lawmakers to change the law, but they feel there’s little hope of positive reforms from the current legislature. For now, organizers want to put pressure on police and the district attorney’s office to stop charging sex workers under the crime against nature statute.”
—
I’m feeling so many layers of outrage here I don’t even know where to begin. An antiquated law against “unnatural copulation” shouldn’t even be on the books. These sex workers should not be charged as sex offenders. Plus it’s an invasion of privacy to put the “sex offender” status on a person’s license. But politicians like to look tough on crime and punishing “evil sex offenders” certainly stirs up votes come election time.
Posted by Vixen as News, Sex Workers at 10:19 PM CST
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Climategate started last year and just keeps going. One of the problems with covering it is the numerous angles. I can see points on several sides. Of course I believe humans are altering the planet-overpopulation alone is a huge problem. On the other hand, humans have been altering the planet in some fashion since evolving from apes. What disturbs me most is the implication that scientists altered evidence to fit their desired results.
Here’s some news I’ve been reading on the controversy:
From the Telegraph:
UN climate change panel based claims on student dissertation and magazine article
“The United Nations’ expert panel on climate change based claims about ice disappearing from the world’s mountain tops on a student’s dissertation and an article in a mountaineering magazine.
(snip)
In its most recent report, it stated that observed reductions in mountain ice in the Andes, Alps and Africa was being caused by global warming, citing two papers as the source of the information.
However, it can be revealed that one of the sources quoted was a feature article published in a popular magazine for climbers which was based on anecdotal evidence from mountaineers about the changes they were witnessing on the mountainsides around them.
The other was a dissertation written by a geography student, studying for the equivalent of a master’s degree, at the University of Berne in Switzerland that quoted interviews with mountain guides in the Alps.”
A magazine article and college dissertation? Really?!
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From Wikipedia:
Climatic Research Unit hacking incident
“The Climatic Research Unit hacking incident came to light in November 2009 when it was discovered that thousands of e-mails and other documents had been obtained through the hacking of a server used by the Climatic Research Unit (CRU) of the University of East Anglia (UEA) in Norwich, England. The subsequent dissemination of the material caused a controversy, dubbed “Climategate”, regarding whether or not the e-mails indicated misconduct by climate scientists. The University of East Anglia described the incident as an illegal taking of data. The police are conducting a criminal investigation of the server breach and subsequent personal threats made against some of the scientists mentioned in the e-mails.
(snip)
The material comprised more than 1,000 e-mails, 2,000 documents, as well as commented source code, pertaining to climate change research covering a period from 1996 until 2009. Some of the e-mails which have been widely publicised included discussions of how to combat the arguments of climate change sceptics, unflattering comments about sceptics, queries from journalists, and drafts of scientific papers. There have been assertions that these discussions indicated efforts to shut out dissenters and their points of view, and included discussions about destroying files in order to prevent them from being revealed under the UK Freedom of Information Act 2000.”
This Wiki article has changed over the last few months. That makes me want to double verify the links but it’s a good start if you’re unfamiliar with the story.
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From the NY Times:
Researcher on Climate Is Cleared in Inquiry
“An academic board of inquiry has largely cleared a noted Pennsylvania State University climatologist of scientific misconduct, but a second panel will convene to determine whether his behavior undermined public faith in the science of climate change, the university said Wednesday.
(snip)
While the Pennsylvania State inquiry, conducted by three senior faculty members and administrators, absolved Dr. Mann of the most serious charges against him, it is not likely to silence the controversy over climate science. New questions about the work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, to which Dr. Mann was a significant contributor, have arisen since the hacked e-mail messages surfaced last November.
That faculty board did not look into the science of climate change itself, the university said in announcing its results. That, it said, is “a matter more appropriately left to the profession.”
Dr. Mann was named in 377 of the e-mail messages, including several that critics took to suggest that he had manipulated or destroyed data to strengthen his case that human activity was changing the global climate.”
When Mann referred to his “trick” for the data that certainly undermined my faith in his results. If true, this seems like such a betrayal to the scientific method. Plus such actions betray public trust in the environmental movement. Whether the scientists faked it or not this whole situation is disturbing.
Posted by Vixen as News at 11:42 PM CST
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