Harper government asks for help rewriting Canada's prostitution laws

The Harper government wants to hear from the Canadian public about how to rewrite the nation's prostitution laws that were struck down by the Supreme Court late last year - why? Because they don't know how to write a new law to replace the old laws which were struck down, a new law which would not violate the Canadian Charter of Rights and not be struck down immediately for violating the charter.

In a December 20th 2013 ruling, the high court unanimously struck down laws against street soliciting, living on the avails of prostitution and keeping a brothel.

Since then the Harper government has been searching for a solution that will make his government look good on paper, but won't violate civil rights.

So instead they are turning to the Canadian public for their ideas and holding a month-long, online consultation period on the Justice Canada website. The consultation began yesterday (Monday February the 17th) and runs to March 17th 2014 (St Patrick's Day).

What is funny is the percentage of male Conservative MPs in the Harper government who regularly use prostitutes as sexual aides, both when they are on the road and lonely, and also when they are closer to home and having marital problems.

In other words we are talking about the kind of people who cheat on their spouses, but because they are politicians and don't want to have any messy affair they use prostitutes because they are more discreet. (It is a well known fact politicians use prostitutes more than the average person.)

A 1998 poll suggested 7% of Canadian men have paid for sex at least once in their life. The % for male politicians is unknown, but we know it is significantly higher - likely around 25% - because politicians value discreetness.

But at the same time, because it is the Harper government, they have to at least pretend that they are against prostitution even though they and many of their colleagues use prostitutes regularly. It is all about optics and what the public sees.

“Our government is concerned about the significant harms that flow from prostitution to communities, those engaged in prostitution and other vulnerable persons,” said Justice Minister Peter MacKay in a release.

Oh really? What harms would that be? Husbands that stray from the marriage bed would still stray from the marriage bed even if they could not find a prostitute. They would find a mistress, a servant, a willing woman of somekind - and that would cause more messy affairs in the media.

If MacKay is referring to STDs we should remind him that prostitutes are more paranoid about STDs than any other profession. They are not taking risks in that respect.

Or maybe MacKay is referring to the "moral decay of society" by the mere presence of prostitutes? (As if they are to blame for society's woes, as opposed to being a product of those woes.)

"Doing nothing is not an option," says MacKay. "We are therefore asking Canadians right across the country to provide their input through an online consultation to ensure a legislative response to prostitution that reflects our country’s values."

So here is a solution for Peter MacKay.

TEACH FEMINISM + GENDER STUDIES IN HIGH SCHOOLS.

Don't bother with trying to eradicate prostitution, governments have been trying to do that for millenia with absolutely no success.

But if you teach feminism + gender studies in high schools, make it part of the curriculum, then you will be raising young women who see themselves as more valuable to society than a $300 per hour mistress for wealthy men.

But lets face it, asking the Conservative government to promote feminism is like asking a Republican to promote gay rights. It just isn't going to happen.

Another solution would be to make Johns (the men who go to prostitutes) illegal (as opposed to solicitation, which is still illegal). But that would probably get half the Conservative Party arrested in police sting operations, along with many of their big donors.

Prostitution is a whole big can of worms. It has religious issues, feminist issues, legal issues, public health issues, civil rights issues, economic issues. The government is not going to solve this with any quick fix.

Long term promotion of feminism in schools, designed to bolster the self-esteems of young women, would over time eventually eradicate much of domestic prostitution - which leads us to the problem of imports, women who are brought into Canada for the sole purpose of working in Canada's sex trade in Calgary, Edmonton, Vancouver, Ottawa, Toronto and Montreal. Calgary and Edmonton are apparently the two biggest importers of sex workers, because of all the oil company executives there who want exotic women.

Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion releases video on Gays in Sochi

The Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion has released a video promoting LGBT rights with respect to Olympic athletes, a public condemnation of Russia's anti gay laws.

Gay and lesbian rights have become centre stage at the 2014 Sochi Winter Olympics - largely because of Russia's new draconian communist era laws which have brought gay bashing back to the forefront of Russian politics.

Russia's new laws include:

1. Prohibiting pro gay demonstrations in the streets, such as gay pride parades, public protests, etc.

2. Anyone who shares / publicly promotes "homosexual propaganda" will suffer a fine of roughly $17,000 USD - which is so loosely written it includes men or women kissing in public.

3. Promoting "homosexual propaganda" in any manner which could be seen by children. (Because according to Putin, children might become gay if they see, hear or read anything removely gay.)

The video by the Canadian Institute of Diversity and Inclusion is making waves across Canadian and international media, making it clear that while Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to take Russia back into the dark ages by limiting freedom of speech, freedom of expression and even the freedom to love.

What is Pope Benedict's definition of "radical feminism"?

By Suzanne MacNevin

According to Pope Benedict the nuns in America are a bunch of radical feminists.

I think he and I differ on the meaning of "radical feminist".

Lets establish some criteria.

#1. Radical is usually used to describe something that is unusual. ie. "Out of the box thinking."

#2. Feminism is the belief that men and women are equals.

#3. "Radical Feminism" is the belief that men and women are caught in a power struggle wherein men have control of the balance of power and women are seeking to share it equally.

So does this mean that Pope Benedict controls the balance of power within the Holy Roman Catholic Church and he sees nuns as a threat to his control? Possibly. It might explain his comments.

Lets put this in context.

