Quiet Depravity
The demure outrages of a standup comic.
by Dana Goodyear

The comedian Sarah Silverman exerts a kind of mesmeric control over an audience. She doesn’t laugh at her own jokes, and when she smiles it is deliberately inappropriate. The expression that lingers on her face is usually one of tentative confusion or of chipper self-satisfaction, as if she had finished her homework and cleaned up her room, and were waiting for a gold star. “I’m just sensitive,” she says onstage. “My skin is paper thin. People don’t realize it, because I’m sassy and I’m brassy, but I just— I see these care commercials with these little kids with the giant bellies and the flies, and these are one- and two-year-old babies, nine months pregnant, and it breaks my heart in two.”

As the audience reacts, she presses on. “It breaks my heart in half. And I don’t give money, because”—out of the side of her mouth—“I don’t want them to spend it on drugs, but I give. You know I give. I, this past summer, sent fifteen really fun cowl-neck sweaters to this village in Africa, in really fun colors—expecting nothing, by the way—and they culled their money together, whatever they call it, and bought a stamp and sent me a postcard thanking me, and it said thank you and that they had enough sweaters for every single member of the village to get one and that they were delicious.”

Silverman is thirty-four and coltish, with shiny black hair and a china-doll complexion. Her arms are long and her center of gravity is low: she is five feet seven, and moves like a vervet monkey. Onstage, she is beguilingly calm. She speaks clearly and decorously. “Quiet depravity” is how Michael McKean, who was with her in the cast of “Saturday Night Live” (she was a writer and a featured player for the 1993-94 season), describes her demeanor. The persona she has crafted is strangely Pollyanna-ish and utterly absorbed in her own point of view: “I wear this St. Christopher medal sometimes because—I’m Jewish, but my boyfriend is Catholic—it was cute the way he gave it to me. He said if it doesn’t burn through my skin it will protect me.” In another of her bits, she invokes the events of September 11th: “They were devastating. They were beyond devastating. I don’t want to say especially for these people, or especially for these people, but especially for me, because it happened to be the same exact day that I found out that the soy chai latte was, like, nine hundred calories. I had been drinking them every day. You hear soy, you think healthy. And it’s a lie.” Her constructions are minimal but the turn is sharp. “I was raped by a doctor,” she says. “Which is so bittersweet for a Jewish girl.”

For full article…

Mayor Oscar Goodman grabs the headlines whatever he says or does – and he relishes it. He is proud of Las Vegas’ image as “Sin City” and happily calls it “an adult playground”.

He boasts about his love of gin, cigars and pretty women and calls himself “the happiest mayor in the universe”.

Before he became mayor, he was the top criminal lawyer to the Las Vegas mafia.

There’s no check and balance as far as the women’s health is concerned Oscar Goodman Mayor

But when he suggested legalising prostitution and creating a red-light district and a string of “magnificent brothels” in downtown Vegas, the mayor got his most dramatic headlines yet.

He had opened up a debate on a taboo subject: Las Vegas’ illegal prostitution.

Everybody knows it goes on, many businesses profit from it, but in-keeping with the city’s slogan “What happens here, stays here”, it is rarely discussed.

“It’s disingenuous when people say they don’t want to legalise it,” says Mr Goodman. “Right now it’s uncontrolled and unregulated. There’s no check and balance as far as the women’s health is concerned and legal brothels could be an important revenue-raising device for the city,” says Mr Goodman.

“When you speak about it intellectually, not morally, it makes sense,” he says. “If we had a referendum or ballot on legal brothels, it would probably pass.”

Not without a fight, though. The vested interests in this city are legion.

Spectrum of workers

It is estimated that there are as many as 10,000 prostitutes operating illegally in Las Vegas, in an industry that may be worth as much as $6 billion a year.

Over 150 pages in the Las Vegas phone book advertise “escorts” and “massage”, and leaflets promising to deliver “hot babes direct to your room in 20 minutes” are handed out to tourists openly on Las Vegas Boulevard, usually called “The Strip”.

