Justice means minding one’s own business and not meddling with other men’s concerns. – Plato
A busybody is, by definition, one who cannot resist meddling in other people’s business even when his victim’s actions have absolutely no effect on him. And because respect for the rights of individuals has generally increased since the late Middle Ages, busybodies (both those with political titles and those without) in “democracies” usually have to find ways to justify their meddling in order to keep the opinions of the masses in their favor (or at least divided enough to prevent unified opposition). The chief means of doing this is via propaganda, and one of the chief targets of such busybodies is sex (especially commercial sex). In the four stories we’ll look at today, the busybodies in the latter three use a very old moral panic (disease as punishment for “sin”) as an excuse for persecuting sex workers, but in the first con artists use a relatively new (130 years) moral panic (sex slavery) as a means of robbing busybodies. Investigative reporter Andrew Drummond broke the story on January 6th:
Officers of the Australian Federal Police were summoned to the Thai government complex in Bangkok…and urged to look into [an] alleged fake rescue…by an Australian registered charity…The Brisbane based…”The Grey Man” [claimed to have] rescued 21 Akha hill tribe children and saved them from certain slavery in factories and brothels…[but a Thai government] investigation…found that the children never left their village…[they] were all living at home and were attending a school on a daily basis…under a special government fund [which provided] all their meals, uniforms and schoolbooks…The Grey Man [which is staffed by ex-special forces and former and active Australian policemen] issued an appeal for funds…after their claimed rescue…but on October 21 last year they removed all references to the rescue from their site and Facebook pages…[Their] president initially announced the rescue had taken place, then denied it again. He later said his denial was to protect the children…
[Thai authorities are] investigating …breaches of both the Child Protection and Computer Crime Acts…It’s alleged that The Grey Man abused [and defamed] the children by putting their pictures up on the net and linking them with prostitution to raise cash…The Grey Man President John Curtis has claimed that the children and local community [were] intimidated by Thai government officials and his organization…[was] the subject of a vendetta by Thai [NGOs] because The Grey Man had shown that they were better [by rescuing] more than 140 children from sexual abuse in Asia…Also subject of the enquiry is an American registered charity “Children of South East Asia” (COSA)…[which] supplied the pictures…exhibited on [The Grey Man’s] Facebook site…
I hope the matter really was called to the attention of Thai authorities by another NGO; once these sleazy opportunists start fighting each other, all we have to do is sit back and watch.
The next item, also from Australia, is another look at the mining-community controversy we’ve seen before; what makes it interesting is the combination of so-called “health experts” spreading lies they have statistical proof are false, an unusual version of the “gypsy whore” myth and the paternalistic attitude of unnamed “community members” toward adult miners:
A prostitute from Queensland’s mining regions…[says] discrimination against her work was “disgusting” and putting sex workers in danger…[she says motel owners] “kick you out, no refund – regardless of whether you have one or seven days left”…she [also] said…the harsh treatment posed risks to sex workers and could force them on to the streets…The reports have…sparked concerns from health experts about the spread of sexually transmitted diseases. They have also had community members concerned about the fiscal responsibility of high earning miners who appeared to be wasting money. Late last year University of New England associate professor John Scott told Australian Mining there was no evidence to suggest a rise in sex workers translated to a rise in sexually transmitted diseases in the community. He also said there had been no study to back up claims rural sex work had increased beyond normal levels. “There hasn’t been any data on it, but my hunch is that it would not be epidemic in these areas,” he said.
The “dirty whore” myth appears again in this January 9th article from the Daily Caller:
…The Korea Times reported that [a] survey of 500 South Koreans over age 60 determined that 66.2 percent are having sex, and that 53 percent of that group — or 35 percent of the survey group overall — said they pay for sex. Paying prostitutes is illegal in South Korea…The Korea Herald reported on Sunday that more than half of the sexually active senior citizens said they buy anti-impotence pills, and 19.6 percent of them said they used sex toys. The government-funded study also found that prostitution in South Korea is closely linked with sexually transmitted diseases. One out of every eight interviewed seniors suffered from gonorrhea…Prof. Chae Kyu-man of Sungshin Women’s University told another newspaper that the government “should induce them into venting their sex drive legally and in a healthy manner.”
Only one in eight have an STI while half see whores, so of course the disease must come from the whores rather than those good, clean amateurs the government wants to somehow force to have uncompensated sex with old men. Of course, the government of South Korea is under considerable political and economic pressure from the U.S., so it lies for the same reason as “The Grey Man”: profit. The same is of course true of Michael Weinstein; the latest on his crusade appeared in the LA Weekly on January 10th:
The L.A. City Council today said that yes, porn stars must wear condoms when performing within city limits. The 11-1 vote means that a costly ballot initiative asking you, the voter, to approve just such a rule can be avoided. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation…noted that the City Council’s approval seems to defy a move by City Attorney Carmen Trutanich to block the initiative in court…[on grounds that]…it would supersede the state’s authority over workplace safety enforcement…The industry is against condoms, arguing that…production will simply flee the city and perhaps go underground, where things would be more dangerous…Our industry source…said this law will not apply to studio shoots and will only affect off-site and “location” production…Diane Duke, executive director of the…Free Speech Coalition, sent the Weekly this response to today’s votes:
Performer health and safety is a priority for the adult film industry, which is why the industry’s standards and self regulations have been successful as represented by the industry’s low rate of STI transmission…Government regulation of film making would likely undermine existing health and safety efforts and industry standards that are effective as well as take the government into dangerous new territory. This approach betrays our Constitution; it betrays the hard lessons we’ve learned in the 25-year fight against HIV/AIDS; and it betrays aggressive health and safety efforts in place that are proven and effective.