Yesterday Pope Benedict chose to rebuke American nuns for being more concerned about poverty and social justice issues than about abortion and gay marriage. He basically argued that American nuns should stop worrying about people who are poor and starving to death and instead worry about harassing gay people and women so poor they see abortion as their only alternative to starvation.

(Methinks Pope Benedict doesn't have his priorities straight and has probably never been poor and starving.)

Last month the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith scolded the Leadership Conference of Women's Religious (which represents some 80% of American nuns) for what they called "serious doctrinal problems", such as subscribing to "radical feminist themes" like social justice and preventing poverty, while being too quiet about abortion and same sex marriages.

Which is frankly funny because its basically a bunch of old rich men who have probably never been poor, have definitely never been pregnant, and ironically can't keep their penises in their pants when choirboys are around.

A bishop was then appointed to correct this discrepancy with the nuns, but the resulting puzzlement among nuns (and many other people) who point out that the Bible has a lot to say about poverty and the poor but doesn't explicitly mention anything about homosexuality or abortion, except by implication (Sodom and Gomorrah, although to be fair the word "sodomy" probably has very little to do with the Biblical city of Sodom).

It just seems extremely silly that the Vatican is chastising nuns, a group which travels to many nasty places around the world and sacrifices their time to help those in greatest need. Nuns run makeshift hospitals in war-torn and disease infected areas while less faithful people have turned tail and ran away.

Meanwhile the Vatican hierarchy sits in their golden palaces and gold-trimmed silk and complains about homosexuals while secretly fondling altar boys. It makes for a stark contrast.

And then Pope Benedict came out and outright called the nuns "radical feminists" just because they aren't doing enough to stop abortion and gay marriages (although seriously, there is no power on earth that will stop gay men from wanting to get married and if a woman has her heart set on an abortion it won't matter whether the USA says its legal or not, she will have one anyway).

Indeed by shining the light on the plight of the nuns (and also radical feminists by happy accident) Pope Benedict may actually inadvertently help both the causes of poverty, social justice and even further the cause of feminism.

While a person can laugh and appreciate the Vatican's hypocritical concerns, it is a gross tactical error to suggest that nuns spend too much effort helping and guiding the poor. The Bible after all strongly stresses the need to help the poor and its been a cornerstone of the Catholic Church.

Even the most die-hard atheists would still agree that nuns who serve in remote, dangerous and uncomfortable areas of the world are shining beacons for good in the world. This has nothing to do with god, their actions resonate bravery, faith in the human spirit and dedication to helping and comforting the sick and dying, and those who have little hope. Nobody in their right mind would have anything bad to say about the sacrifices performed by nuns around the world in their efforts to help people.

And social justice? What is wrong with social justice. Nothing. Its not like the nuns are homicidal maniacs toting guns and waving Confederate flags. Helping the poor and poverty issues are hardly revolutionary.

Also this shines the light on the Vatican's scandals that have plagued the Catholic Church in recent years have involved priests and cover-ups of pedophilia and sexual mischief. In contrast the nuns have a virtually untarnished reputation and can be best be described as "demanding" in the cases of schools run by nuns.

The nuns aren't stupid, nor are they pushovers. Pope Benedict and the Vatican seems to have forgotten that. The nuns are the front line soldiers of the Catholic Church and the armchair generals (the bishops) are giving faulty orders to the troops that contradict the higher orders found in the Bible. The nuns are going to look at the orders from the Vatican, look at the Bible's efforts to fight poverty, say "Pfff!" and keep doing what they've always been doing: Helping people.

Lets give a historical example:

A mother superior in Greece asked the bishop there if she could send two nuns to teach a literacy project in a poor area. The Bishop said "No."

"The bishop was very clear in his refusal to allow two nuns, and I could not disobey him," said the mother superior. "So I sent three nuns."

Which is exactly my point. The nuns will get around foolish orders without actually disobeying the order. They may not literally say "Pfff!" but their actions will be clear that they will disregard any idiocy.

In the USA its not like nuns have any control over Congress anyway. Its the same problem all over again. Men controlling the show. Congress is a male dominated piece of the American government and it will likely stay male dominated for a long time.

The current and 112th United States Congress consists of 541 elected officials from 50 states. The Senate has 100 members; the House of Representatives has 435 members.

Of this there are 17 women in the Senate and 76 women in the House of Representatives (17.5%).

So its not like the nuns are going to attack Congress and force them to change the laws governing the right to a safe abortion or gay marriages.

I would argue Pope Benedict is barking up the wrong tree. The nuns are the ones who are in the right. Benedict should be worrying about POVERTY first. It is HE who should be admonished for fussing over homosexuals too much when he is forgetting the cornerstone of the Catholic Church is helping people.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn questioned in connection with prostitution ring

By Suzanne MacNevin - February 2012.

POLITICS - Former IMF chief Dominique Strauss-Kahn is being questioned today by French police in connection with a prostitution ring in the northern French city of Lille.

Strauss-Kahn hasn't officially been arrested yet, but he can be held for up to 48 hours and may then be arrested. The French police are investigating if he was benefitting from misappropriated company funds that were used by French executives under the guise of corporate expense accounts to fund sex parties with prostitutes and drugs.