“Lucy” [name has been changed to protect her identity] is a top-end “companion” selling her time with men at $4000 a night. She explains how the sex trade functions in Las Vegas.

Even though prostitution is illegal it is easy to spot suggestive adverts

“There are women who get propositioned in the casinos, bars and hotels,” she says.

“There are women who do ‘extras’ out of strip clubs and who ‘give pleasure’ in massage parlours. Women who do what we term ‘outcall’ – going to specific apartments to spend erotic time with gentlemen.

“There are women who work by print ads or on-line. And every casino host has a bevy of girls to call at a moment’s notice to satisfy their high-rollers.”

At the other end of the spectrum – in the seedier parts of downtown Las Vegas, among the cheap motels and ganglands – there are women who sell their bodies to pay for their drugs. They might charge as little as $20.

Robert Clymer, a former FBI agent in the city working in organised crime, says human trafficking adds to the industry.

“The number one problem, according to the FBI, is Asian prostitution,” he says. “That means Asian organised crime and human trafficking into the US, straight into Las Vegas. And it’s all fuelled by money.”

Strange vacuum

With 600,000 people, Las Vegas is the largest city in Nevada.

Its illegal sex trade operates in a strange vacuum because in most of the rest of the state prostitution has been legalised.

In fact, Nevada is the only state in the US to allow legal brothels, which stems from a 1970 state law allowing Nevada’s individual counties to licence their brothels. But this only applies to counties with populations under 400,000, which excludes Las Vegas and Reno.

The question today is – is what is good for Nevada, good for Las Vegas?

There are nearly 30 state-sanctioned brothels in Nevada.

With names like “Mustang Ranch” and “Moonlite Bunny Ranch”, their owners say they contribute to the local economies and provide safe, clean sex.

Brothels are so much part of the Nevada culture that Home Box Office (HBO) even films a reality TV show inside the Bunny Ranch called “Cathouse”.

Legal brothels across the state have to abide by strict regulation

George Flint is the chief lobbyist of the Nevada Brothel Association.

“Legal brothels could work anywhere,” he says. “They could be huge in Las Vegas. It would be great for the women and for our industry which is today fragile because it remains a teeny business in a big state.”

‘Sexual slavery’

But some religious groups, academics and campaigners say that all prostitution is wrong and legalising it does not stop sex trafficking or the abuse of women.

“I see it as sexual slavery,” says Candice Trummell, director of the Nevada Coalition Against Sex Trafficking. “I think it’s morally and ethically wrong for governments to say it’s OK to sell humans in that way. The government should not pimp the girls.”

I don’t think prostitution will ever be legal here. There’s too much money to be made from the illegal sex trade Kate Hausbeck sociology professor, University of Las Vegas

When asked if she was calling the government a pimp, Ms Trummell answered: “Yes, absolutely”.

Kate Hausbeck, a sociology professor at the University of Las Vegas, has spent nearly 10 years researching both the legal and illegal sex trade in Nevada.

She concludes that the best model for Nevada – and any country in the world – is the decriminalisation of prostitution.

“Empower the women who do the work. Give them labour protection and the rights given other workers. Because it’s a job and a choice for many women,” she says.

But, when asked about Mr Goodman’s idea of legal brothels for Las Vegas, she says she doesn’t think prostitution will ever be legal here.

“There’s too much money to be made from the illegal sex trade. The casinos and convention industry fear it would be a step too far,” she says.

Article courtesy of Rosie Goldsmith, BBC

Oakland County Undersheriff Michael McCabe said Jeremy McIntosh, 27, was arrested Saturday outside Intimate Ideas in Detroit after he repeatedly slammed his car into the store, causing $3,000 in damage.

McCabe says McIntosh was wearing makeup, lipstick, blue Capri pants, red flip-flops, a flowery blouse and a matching flowery women’s bra.

