Thursday, February 21, 2008
Steve Wright to be convicted on Friday for the murders of the five women in Ipswich
Steve Wright is to be sentenced on Friday for murdering the five women in Ipswich.
A woman who had sex with Steve after the fifth victim, thinks her life was saved because of an unexplained noise.
Steve described himself as a placid person who buried his anger inside.
Well, his buried anger has taken the lives of five women, and hopefully he will remain behind bars, the families of the women feel he deserves the death penalty. He will be given five mandatory life sentences, but the trial judge must decide if and when he can apply for parole.
Blissful desires has been added to my blogroll. Pay her a visit.
A woman who had sex with Steve after the fifth victim, thinks her life was saved because of an unexplained noise.
Steve described himself as a placid person who buried his anger inside.
Well, his buried anger has taken the lives of five women, and hopefully he will remain behind bars, the families of the women feel he deserves the death penalty. He will be given five mandatory life sentences, but the trial judge must decide if and when he can apply for parole.
Blissful desires has been added to my blogroll. Pay her a visit.
Labels: ABC News, guardian, Ipswich Murders, Prostitutes, Telegraph.co.uk, ukpress.google.com
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Debt,escorts,law and mothers
One in four people who contacted a debt helpline, admitted that part of their financial problems were caused by spending money on sex.
This does not surprise me, can you remember the sex addict who stole cash to spend on prostitutes?
Gal on in Israel is proposing a law to close down the sex industry online.
A mother of one of the women who was murdered in Ipswich had no idea her daughter was a prostitute.
There are very few mothers who do, it is not the sort of thing you go home and tell mother, in my view.
This does not surprise me, can you remember the sex addict who stole cash to spend on prostitutes?
Gal on in Israel is proposing a law to close down the sex industry online.
A mother of one of the women who was murdered in Ipswich had no idea her daughter was a prostitute.
There are very few mothers who do, it is not the sort of thing you go home and tell mother, in my view.
Labels: Escorts, guardian, jpost.com, newscotsman.com, Prostitution laws
Thursday, December 20, 2007
I learn something new every day
Today I learned what a career divorcee is.
It seems to me that no amount of money is enough for this ex-model. I think she needs to start classes, on how to marry a millionaire, and walk away with a huge settlement.
Three times lucky with millionaires, I wonder what happens to her this time.
Labels: Black escort, guardian, London, Thoughts
Saturday, November 10, 2007
Bloggers who bare all online
This is a great article on the value of privacy for bloggers.
I blog about parts of my life, and some stuff I do not wish to make public for obvious reasons. Some of my readers feel that I am not an open book, and I like it that way.
I think that you put yourself in a vulnerable position, making your whole life public, as mentioned in the article. The internet can be a dangerous place.
Update
Divadykediary had been added to my sidebar, pay her a visit.
Labels: Blogging, guardian, News
Monday, October 22, 2007
Anonymous bloggers who misbehave cannot hide behind their cloaks
How anonymous can you be in the blogosphere?
Well, a judge in the UK has told a site to reveal the names of abusive bloggers, and commenters.
I wonder whether this will make some of these people think twice.
I remember the howls of protest, which I understand.
I have my views on anonymous and non anonymous escort blogs.
Compartments has a great new post for anonymous escort bloggers, which gives you all the information you need to hide.
Have a good week.
Labels: anonymous and non anonymous bloggers, Compartments, Escorts, Friction, guardian
Monday, September 10, 2007
Men who buy sex in the UK could face prosecution
Ministers are considering proposals to prosecute men for buying sex. The discussion is considering criminalising the purchase rather than the sale of sex.
Denis MacShane MP, a former minister and campaigner against sex trafficking, added: "Until you have the Wilberforce moment when you say those who buy [sex] are just as guilty as those who are selling [women], it will continue to grow. It's not until there is a regular flow of men before the courts because they have paid for sex with illegally trafficked sex slaves that we will see a change in culture."
This is following in the footsteps of the 1999 Swedish Law on Prostitution.