Dominique Strauss-Kahn was once seen as a strong contender for France’s 2012 presidential election, but his political ambitions came to an abrupt end last May after he was accused of sexually assaulting a New York hotel maid. The charges in 2011 were later withdrawn despite damning DNA evidence and numerous other victimized women who have come forward saying they were sexually assaulted by Dominique Strauss-Kahn. See also: Strauss-Kahn freed despite damning evidence

Strauss-Kahn quit his International Monetary Fund job after the sex assault case, but the new allegations against him have a paper trail of money which connect a prostitution ring with wealthy executive clients of Lille’s luxury Carlton hotel. Police also believe Strauss-Kahn was involved with similar sex parties in Paris and Washington.

8 people, including 2 Lille businessmen directly connected to Strauss-Kahn and a police commissioner, have already been arrested in the case. One company has already fired an executive suspected of using company funds to hire sex workers using the executive account.

Hiring prostitutes is not illegal in France, but Strauss-Kahn and other executives risks being charged with defrauding money from companies if the practice of bribing business associates with sex doesn't fly with the French authorities.

There are LIMITS to what executive accounts can be used for.

Strauss-Kahn’s lawyer Henri Leclerc denies his client knew that the women at the sex parties he attended were prostitutes. (Although seriously, if you're paying to get into these sex parties, aren't you going to assume the women are being paid to be there?)

A separate case wherein Strauss-Kahn is accused of attempting to rape Tristane Banon, the Parisian writer, was thrown out in 2011 due to a shortage of evidence (rape and attempted rape cases are very difficult to prove).

Thoughts? For an old man Dominique Strauss-Kahn sure gets around a lot and must be popping pills at his age. His lack of respect for women is clearly evident by the sheer number of women and police accusing him of sexual misconduct.

Escorts: The Underground Sex Industry

By Suzanne MacNevin - January 2012.

In the world of feminism there is nothing more controversial than sex workers (aka escorts, prostitutes, hookers, whores, hoes, whatever word you choose to use). Abortion is a close 2nd.

Why is prostitution so controversial?

Well, because its underground and highly unregulated. Its difficult to say how many "sex workers" there are in the world or in a particular country, but its safe to assume that the conservative estimates are highly inaccurate.

Many feminists argue prostitution should be kept illegal, but policing it doesn't solve the problem. Regulating helps, but the only true cure is education and a strong economy. (And even a strong economy has a downside, as you will see below.)

Below: The legal status of prostitution globally.



In Canada for example prostitution is legal (but solicitation and pimping is not). When economic times are tough we see a rise in prostitution (and suicide rates), proof that its necessity which drives the underground sex industry and not any actual desire. When economic times are good prostitution slows to a crawl.

Thus when young women have job opportunities and career options open to them they see becoming an "escort" as lower down on the list of options.

But that doesn't stop the supply and demand of prostitution. In countries with strong economies (Canada, the USA, Germany, etc.) the demand is high, but the supply is low so the people running the operations (pimps, brothels, etc) rely on foreign labour to help meet the demand.

Thus even though domestic prostitution rates may be lower thanks to a strong economy, the criminal elements bring in foreign sex workers to fill the demand.

Giving visas or Green Cards to sex workers / escorts isn't exactly on each governments' list of priorities however. Thus many escorts are imported illegally using human trafficking and often remain inside the country undocumented because they've been schooled in how to avoid the law and detection.

Then there is also the problems like drug addiction, underage prostitution, pregnancy, HIV/AIDS, other sexual diseases and of course suicide rates. There is really no positive benefits from the sex industry. Its all bad.

For the people supplying the demand (the 'Johns') they might be married or in a relationship and if the wife/girlfriend finds out they could end up with a broken home. If there is children involved it could be a messy divorce.

20% of American men have paid for a prostitute.

The reverse could be equally true. The wife working as an escort in secret. It won't be glamourous either, its all about the money. If they're in an abusive relationship with their boyfriend / pimp will be extorting her earnings and often spending it on drugs.

At the end of all of this is the government and eventually government regulators. There is a strong movement globally now to regulate and control the sex industry. They've realized they can't fight it through policing so now they want to try regulating and taxing it via government regulated brothels.

But even that is not a perfect solution. Many escorts (and their pimps) prefer to operate independently so they don't have to pay taxes. They don't see any benefits to the added protection and better pay / treatment they would receive working for a regulated brothel.

The sex industry is becoming very sophisticated these days with websites like Escort Service Berlin, smart phones, GPS tracking... its a bit like operating a bicycle courier delivery service.

Escort Berlin and other websites have literally dozens (sometimes hundreds) of escorts working for them. Many of whom you will note were not born in Germany but imported.

Germany is one of the top 10 destination countries for sex trafficking in the world and 75% of escorts in Germany are foreigners.

Many of the women are brought into Germany from Thailand and other locations through marriage, false documentation and human trafficking.

Germany deports between 1,000 to 2,000 escorts annually who are discovered to be there illegally.

In Berlin alone it was estimated in 2000 there was 7,000 prostitutes, most of them brought in from eastern European countries from the former Soviet Union.

Sex tourism outside of Germany is also very common. In 1997 it was estimated that 200,000 German men travel abroad annually as sex tourists, many of whom visit Thailand looking to have sex with girls under the age of 14.

The sad fact is that there is very little government can do about the sex industry. Its so underground its virtually unreachable.

The only things we can do is try to help and save the people we can.