McIntosh remained jailed after his arraignment Monday on charges including malicious destruction of property and reckless driving.

CONTRACTS FOR SEX?

 A FEMALE politician today confirmed she was serious that women should sign a contract before sex to combat false rape allegations if proposed laws are passed. 

Independent MP Ann Bressington yesterday told Parliament the planned new laws – which make it an offence to continue a sex act with a person after consent if they changed their mind – would make it easier for men to be accused of rape.

She also claimed “one-night stands” and casual relationships would become a “high-risk activity”.

“Perhaps this parliament could devise a contract which men could carry around in their pocket, next to their condoms,” she said during a speech to Parliament.

“There could be a waiver should a man meet up with a woman who has had a couple of drinks before they engage in sexual intercourse.

“The contract may contain the name and address of the women, with her driver’s licence number, so that the man can see the signatures match, clauses that state that the woman has or has not been drinking or taking drugs – licit or illicit – and that she consents to foreplay.”

The proposed contract would also include details of the woman’s marital status, whether she has children and whether she consents to being taken to another location to engage in sexual activity. 

Yes, I was serious

On ABC Radio this morning, Ms Bressington confirmed she thought men should carry sex contracts if the current Bill passed both houses of Parliament.

“(The Bill) opens the door to more false allegations that are already occurring. Men will have no defence from women falsely crying rape,” she told the ABC morning show.

“This Bill makes men guilty until proven innocent and they will have no defence.”

When quizzed further about the contract idea, she said she was serious because it would prevent men being falsely accused.

Fellow independent MP Kris Hanna, who has been pushing for new consent laws for years, said the Bill’s intention was to prevent men being able to claim consent was given in ridiculous situations – such as when a women was unconscious or blind drunk.

“We are trying to encourage reasonable conduct,” Mr Hanna told the ABC. He said juries “usually come up with a commonsense result” in the types of cases Ms Bressington was referring to.

Controversial Bill

The same controversial Bill led Independent MP Bob Such to claim T-shirts emblazoned with provocative slogans encouraged sexual assaults when it was debated in the Lower House earlier this year.

Ms Bressington said the planned laws “make men guilty until proven innocent” and suggested the low conviction rate in rape cases was because of inadequate investigative practices rather than poor laws.

She said government was invading “our bedrooms or even the back seat of our cars”.

Yarrow Place Rape and Sexual Assault Service director Vanessa Swan said the laws brought South Australia in to line with other Australian states.

“I think it is a really positive development and will improve the situation for victims of sexual assault,” she said.

Article by Nick Henderson

Female monkeys may shout during sex to help their male partners climax, research now reveals.

Without these yells, male Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus) almost never ejaculated, scientists found.

Female monkeys often utter loud, distinctive calls before, during or after sex. Their exact function, if any, has remained heavily debated.

Counting pelvic thrusts

To investigate the purpose behind these calls, scientists at the German Primate Center in Göttingen focused on Barbary macaques for two years in a nature reserve in Gibraltar.

The researchers found that females yelled during 86 percent of all sexual encounters. When females shouted, males ejaculated 59 percent of the time. However, when females did not holler, males ejaculated less than 2 percent of the time.

To see if yelling resulted from how vigorous the sex was, the scientists counted the number of pelvic thrusts males gave and timed when they happened. They found when shouting occurred, thrusting increased. In other words, hollering led to more vigorous sex.

Counting monkey pelvic thrusts is admittedly “quite weird, but it’s science,” researcher Dana Pfefferle, a behavioral scientist and primatologist at the German Primate Center, told LiveScience. “You get used to it.”

Quite promiscuous

Male and female Barbary macaques are promiscuous, often having sex with many partners. This means sperm levels can get quite drained. The females shout when they are most fertile, so males can make the most use of their sperm.

Pfefferle noted her research suggests these calls might also make females more attractive to other males. She added these shouts might play different roles in other species.

