I don’t understand the logic. -Anders Varveus
So this week the internet went out in our entire building, and it won’t be fixed until tomorrow; I finished Saturday’s & yesterday’s columns on my laptop in a local pub, and I had to finish this one via cell connection so if there are formatting issues, that’s why. The links below are from Emma Evans (“headline”), Jasper Gregory (“lose”), Radley Balko (“laws”), Grace (“call”), and Wendy Lyon (“spontaneous”). The video is the first in Jae‘s favorite YouTube series; they’re really extremely clever & well-done.
- Headline of the week
- The things people lose…
- Cop angry over foiled rape attempt.
- Laws are more important than people.
- Never call the cops for any reason whatsoever.
- Spontaneous, unlicensed non-violent activity? We can’t have that!
From the Archives
- Pranks, fruit, goats, politicians, words, Hell, Star Trek, empty-headed celebrities and the police state.
- Another useless public policy based upon the absurd notion of magical “pimp” mind control powers.
- Canadian prohibitionist is sad because he can no longer force sex workers to listen to his sales pitch.
- Surely there are scads of women who think escort to barista is a good career move.
- Repetition, cabinets, Yuggoth, headlines, evil, cops, paranoia, blasphemy and tits.
- The newest anti-whore fad: using “licensing” to jack up prostitution fines.
- Accused rapist says it wasn’t rape because his victims were only whores.
- The more sex workers are treated as other professionals are, the better.
- The invaluable Wendy Lyon debunks another bogus “trafficking” study.
- Observable fact: 16-year-old leaves home. Conclusion: sex trafficking!
- Tattoos, sexy clothes & looking for work are signs of “sex trafficking”.
- An excellent Christian argument against criminalization of sex work.
- Emily J does a splendid job of ripping apart prohibitionist nonsense.
- Religious fanatics are always ready to make convenient exceptions.
- What are the possible social effects of the male contraceptive pill?
- An attempt to impose the Swedish model on England via trickery.
- The noblewoman who became a whore and a pirate for love.
- I wish I had all the magical powers Zimbabwean harlots do.
- Another example of how prostitution laws harm all women.
- “Sex trafficking”, “survivors” and “reframing experiences”.
- Laws often have nothing to do with their stated purposes.
- The word “legal” is not part of this reporter’s vocabulary.
- Becky Adams on her plans for a brothel for the disabled.
- “It Happened To Me: I Read And Believed Nick Kristof”
- A protest against Indian cops who attack sex workers.
- The French repeal a law against looking & acting sexy.
- The re-awakening of the sex worker rights movement.
- “Sex offender” registration just keeps getting worse.
- Trying to judge humans by rigid standards is idiotic.
- How government regulations increase exploitation.
- Eight years in prison for “promoting prostitution”.
- Cop-pleasing lies drawn directly from a TV show.
- Massage parlors are victims of licensing as well.
- Here’s that weird “pay back” euphemism again.
- Does the Arab Spring need a Summer of Love?
- Is it true that some women orgasm from rape?
- Christmas Eve in a brothel, mid-22nd century.
- “Sex trafficking” nonsense from Down Under.
- Somehow, I doubt she thought this through.
- My appearance on the Inspireland podcast.
- Dr. Laura Agustín on “trafficking” hysteria.
- Which of her lies is the most unbelievable?
- My Easter columns for the last two years.
- Rapist cops of the week, 2013 and 2014.
- Politician tries to ban books in prisons.
- The latest teen panic: coffee smoking.
- A prohibitionist deception from 2000.
- It all happened on Mulberry Street.
- Mr. Potato Head is not impressed.
- Making bogus “studies” to order.
- A “trafficker” under every bed.
- Alexis Wright’s plea bargain.
- Chimpanzee metacognition.
- Whores like wild elements.
- Muslimahs rebuke Femen.
- R.I.P. Carmine Infantino.
- R.I.P. Andrew Hunter.
- PayPal is at it again.
In the first and third links, you’re missing a colon after the http.
I must admit that I sometimes enjoy days when the internet has bailed from my home. It gives me an excuse to take the laptop into Starbucks and drink pricey coffee and nosh nutritionally-dubious baked goods for a while. It wouldn’t do for that to happen every day; but once in a while? It’s not all bad.
Using donotlink.com is a really interesting idea – although I fear it encourages link rot.
As a new yorker, I agree that ticketing people who were already physically injured while jaywalking, is likely not helpful or otherwise productive, the story does deserve a bit of context.
In Manhattan, it is an unusual sight when someone actually waits for the light to cross.
At times it can be dangerous to drive, as people cross in large numbers against the green light, and come within a foot of motorists. Pedestrians have a general disregard for the threat posed to them by cars [ 2 tons of metal, moving at 20 miles an hour is quite dangerous ]. Even worse, they’ll get angry at any suggestion that their behavior is dangerous.
Part of it is that they’ve never been hit by a car – I’m NOT suggesting that they should be – and thus, the otherwise scary stimulus that is a large object, slowly loses potency.
This issue of habituation is a well known problem in high-risk occupational safety (e.g. Nuclear power plant workers, airline pilots, chemical plant workers) and in the design of safety critical systems (e.g. Aerospace, automotive, industrial, and medical), where it’s absolutely critical to socially reinforce “safe” behaviors. Otherwise, nuclear power plant workers skip safety checks, and Engineers skip testing and analysis, because they’re routine, and never go wrong. This is the “safety culture”.
I get all sorts of strange looks as the single person waiting for the light, but that’s ok with me, as I realize that I’m contributing to a safety culture, simply by taking danger seriously.
While ticketing is a totally absurd response, they’re trying to encourage a safety culture.
It can happen, as I remember from a story that my dad told me about a trip to Tokyo ~30 years ago:
—
At one point he* stepped into the street before he had the light, and a bystander pulled him back on to the sidewalk.
As to why, the bystander said something to the effect of “you might cause **someone else** to have an accident”, i.e. swerve to avoid you, and crash.
—
*I can’t actually remember if it was him, or someone else, but that’s beside the point.
“Do you compost?” I love it. Wednesday is my favorite character from the movies. The series…Lurch. Uuuuhhhhhhhhhhggghhhh.
Re: “foiled rape attempt”: That probably isn’t called for. Though one can’t tell.
@Alexander R: I wasn’t able to click through to the article. Frankly, I don’t think walking against a light should be ticketed per se, but violating right-of-way should be. Drivers who follow the rules have a right to expect to get to go when it’s their turn.
@jdgalt, linkrot: case & point?