References
Street Prostitution in Canada

Prostitution in Germany

Tackling Prostitution in Britain

Sex Trafficking in the USA

12 New Years Resolutions Worth Keeping for 2012

#1. Don't answer hatemail. Just delete it and don't worry about it.

#2. Explore your sexuality. You only live once.

#3. Exercise. Just in case the religious nutjobs are right and the zombies rise up in 2012. You will live longer either way.

#4. Stop worrying about the unimportant things. "Don't sweat the small stuff."

#5. Learn to say no. You are not a slave to the whims of others.

#6. Turn off your electronics at least 1 day per month. You can answer the emails later.

#7. Stop pigging out on junk food. You know its unnecessary. Do something else that gives you comfort.

#8. Pretend to be confident and you will become confident once you realize how easy it is.

#9. Stand up for others. You won't regret it.

#10. Organize your time better. Stop multitasking so much. Multitasking actually reduces productivity.

#11. Travel. Again, you only live once.

#12. Learn a new language. The next best thing to traveling.

Should Lesbians be allowed to raise kids?

POLITICS - Not sure? Watch this video.

Conservatives gaff on abortion funding

CANADA - Conservative Saskatchewan backbencher Brad Trost says his government cancelled funding to International Planned Parenthood Federation because the organization supported abortion. Trost reportedly told a pro-life meeting in Saskatchewan last weekend that the government is anti-abortion and cancelled the funding because they don't want to fund safe abortions overseas.

The Conservative Party is now in damage control mode, trying to cover up Brad Trost's comments and dissuade the public from the idea that the Conservatives don't want to fund safe abortions.

Harper spokesman Dimitri Soudas met with reporters early today in Newfoundland and reiterated the basics of the government’s G-8 “Muskoka Initiative” on child and maternal health.

Soudas says his political party is willing to work with groups like International Planned Parenthood, but refused to say if it would receive its funding.

He also repeated the Harper government’s often stated position that it would not re-open the debate on abortion in Canada, but wouldn't comment on Canada's funding of safe abortions overseas (or lack thereof).

International Planned Parenthood is a global non-governmental organization with the broad aims of promoting sexual and reproductive health in an effort to combat HIV/AIDS, prevent unsafe abortions and promote proper condom usage. The USA also cut its funding during George W. Bush's time in the White House.

IPP also provides doctors and midwives to help deliver babies safely. Maternal deaths are significantly lowered by having trained people available to deliver babies.

FACT: Unsafe abortions kill 70,000 women annually according to the Guttmacher Institute. More than half the deaths, about 38,000, are in sub-Saharan Africa where access to doctors is significantly scarce.

The Guttmacher Institute estimates that the number of abortions worldwide fell from 45.5 million in 1995 to 41.6 million in 2003 thanks to increasing availability of condoms, the Pill and other contraceptives. Poverty is also a huge factor.

Refusing to fund safe abortions effectively kills a % of women who then choose to have an unsafe abortion because they have no other option.

See Also
Open Letter to Anti-Abortionists

Israeli president Katsav gets 7 years for rape

FEMINIST/POLITICS - Former Israeli president Moshe Katsav was sentenced last Tuesday to seven years in jail for rape. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu commented on the case, saying “that no person is above the law.”

Katsav twice raped an aide while he was a cabinet minister during the late 1990s. He molested / sexually harassed two other women who worked for him during his 2000-2007 term as president.

A tribunal of three judges in Tel Aviv District Court convicted him in December, saying that his testimony had been “riddled with lies.”

“The defendant committed the acts as any man and as any man he must bear the punishment,” the judges said at sentencing last Tuesday. The judges added that his clean record and political stature were insufficient grounds for granting leniency.

So justice won out in the end.

The verdict in December was welcomed by Israeli women's groups who have long complained about sexual harassment in workplaces.

Following the verdict Katsav started shouting at the judges, even threatening them, before bursting into tears. Katsav, 65, was whisked out of court by bodyguards. A scuffle broke out when one of his sons attacked a camera crew trying to photograph the former president.

Katsav's lawyers say they will launch an appeal, which would mean going before another tribunal. Otherwise his sentence is to begin on May 8th.

This scandal has been going on for years. It forced Katsav to step down as Israeli President in disgrace, although it should be noted the presidency is largely a ceremonial position with no real power (the Israeli Prime Minister is the one with the real power).

Katsav was born in Iran, raised in the slums where poor Jews and Africans lived. His family moved to Israel in 1951 and at the age of 24 became its youngest mayor and went on to hold a number of Likud cabinet posts.

Parliament elected him president in 2000 in a surprise victory over Shimon Peres, Israel’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning elder statesman. Peres later succeeded Katsav as president, restoring dignity to the post that Katsav had tarnished with his reputation for being a rapist and a molester.

See Also: The Truth about Rape Trials

WikiLeaks under attack by governments

POLITICS - The governments of multiple countries are working together to discredit and shut down WikiLeaks. Today the Swiss postal system stripped WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of one of his bank accounts. The money inside the account will still be returned to him, but many banks and governments are either refusing to work with WikiLeaks or are shutting down anything related to him in an effort to censor WikiLeaks from releasing sensitive government information.

The Swiss Post / Postfinance accused WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange of lying about living in Geneva, claiming he didn't have any apartments or offices in Geneva.

“That's his money, he will get his money back,” says a Postfinance representative. “We just close the account and that's it.”