Pfefferle and her colleagues detailed their findings online Dec. 18 in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

SAINI SUNPURA, India (AP) — A baby with two faces was born in a northern Indian village, where she is doing well and is being worshipped as the reincarnation of a Hindu goddess, her father said Tuesday.

The baby, Lali, apparently has an extremely rare condition known as craniofacial duplication, where a single head has two faces. Except for her ears, all of Lali’s facial features are duplicated — she has two noses, two pairs of lips and two pairs of eyes.

“My daughter is fine — like any other child,” said Vinod Singh, 23, a poor farm worker.

Lali has caused a sensation in the dusty village of Saini Sunpura, 25 miles east of New Delhi. When she left the hospital, eight hours after a normal delivery on March 11, she was swarmed by villagers, said Sabir Ali, the director of Saifi Hospital.

“She drinks milk from her two mouths and opens and shuts all the four eyes at one time,” Ali said.

Rural India is deeply superstitious and the little girl is being hailed as a return of the Hindu goddess of valor, Durga, a fiery deity traditionally depicted with three eyes and many arms.

Up to 100 people have been visiting Lali at her home every day to touch her feet out of respect, offer money and receive blessings, Singh told AP.

“Lali is God’s gift to us,” said Jaipal Singh, a member of the local village council. “She has brought fame to our village.”

Village chief Daulat Ram said he planned to build a temple to Durga in the village.

“I am writing to the state government to provide money to build the temple and help the parents look after their daughter,” Ram said.

Lali’s condition is often linked to serious health complications, but the doctor said she was doing well.

“She is leading a normal life with no breathing difficulties,” said Ali, adding that he saw no need for surgery.

Lali’s parents were married in February 2007. Lali is their first child.

Singh said he took his daughter to a hospital in New Delhi where doctors suggested a CT scan to determine whether her internal organs were normal, but Singh said he felt it was unnecessary.

“I don’t feel the need of that at this stage as my daughter is behaving like a normal child, posing no problems,” he said.

Original Article: http://edition.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/asiapcf/04/08/baby.heads.ap/index.html

A South Australian woman has given birth to her father’s son after the couple had sex.

John and Jenny Deaves reunited 30 years after Mr Deaves separated from Jenny’s mother.

Jenny was 31 and just two weeks after meeting, father and daughter had sex.

“John and I are in this relationship as consenting adults,” Mrs Deaves told the Nine Network tonight.

“We are just asking for a little bit of respect and understanding.”

Their nine month old daughter Celeste, shown on TV, appears fit and healthy.

Mrs Deaves said soon after reuniting with her father she began to see him as a man first and her father second.

“I was looking at him, sort of going, oh, he’s not too bad.

“Like you might look at a man across the bar at a nightclub.”

Mrs Deaves brought two children, Samantha and Alex, into the relationship after splitting from her former partner.

Mr Deaves admitted that he “initially” thought having sex with his daughter was wrong.

“Emotions take over, as people no doubt realise, there are times during your life where emotions do rule the heart, it rules the head,” he said.

“I knew it was illegal, of course I knew it was illegal but you know, so what.”

Mrs Deaves said the physical relationship with her father was like “a sexual relationship with any other man”.

For Mr Deaves the sexual relationship was “absolutely fantastic”.

A South Australian police media spokesman told AAP “the couple is being monitored”.

AAP

Full Article —>>> http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/father-and-daughter-have-child/2008/04/06/1207420202007.html

cnn youtube democratic debate question 21.

Have you talked with your children about sex education?

No man is allowed to make love to his wife with the smell of garlic, onions, or sardines on his breath in Alexandria, Minnesota. If his wife so requests, law mandates that he must brush his teeth. Warn your hubby that after lovemaking in Ames, Iowa, he isn’t allowed to take more than three gulps of beer while lying in bed with you-or holding you in his arms.

Bozeman, Montana, has a law that bans all sexual activity between members of the opposite sex in the front yard of a home after sundown-if they’re nude. (Apparently, if you wear socks, you’re safe from the law!)