The Norweigans wanted to make similar changes.
These are changing times.
Have a good week.
Update 16/09
Related article, Our sex lives are our own business.
Labels: guardian, Prostitution laws, prostitutionresearch.com
Saturday, September 01, 2007
Fake escort or client blogs
I have heard about fake blogs since I started blogging. I know splogs are out there, but they are something else entirely.
I know of one escort blog that is not written by an escort. I have met the escort, who claims she writes the blog, and her English language skills are poor.
I know there is no way she writes her blog. So she probably tells her webmaster what to write, who knows.
There is fakeness, in the blogosphere, no doubt about that. Some examples here
and here.
Some escort bloggers have been accused of being fake, and that the writers are men,who are journalists, or erotic writers.
What gives you the idea that an escort blog or punter,john, client blog is fake?
Hope you are enjoying the weekend.
Labels: Black escort, Blogging, guardian, London, Thoughts
Friday, August 24, 2007
Does the punishment fit the crime
I was reading this article on the tube this morning, and am bewildered, and angry.
How can you understand the fines that these two men were given?
What is the point of going to court??????
Can any legal eagles out there, share their thinking?
Have a great weekend!
Labels: Black escort, guardian, London, Thoughts
Thursday, August 16, 2007
Convicted working girls jailed if they do not attend counselling
Will jailing prostitutes help anyone?
It will act as a deterrent for some women,but I wonder what effect it will have in the long run.
I have my doubts about involuntary counselling. I wonder how it can be of use, when it is forced for sexworkers, and then there is a threat of imprisonment if they do not attend.
Labels: Evening star 24, guardian, News, Prostitutes, Prostitution laws, Sexworkers
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
English classes for foreign sexworkers in London
Alice is a member of the International sex workers union. She is among a group of women that have helped set up english language classes for foreign sexworkers and escorts in London.
Some of these escorts need to tell their clients that they do not do bareback,
owo, or A whatever the case may be.
I am fascinated by sex tourists, and how they communicate with the women they meet.
An ability to speak english seems to be important for some men in London, or the UK who use escorts. I know that it is important for me to understand what my clients are saying, and to be able to communicate with them.
Labels: Escorts, guardian, International sex workers union, News, Prostitutes, Resources for Prostitutes, Sexworkers
Friday, June 15, 2007
Inundated with emails
I can identify with Debbie Weil's article that the secret to happiness is to delete all.
I have three email accounts. My personal email, my day job email, and my escort email. My email boxes are all overflowing, and I cannot delete my mail fast enough. As soon as I have deleted a batch of mail, my inbox is full again. It has got to the point where emails are bouncing back, and people are wondering why I am not responding.
I have friends who send me lots of jokes with huge attachments, that take a lot of space. I am a member of a number of forums and associations for the day job, and have lots of information sent daily. Once upon a time, I was on top of it all, but it feels like I am stuck now.
Whenever I get to work, or check my personal email it says that I am over my quota. I am trying to get into the habit of dedicating an hour a week to clear my box, but that does not seem to be enough.
If anyone has any solutions to this problem, I would be grateful. Unfortunately, I cannot delete everything, some stuff has to be kept. The hoarder in me will never die.
Have a good weekend.
Labels: Black escort, guardian, Thoughts
Thursday, April 12, 2007
We are not amused
I just do not get it. Why is it that some people do not realise that once their information is on the internet, it is public.
I have learned some things as a member of some online communities.
My view, is that if I choose not to be a lurker, I could be a target or attract varied comments, by just putting myself out there.
A British Diplomat was surprised by the responses that he got to his blog,sparked by his visits to part of Bangkok's red light district. One mistake was having his photo on the website, which was recognised.
One mistake may have been posting a picture alongside his blog on the Nation newspaper website. A number of readers said they recognised Mr Proud from Bangkok's notorious Cowboy Street sex bars.