WikiLeaks secret spilling website isn't just being attacked by the Swiss either. Iceland, Germany, Sweden and other countries are making life difficult for WikiLeaks and its donation supported element (the donations are usually routed through Iceland and Germany).

And Sweden? Well, Sweden has upped the ante by claiming sexual misconduct against WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange when he visited the country in the Summer. The Swedish case has been described by his British lawyer Mark Stephens as a political stunt. A European arrest warrant was issued for Assange last week and it is currently working its way through the British legal system.

The idea is that if a country can convict Assange of some minor crime that his website can be shut down somehow and prevent the release of more sensitive documents in the future.

WikiLeaks has been under intense international scrutiny over its disclosure of millions of classified U.S. diplomatic cables, after previously releasing tens of thousands of classified U.S. military documents on the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The disclosures have embarrassed the U.S. and other governments worldwide.

The intensity of the scrutiny has resulted in internet service providers and even online payment providers to refuse to work or cut ties with WikiLeaks.

Today WikiLeaks' Swedish servers came under cyber attack, the latest in a series of attacks by foreign hackers from a variety of countries including the USA. U.S. officials are seeking to charge Julian Assange with something, but are uncertain of what to charge him with because they obviously want him to disappear, but they don't want it to look like a cover up.

Extradition experts say arrest warrants can take weeks or even months to lead to an arrest, which means WikiLeaks can continue to release classified information on schedule.

Assange says his site has another 250,000 documents which will be leaked en masse if he is charged in the USA.

Quite a few politicians are calling for Julian Assange to be charged with treason and even to be killed, but newspapers and news agencies are quietly supportive of Assange because they are eager to get the information that Assange plans to release.

It should be noted that these documents were likely doomed to be leaked eventually anyway, all WikiLeaks does is provide a forum for releasing the information confidentially.

Funny Sex Cartoon

SEX - We found this by accident. Just had to share it with the world.



UPDATE:

This blog post has since gone viral via mobile users and we would like to update this posting to note the creators of the above cartoon: XKCD. We didn't know who the creator was when we originally posted it, but we feel they should get all the credit for making such an awesome cartoon. XKCD rocks!

See Also

Sex Jokes and Cartoons I

Sex Jokes and Cartoons II
Sex Jokes and Cartoons III
Sex Jokes and Cartoons IV

Prositution laws in Ontario under scrutiny

CANADA/SEX - This past September an Ontario Superior Court judge struck down three key prostitution laws, and that decision is set to come into effect in Ontario on Saturday November 27th. The result will be an “unprecedented” social experiment to see whether brothels is a safer place for prostitutes than walking the streets, and whether prostitutes have the right to use the money they make to feed their families and the right to hire bodyguards and staff, and perhaps most importantly the right to screen customers.


The three laws struck down prohibited the use of brothels, the ability to hire staff/give money from the proceeds to family members, and a communication law which prohibited prostitutes from screening customers with criminal records.

The laws were struck down because the judge ruled that these laws made it less safe for prostitutes. The concept is that prostitutes will be much safer if they have the right to operate a brothel, that they need the right to feed their family and hire bodyguards/staff for their protection, and that they should be given the right to screen customers who might have a violent criminal record.

However the new status of these laws isn't a done deal yet. The federal and Ontario governments are today before the provincial Appeal Court, asking for the ruling to be stayed until a proper appeal can be heard.

Lawyers for the federal government say if a stay isn’t granted, Saturday will bring about a “social experiment unprecedented in this country.”

But lawyers representing sex workers say those laws contribute to the dangers faced by prostitutes, and that status quo can’t be maintained.

Soliciting sex and pimping are still illegal in Canada.

See Also
Canadian Feminists divided over Prostitution
Criminalizing the Men

In other news...

Judge in Murder Trial declares Mistrial

The judge for Erika Mendieta’s second murder trial has declared a second mistrial Monday. Mendieta is charged with murdering her daughter in 2003 after she beat her 2-year-old daughter Emily to death. The judge ruled that the prosecutor from her first trial had distracted the jury and intimidated the defendant.

Mendieta’s second trial had begun to crumble when the jury sent a note to Justice Nola Garton asking that a man be removed from the courtroom gallery because he was making strange faces. The man in question turned out to be assistant Crown attorney Paul Alexander, the prosecutor from the 1st trial.

The note read:

“Dear Your Honour, We the jury would like to have a male individual removed from the courtroom. We find him very distracting, and he is making strange faces all the time. We feel very uncomfortable with him. He sits to your right, and has blond hair.”

They included a diagram of the courtroom, marking the spot where Alexander sat with an asterisk and the words “He sits here!”

The judge determined that Paul Alexander was deliberately trying to distract the jury and intimidate the woman on trial and declared a mistrial. A third trial will be held in the future.

Condom use highest amongst teens

SEX - If you thought teens were reckless about sex, you thought wrong.

According to a new study released yesterday American teens are not as reckless as some people might think when it comes to sex, and are the most likely age group to use condoms. People over the age of 40 are the least likely to use condoms.

The study of 5,865 Americans aged 14 to 94 by Indiana University sex researchers is the most comprehensive look at sex behaviors in the United States in the past 20 years and is not limited to just condom use. The peer-reviewed results can be found in the Journal of Sexual Medicine.

Some of the other findings include:

1 in 4 vaginal intercourse involves condom use; amongst unmarried people its one in three.