Given Weinstein and AHF’s history of using lies and grandstanding to line their own pockets, that brings us back full circle to the first item in today’s column. And until the busybodies are prevented from interfering in other people’s lives, there will always be plenty of opportunities for con artists to capitalize on their deep-seated urge to meddle in things which are none of their business.
One Year Ago Today
“Wild Guessing (Part One)” is my debunking of a “study” by the Schapiro Group, a marketing firm which crows that its new “methodology” represents “a quantum leap forward in determining…the magnitude of the problem” of “child sex trafficking”. And what is that ground-breaking methodology, you ask? Why, guessing their ages of escorts from pictures they post online, of course.
DECADES ago, I went to little brothel in London. The lady at the reception was in her mid 30’s and pretty cute. She said to me “You’re an American are you? We allow them here!”. She asked me to choose one of two girls – but I told her … “Well, what are YOU doing?”
“Well, I don’t do that anymore Luv, sorry!” … So I picked one of the other girls (who was younger and closer to my age) and she took me in the back to clean up before the fun.
When I got in the back – I saw, prolly five men back there and every one of them was over the age of 65 and one was clearly in his early 80’s and in a wheel chair. There was a girl attending every one of them – and they were all very young – and I was thinking … “Holy Shit, I hope these girls don’t KILL these dirty old men!”
Then, I thought about it – most of these men, their wives were probably dead, or in a nursing home, or had absolutely no interest at all in having sex with their husbands.
So exactly – assuming these guys still have a sex drive (and you have to assume they do) … exactly HOW do they “vent their sex drive” any way else? These busybodies are idiots. I’ll admit – the thought of a old man with a young girl is creepy to me – but if he’s getting something from it and she’s willing to help him out for a price – who’s freakin’ harmed?
On the continuing saga of the porn-condom thing … I guess this means that pron moves out of LA County? And – I’ve tried to research this but – why can’t they shoot porn ANYWHERE in the country? Certainly not all of the Amateur stuff is filmed in California – so there must be some kind of loopholes?
Currently, it’s only legal to film porn in California and New Hampshire; both states have seen court rulings which slapped down busybody persecutions of porn makers (New Hampshire’s was in 2008), while other states have been happy to let the DAs run wild. But the porn industry could go anywhere in California, and Nevada might change its law to attract the business (though Harry Reid certainly wouldn’t like that).
More news on this coming February 11th.
I often wonder if the older generation over here would be less hostile towards the young if they had access to ho’s in their care homes. It is, after all, fairly wet and grey over in the UK for a significant portion of the year.
There’s a British base that has American Sailors stationed on it at St. Mawgans … which, if I remember correctly is right around the corner from Newquay in Cornwall.
I went out there once to make a speech to the Sailors there on Navy manpower. When I met the Commanding Officer of the unit – he wanted to make sure I had an appreciation for the “specialness” of St. Mawgans. I remember he said … “If you have a Sailor that is predisposed to depression – well, he will get very damned depressed if you send him to St. Mawgans!”
It was the toughest crowd I ever spoke to – a bunch of blank faces and I don’t think a single one of the Sailors removed his raincoat when he sat down in the theater to hear my speech. 😛
There’s a reason many traditional English ghost stories are set in Cornwall.
That and shit loads of boats/ships have been wrecked around that point.
“the “specialness” of St. Mawgans”
We have a saying: “short and choppy on the north coast” and as a naval man you should appreciate that! 😀
The thing people need to understand about Nanny State busybodies is that they will not stop once their cause celebre is defeated. What drives these people is not the purported problem they want to address, but the undeserved accolades, money and sense of self-worth. If sex work disappeared tomorrow, they would simply move on to more targets, encroaching more and more on our personal lives. They’ll want a law mandating condom use by private couples next. They’ll go after sugar-daddy arrangements — formal or informal. They’ll seek prosecutions against people who spread STDs.
The Nanny Staters will not stop, can not stop until they are stopped. That’s why we need to draw the line in the sand as far out as we can.
My sentiments exactly. It’s not the supposed “cause”, but the very act of control which motivates them.
They’ll seek prosecutions against people who spread STDs.
They already have done that in many states, at least in relation to HIV.
There are a lot of people who think that they are quoting the Bible when they intone, “Money is the root of all evil.” But they get it wrong. 1 Timothy 6:10 states that it is the love of money which is the root of all evil. Big, big difference.
God knows that I’d like to have more money, but I’m not prepared to do things I believe to wrong, things harmful to others, in order to get it. The businessman who works a few extra hours to get a bonus is not weighed down by the love of money, but the businessman who neglects his family to get a bonus, when he’s already got enough to meet his and their needs, is.
In each of these stories, I see the love of money lurking behind the evil committed.
I’ve long felt that the love of power is the root of far more evil than money. (Of course, the two often go together.)
You’ve got to love how most of the media insinuates one out of eight of all old Korean men have gonorhea(saracasm) which is not remotely true(not sarcasm). We all know that whores when given the chance to protect themselves by insisting on latex condoms have less STDs than amatuer women on average. Actually, the owner of this site has stated that whores have less STDs on average which I believe. If one wants to avoid STDs and pregnancies to the best of his ability, then wear a condom. Condoms are not fullproof, but they are better than nothing. I’m not surprised by the stupid and senseless comments from the mainstream newspaper and the professor at a WOMEN’s university.
You may want to reconsider your views on The Grey Man since many people, including you, were conned by that article you put up about their supposed ‘fake’ rescue
Have a look here http://penhpal.com/2013/08/sisha-the-anti-trafficking-org-finally-unravels/
from post 74 on and please don’t say ‘Yes, but..’ You seem far too intelligent for that
Oh, please. An ex-cop has almost two years and that’s the best he can come up with? Sorry, I don’t buy the “word” of anyone in the rescue industry; to paraphrase an internet saying, “documentation or it didn’t happen.”