"I recall going to the embassy once and that same night was down on Cowboy and who did I bump into? Yes, it was Ian," wrote one. Another observed: "I saw him walking arm-in-arm with a girl that could only be described as 'two-dollar whore'. I bet that girl got a visa no problem."
Visas and the refusal of requests are clearly a bugbear for those who posted comments, even though they are not Mr Proud's responsibility. Mr Proud does not deny being out on the town during his four-year stint, but adds: "I don't think there are many people here that haven't been in places like Soi Cowboy at some point. My last visit was about a year ago."
The Nation's editor, Tulsathit Taptim, is discussing with Mr Proud whether to continue the blog. "Ian loves to get the reaction and he found it really fun over the first two days."
Whether the Foreign Office will be similarly amused is another thing: Mr Proud did not anticipate the controversy so did not seek clearance.
Quotes from Blog response surprises diplomat by Ian Mackinnon for the Guardian newspaper.
I wonder what the code of conduct is for diplomats, when they are out on the town?
Is there a code for visiting Red light districts?
Labels: Blogging, guardian, News, Thoughts
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
No Misbehaving
There have been howls of protest as web gurus try to banish bad behaviour, from the blogosphere.
I have to confess that I do not feel strongly about this. I guess because I am not a fan of bad behaviour.
Perhaps it was inevitable. When two leading internet pioneers came together this week to propose a set of guidelines that would filter out offensive and abusive comments from blogs, they were met by a torrent of offensive and abusive comments.
The text that has got the collective bowels moving of these and many other bloggers is a draft set of rules on introducing the concept of civility to the blogosphere. It is the combined work of Tim O'Reilly, inventor of the phrase Web 2.0 to describe the next generation of interactive communications, and Jimmy Wales, founder of the communal encyclopaedia Wikipedia.
They have posted a seven-point programme that would attempt, they say, to address the plethora of abusive comments on the web, while preserving the free spirit of the medium. Point one of the code is that anyone signing up to it would commit themselves to a "civility enforced" standard to remove unacceptable comments from their blog.
Unacceptable is defined as content that is used to abuse, harass, stalk or threaten others; is libellous or misrepresentative; or infringes copyright, confidentiality or privacy rights. Anonymous postings are also to be removed, with every comment requiring a recognised email address, even if posts are made under pseudonyms.
Point six encourages bloggers to ignore "trolls" making nasty comments that fall short of abuse or libel. "Never wrestle with a pig," is the advice. "You both get dirty, but the pig likes it."
To back up the code, they propose a "civility enforced" badge marking sites which subscribe to the guidelines, and an "anything goes" badge to denote those that do not. The proposed guidelines can be interactively amended by web users, until a final version is agreed.
The draft guidelines have prompted wide debate with varying responses. Dan Gillmor of the Centre for Citizen Media, a group devoted to grassroots media attached to Berkeley's graduate school of journalism, rejects the need for a code of conduct. He says bloggers require only one simple rule: be civil. To define unacceptable behaviour is to create a monster, he says, as "Who'd be the judge of it? The government? Libel lawyers? Uh, oh."
901am says the idea is the preserve of rabid feminists and professional victims. "Civility is subjective, and controlling what people say and do on blogs can only be a recipe for the decline of the medium and the introduction of totalitarianism online."
Quotes from Howls of protest as web gurus attempt to banish bad behaviour from blogosphere by Ed Pilkington of the Guardian Newspaper.
I can see how opinion may vary over what are unacceptable comments. I guess it becomes tricky when someone other than myself, can decide what comments I post on my blog.
I would prefer it if comments were not anonymous, but I recognise that some people are fearful of identifying themselves.
Jeff Jarvis has an interesting take on this, in his no twinkie badges post, he has some strong views.
Labels: Blogging, comments, guardian, Jeff Jarvis
Thursday, April 05, 2007
Living with the uncertainty
I read this article that new cancer tests could do more harm than good.