Condom use is highest among black and Hispanic Americans.

Only 14% of 14-year-old boys report any sexual interaction with a partner in the previous 3 months.

For 17-year-olds it is 40%. Findings were similar for women.

The study discovered many teens reach age 18 with no sexual experience, and for those who do have sex, condom use is routine (between 70 and 80%).

Vaginal intercourse is no longer considered the norm. Researchers discovered there are 41 common sexual practices, including oral and anal sex, and these have become more popular in the last 20 years.

“While vaginal intercourse is still the most common sexual behavior by adults, many sexual events do not involve intercourse,” says researcher Debra Herbenick.

85% of men say their sexual partner experienced orgasm during sex, but just 64% of women say they did. (21% of women therefore must be faking their orgasms.)

7% of women and 8% of men surveyed said they are gay, lesbian or bisexual, but the number of people who have had same-gender sex is actually a lot higher.

33% of women say they experienced pain during their most recent sex encounter, compared with 5% of men. More research is needed to understand why women more often experience pain during sex, but its believed to be caused by a lack of lubrication AFTER orgasm.

Men are more likely to experience orgasm when sex includes vaginal intercourse, while women are more likely to when they engage in a variety of sex acts and when oral sex or vaginal intercourse is included, the survey found.

“In order for physicians, nurses, pharmacists, and other healthcare professionals to provide sexual health information to their patients, they must first have the understanding of what the sexual behaviors are in the community and how they are manifested,” says former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Joycelyn Elders.

In related news...
All men look at porn



See Also:
Sex Trivia
Double Standards & Sexuality
Virtual Sex Games

Man challenging Canada's nudity laws

CANADA/SEX - An Ontario man charged with breaking Canada's nudity laws is challenging the legality of it based on the concept that its unconstutional. Brian Coldin is facing five charges for appearing naked in public near a clothing-optional resort in Bracebridge, Ontario.

Coldin’s lawyer Clayton Ruby says the laws infringe upon the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms and that the law suggests that somebody in a state of undress in a changing house at a public beach could be criminally charged because its a public place.

Clayton Ruby says the outdated and improperly worded laws should be struck down so the Canadian Parliament can properly word them, if it so chooses, because right now they’re overly broad.

None of the witnesses who complained to police about seeing Coldin nude at various public places have sought counselling and no real harm has come from the incidents.

“If someone’s annoyed, well that’s just too bad,” says lawyer Clayton Ruby outside court. “That’s not what the criminal law is concerned about.”

To be an actual crime Canada's nudity laws have to prove actual psychological or physical harm was committed as the result of a person appearing nude in public.

“We shouldn’t prosecute or harass a Muslim lady for wearing all her clothes in a pool... and why should we prosecute a naturist for being in a state God created us in?” says Brian Coldin, who suggests people are more worried about the shame they feel about being uncomfortable nude. “That’s disgusting,” says Coldin. “Talk about mental abuse.”

ie. If you've ever had the dream where you went to work naked, you're probably ashamed of appearing nude in front of people.

In Canada it is illegal to be nude in a public place, including private property where a person is exposed to public view. Under the Criminal Code, a “person is nude who is so clad as to offend against public decency.”

Which suggests that you're only nude if your intent is to offend public decency.

ie. Seeing nude people in the gym locker room isn't offensive. Neither is seeing nude people at a nude resort or a nude beach which is open to the public.

But deliberately running around a city in a trench coat and then flashing people your genitals, well that is just plain indecent.

Which begs the question, where do we draw the line between the two? When does nudity in public no longer indecent?








See Also:
The Top Topless Beaches
Toplessness: A Right All Women Deserve

Lady Gaga denounces Don't-Ask-Don't-Tell

POLITICS/SEX - Pop star Lady Gaga (famous for such hits as “Bad Romance”, “Paparazzi” and “Poker Face”) was in Maine Monday to urge United States senators to repeal the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy on gays. More than 2,000 people attended the rally where the Grammy-winning celebrity stood in front of members of the American military who had been discharged for revealing they are gay.

Some U.S. military recruiters deliberately ask questions about sexual orientations and attempt to screen out gay people. Under the "don't ask" policy recruiters are not supposed to be asking questions about sexual orientation, but some still do anyway. Fortunately many gay recruits "don't tell" and thus still manage to slip through the screening process.

Lady Gaga called it an injustice that good-hearted gay soldiers are booted from military service while straight soldiers are allowed to fight for their country. She suggested a new policy should target straight soldiers who are “uncomfortable” with gay soldiers in their midst.

“Our new law is called ‘If you don’t like it, go home!’ ” says Lady Gaga.

The rally was partially organized by Washington-based Servicemembers Legal Defense Network. The organization wants Republican Senators to vote to allow a repeal of the controversial “don’t ask don't tell” policy, put in place in 1993.

The U.S. House of Representatives has approved a defence authorization bill that includes a repeal of the “don’t ask don't tell” policy. In the Senate, the bill only need 60 votes on Tuesday (today) to cut off debate and proceed straight to voting on the bill. Two senators are seen as the tie breakers in the vote as they are currently undecided.

For the rally Lady Gaga skipped her trademark bizarre outfits in favour of a black suit, American flag tie and a pair of glasses.

Last week at the Video Music Awards ceremony Lady Gaga won eight awards and was escorted by gay ex-servicemen who had been discharged from the military.