During lunch breaks in Carlsbad, New Mexico no couple should engage in a sexual act while parked in their vehicle, unless their car has curtains.

In Cleveland, Ohio women are not allowed to wear patent-leather shoes.

Clinton, Oklahoma has a law against masturbating while watching two people having sex in a car.

It’s safe to make love while parked in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. Police officers aren’t allowed to walk up and knock on the window. Any suspicious officer who thinks that sex is taking place must drive up from behind, honk his horn three times and wait approximately two minutes before getting out of his car to investigate. [Hmmm... okay, there's one place with a law that makes sense... -psl]

In Connorsville, Wisconsin no man shall shoot off a gun while his female partner is having a sexual orgasm.

In Detroit, couples are not allowed to make love in an automobile unless the act takes place while the vehicle is parked on the couple’s own property.

A law in Fairbanks, Alaska does not allow moose to have sex on city streets.

In Florida it is illegal for single, divorced, or widowed women to parachute on Sunday afternoons.

In Harrisburg, Pennsylvania it is illegal to have sex with a truck driver inside a toll booth.

The owner of every hotel in Hastings, Nebraska, is required to provide each guest with a clean and pressed nightshirt. No couple, even if they are married, may sleep together in the nude. Nor may they have sex unless they are wearing one of these clean, white cotton nightshirts.

Another law in Helena, Montana, mandates that a woman can’t dance on a table in a saloon or bar unless she has on at least three pounds, two ounces of clothing.

A state law in Illinois mandates that all bachelors should be called master, not mister, when addressed by their female counterparts.

An excerpt from brilliant Kentucky state legislation. “No female shall appear in a bathing suit on any highway within this state unless she be escorted by at least two officers or unless she be armed with a club”.

The following important amendment however is to be considered here: “The provisions of this statute shall not apply to females weighing less than 90 pounds nor exceeding 200 pounds, nor shall it apply to male horses.”

In Kingsville, Texas there is a law against two pigs having sex on the city’s airport property.

Any couple making out inside a vehicle, and accidentally sounding the horn during their lustful act, may be taken to jail according to a Liberty Corner, New Jersey law.

In Los Angeles, California, a man is legally entitled to beat his wife with a leather belt or strap, but the belt can’t be wider than 2 inches, unless he has his wife’s consent to beat her with a wider strap. Consent should be given prior to the event, as is carefully stipulated. [Not to be confused with the myth about "rule of thumb"'s origin -psl]

In Maryville, Missouri, women are prohibited from wearing corsets because “The privilege of admiring the curvaceous, unencumbered body of a young woman should not be denied to the normal, red-blooded American male.”

In Michigan, a woman isn’t allowed to cut her own hair without her husband’s permission.

In Nevada sex without a condom is considered illegal.

An ordinance in Newcastle, Wyoming, specifically bans couples from having sex while standing inside a store’s walk-in meat freezer!

In Norfolk, Virginia, a woman can’t go out without wearing a corset. (There was a civil-service job-for men only-called a corset inspector.)

In Oblong, Illinois, it’s punishable by law to make love while hunting or fishing on your wedding day.

In Oxford, Ohio, it’s illegal for a woman to strip off her clothing while standing in front of a man’s picture.

In hotels in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, every room is required to have twin beds. And the beds must always be a minimum of two feet apart when a couple rents a room for only one night. And it’s illegal to make love on the floor between the beds!

A Tremonton, Utah law states that no woman is allowed to have sex with a man while riding in an ambulance. In addition to normal charges, the woman’s name will be published in the local newspaper. The man does not receive any punishment.

Utah state legislation outlaws all sex with anyone but your spouse. Next to that adultery, oral and anal sex, masturbation are considered sodomy and can lead to imprisonment. Sex with an animal – unless performed for profit – however is NOT considered sodomy. Polygamy – provided only the missionary position has been applied – is only a misdemeanor.

Safe sex!Originally uploaded by toddeemelThe fine art of Safe Sex~!