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Support Gay Marriage in Montana

RELIGION/SEX - We've been asked to post something about gay marriage rights in Montana.

"I am a singer/songwriter from Great Falls, Montana. Gay marriage is not legal here in Montana and I wish that it was. I believe we LGBT folks are being denied a Constitutional right. I watched the results of Prop 8 in California with much interest. The more places in America that have gay rights the better things will eventually be for the rest of us. I was heart broken when Prop 8 passed and was elated when the Judge overturned it. The subsequent rulings are hopefully just speed bumps on the way to eventual victory.

I was moved emotionally by all of this and as a songwriter I was compelled to write about it. This song is a time capsule of my emotions regarding Prop 8 and the subsequent rulings. Please take the time to watch/listen to "Wearing White" and feel free to share it with anyone you feel could be ministered to by it's message." - James R. Waddell.



We believe that the more other people try to restrict our rights to be free the more people protest and demand their rights to be free. Trying to prevent people from having the right to get marriage will only further cause them to demand that right. Battles may be lost, but the war will never end until gay marriage is fully legalized.

Manitoba Judge Busted in Sex Scandal

CANADA/SEX - A Manitoba judge, her lawyer husband, a man from Trinidad he tried to convince to have sex with her while the husband watched and 30 explicit photos... proof that you don't have to be a teenager to do something stupid.

At the centre of this sex scandal is Lori Douglas, an associate chief justice of Manitoba's Court of Queen’s Bench (family division). Her husband, Jack King, years ago allegedly repeatedly asked a client, Alexander Chapman, to have sex with his wife and even gave him 30 explicit photos of Lori Douglas (then a lawyer at the same firm as King). Some of the photos are described as containing bondage scenes.

In 2003 Alexander Chapman was finishing up a divorce and was in no mood for getting involved in someone else's sex life. He reports being disgusted when shown the photos. Following the completion of the divorce Chapman filed a complaint with the firm. King left the law firm and made a $25,000 cash payment to Chapman in 2003 in the exchange for the promise that Chapman not take legal action against King or his partners.

In the terms of the deal Chapman was to cease talking about the matter and to destroy all other evidence of the incident. Chapman signed the agreement, but decided to keep the items for safekeeping.

In 2010 Chapman decided to break his silence and reveal the photos because Lori Douglas is now a judge in Manitoba's family court and Chapman fears discrimination. He now says he intends to sue both King and Douglas for sexual harassment and discrimination.

(With a name like Jack King, who can be surprised he is not caught up in a sex scandal?)

Chapman says King convinced him to view a website devoted to black men and white women having interracial sex and that King was treating him like somekind of sex object in his goal of having him have sex with his wife.

In a letter to the Manitoba Law Society, King admits he met and discussed Chapman having sex with his wife, but only after Chapman obtained his divorce in April 2003.

Its believed Lori Douglas had no knowledge of her husband's attempt to organize an affair between Chapman and herself.

We all hear about teenagers doing stupid things with their cameras. This is proof that even hot shot lawyers aren't exactly smart either. ie. The Truth about Sextortion.

In other news...

RCMP Voyeurism

Four RCMP officers, two civilian jail guards and a third civilian employee in Kamloops have been caught watching two female inmates having sex in a Kamloops jail cell via CCTV. They reportedly did nothing to stop it. The RCMP has opened a criminal investigation into the incident.

The officers under investigation are a corporal, who was acting watch commander on the night of the incident, and three constables. The corporal, an RCMP officer for the past 20 years, was put on administrative duties when the incident was reported to his superior officer on August 23rd.

All four officers are also facing an internal code-of-conduct investigation.

Hush Money for Catholic School Boys

RELIGION - In 1998 Reverend Bill Irwin was sent as an emissary by the Roman Catholic Church and the Congregation of St. Basil to deliver a cheque to a former student of sex-offender Reverend William Hodgson “Hod” Marshall, who had been the student's math teacher and basketball coach during Grade 9 at St. Charles College, the local Catholic all-boys school. The student, Tod Holland, alleged the former priest had molested him three times in 1969 when he was 14. Holland had complained to Sudbury police about it 5 months earlier in 1998 and was surprised the order had sent a priest to speak to him face-to-face.

In 1969 Tod Holland told his father and the two went to the principal, Rev. Anthony Lococo, but Lococo merely brushed off the complaints by saying Holland had "a vivid imagination" and made out that it was the boy who was a bad person. The assaults stopped after the visit.

Years later and suffering from depression Holland eventually made a complaint to police, but didn't pursue the matter much beyond that. The Catholic order however got wind of the complaint and 5 months later decided to have Reverend Irwin deliver a cheque for $21,000 CDN. Holland refused it, saying he just wanted an apology from the priest who had molested him in the showers after basketball practice.

Reverend Irwin insisted he at least think about it and gave him the phone number of a Toronto legal firm if Holland changed his mind. The Reverend then called a taxi, asked for a glass of water, talked about the weather and left.

12 years later it is now revealed this is how the Congregation of St. Basil usually dealt with child molestation. The same priest, Reverend William Hodgson “Hod” Marshall, is now facing criminal charges for molesting another 4 boys in Windsor.

Its just one of many sex scandals and allegations of abuse that are coming out of woodwork of the Catholic Church, especially complaints aimed at Pope Benedict XVI who knew about the abuse and was an active participant in covering up the allegations of abuse.

In 1999 the Congregation of St. Basil increased their offer to Holland to $30,000, trying to buy silence once more. The Catholic Church knew Rev. Marshall was guilty and had even sent him for professional psychological treatment in the USA in 1996. Their offer of more money was nothing more than a clear bribe to keep Holland silent.

Holland finally accepted their offer and signed an agreement not to sue the Congregation of St. Basil in court.

According to the Congregation of St. Basil: “It was our normal response to any (sexual abuse) allegation, particularly involving the abuse of a minor, for Father Irwin to offer financial assistance to cover any cost of psychological counseling or therapy required for the healing of the victims,” says Rev. Thomas Rosica.

Bullshit. If it was just financial assistance then there would have been no requirement to sign an agreement covering their own asses in the event of a lawsuit.

88-years-old and retired Rev. Marshall now lives in downtown Toronto. His distinguished career includes 50 years of teaching and coaching basketball teams in Windsor, Sudbury, Sault Ste. Marie, Saskatoon and Houston, Texas... and leaving a trail of molested boys behind. The earliests allegations date back to 1955 where he is facing two charges of sexual abuse. Other men have come forward with complaints dating back to the 1960s through to the 1980s.

Earlier this year Marshall's lawyer, Andrew Bradie, negotiated a settlement for 44-year-old priest John Duarte for abusing adolescent boys at a Haitian mission. He was sentenced to a mere 18 months.

He also defended the priest Charles Sylvestre, who in 2006 pleaded guilty to sexually abusing 47 girls over a 40 year period in the London area.

Proof that lawyers and Catholic priests both belong in Hell.

California drops gay marriage ban

RELIGION/SEX - A federal judge has overturned the gay marriage ban in California, marking the start of a long road to the U.S. Supreme Court which will answer the question of whether same-sex couples in America have the right to get married.

And to quote the "Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" line from the Declaration of Independence, you can best be sure Americans will finally win that right in the end. Gays and Lesbians have the right to life, the right to liberty and the right to pursue their own happiness. Now while its still statistically true many marriages are unhappy and/or end in divorce, its the pursuit of the happy marriage that everyone wants.

The landmark case, when it finally does arrive on the Supreme Court's doorstep, will be one of the most watched, anticipated and dreaded moments in American history.

The ruling yesterday by Chief U.S. District Judge Vaughn Walker caused a celebration outside the courthouse with couples waving American flags and rainbow flags (or combinations thereof). Judge Walker made the decision due to a lawsuit filed by two gay couples who said the ban on gay marriage in California violated their civil rights and the right to be treated equally, with decency and respect.

The religious group known as the Protect Marriage coalition however promised they would immediately appeal the ruling to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals... and when that fails it means it will go straight to the U.S. Supreme Court... but only if someone forces the issue.

Right now in the United States what they have is an awkward situation where the Protect Marriage coalition is in a do-or-die, between a rock and a hard place... they either accept that gay marriage is now allowed, or they take it all the way to the Supreme Court and take the chance that the Supreme Court can be swayed in their direction.

California voters passed the Proposition 8 ban on gay marriages back in November 2008 with 52% of voters in favour, five months after the California Supreme Court legalized gay marriage. Overturning this means that Prop 8 will become void unless the judge's decision is appealed.

Judge Walker determined that Prop 8 violated the United States Constitution's sections on due process and equal protection, and furthermore discrimated against gay men and lesbians. What is ironic is that Judge Walker is a Republican and has a history of being anti-gay. When he was a lawyer he helped sue a gay Olympian who created the athletic competition called the "Gay Olympics". He was later appointed by Ronald Reagan but his nomination was delayed 2 years because of gay rights activists.

California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praised the new ruling.

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - The United States Declaration of Independence.

HIV Vs Circumcision, Not Conclusive Proof

HEALTH/SEX - The World Health Organization and several other health groups are trying to promote circumcision as a way to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa. They conducted three test studies wherein the men who were circumcised 15 to 20 years ago are 60% less likely to have HIV.

However, this doesn't prove anything.

The areas where they did the test studies were more affluent/wealthy and the 6,500 men who agreed to be circumcized were more likely to be better educated and well-off, more access to condoms, etc.

And more so, these men were agreeing to do this because they were afraid of catching a STD. So really all this proves is:

Educated men who are paranoid about catching a STD and take preventive measures like using condoms or abstinence are 60% less likely to get HIV.

The concept that circumcision alone prevents HIV is based on false reasoning. There are other factors such as wealth, education, access to condoms, paranoia, how often they have sex, whether they have multiple sexual partners, whether they re-use needles, etc. The mere fact these men volunteered for the procedure showed they were at least paranoid about STDs.

This false logic has fooled even former U.S. President Bill Clinton and philanthropist Bill Gates who have since become advocates of higher circumcision rates in Africa. Proof that you don't have to be stupid to get fooled by faulty research.

More conclusive evidence would have been to simply determine what percentage of men were already circumcised and what the HIV prevalence rate was amongst these men. Creating a test group of volunteers from one community which already has better access to condoms/etc is not conclusive evidence.

For centuries people have been pushing the superstition that circumcision can prevent everything from masturbation, genital herpes, homosexuality and other problems related to the male sexual reproductive organs. None of these have ever been proven.