The new generation of screening programmes, scanning techniques and genetic tests, which will help diagnose people with the beginnings of life-threatening cancer, will pick up on more very small, latent and benign cancers. People could face a lifetime of anxiety and a decision about whether to undergo radical surgery loading pressure on the already stretched NHS, he says. "One of the things that may happen is that in our quest to develop better and better tests for early diagnosis of cancer we will end up detecting quite a lot of cancers that were never going to do anything in the lifetime of the individual ... we also need to find better ways to find out which cancers mean business and which cancers don't," he said.
Quotes from New cancer tests could do more harm than good says specialist by Polly Curtis of the Guardian newspaper.
My reaction to this, is that I would rather live with the uncertainty. It is a difficult decision to make.
Happy Easter!
Thursday, March 22, 2007
Pilot scheme in Ipswich
A pilot scheme is to be launched in Ipswich, for the street workers in response to the murders.
They will also be given an exiting package.
Street workers are to be given bespoke counselling and help to find alternative lifestyles as part of a tough anti-prostitution strategy that is being piloted by the Home Office.
Prostitutes will be told to take part in the programme or risk a harsh regime involving prosecution and Asbos. Officials are also focusing on kerb crawlers who keep the trade afloat; they are being tracked via CCTV and identified from registration plate recognition technology.
All prostitutes will be the subject of a "case conference" so that a strategy can be drawn up which is relevant to their circumstances. Each will be given an "exiting package", or phased programme showing the transition they might make.
A Home Office spokeswoman said: "The key objective is to challenge the street-based market in the town, focusing on prevention, tackling demand, routes out, and ensuring justice."
But street workers fear the approach could drive women off the streets and into unfamiliar towns or force them to take risks by working alone and unmonitored.
The English Collective of Prostitutes has launched a "safety-first coalition" calling for decriminalisation. "The Ipswich approach will simply drive the prostitution underground," a spokeswoman said.
Quotes from Anti-Prostitution strategy to offer counselling or court, by Diane Taylor and Hugh Muir of the Guardian Newspaper.
It will be interesting to see how successful the counselling is. My understanding of involuntary counselling, is that there is not much behaviour change. The women have few options counselling or court.
Labels: guardian, Ipswich Murders, News, Prostitutes, Resources for Prostitutes, Streetworkers
Thursday, March 01, 2007
World Book day
Today is World Book day. I am a bookaholic. At the moment, I have no more room for books in my flat. I just cannot help myself when I go into a bookshop, and always end up with something.
Here is the Guardian list of 100 books that you cannot live without. I have not read all the books on the list, but two of my favourites are on there.
What are your all time favourites?
Labels: books, guardian, world book day
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
Memory
I used to have a photographic memory. I find that as I get older, I am not able to retain information, in the way that I used to.
Fortunately, it has not got to the point where I forget clients that I have seen before. I am sure they would not realise if I did. I have never forgotten birthday's of friends and family, that are close to me either. I suppose, when that happens,it will be problematic.
A study has found that Folic acid boosts minds of over 5os.
For those of you that are in relationships, have a Happy Valentine's day!
Labels: Black escort, guardian, Thoughts
Monday, January 29, 2007
Information on the internet is accessible by everyone, do you understand the risks?
Once I put my professional site out on the internet, I learned a number of lessons.
1. Some shameless escorts stole chunks of text from my site, and passed it off as their own. Yes, imitation is a form of flattery, but I did not like it.I know who they all are, as one of my clients brought this to my attention.
2. I found that sites that I had not approached, had linked to me, which again I did not like.I contacted them, and some removed my details after a series of emails.
3. My photos were being used on sites again, that I did not want to be associated with.
It is a jungle out there, and I learned that to expect anyone to behave in an ethical manner was unrealistic. The internet cannot be regulated. A tough lesson to learn.
I came across this article last week, that outlines how anyone can access your photos,and link it your identity.
Granted, a search engine that recognises faces could make managing images and searching for them a lot easier. Instead of tagging photos, you could simply use one photo of yourself, or whoever, to find all the others. But the problem is, so can anybody else. Just as it didn't take long for people to become worried about "being Googled", if image search engines take off we might have to be a lot more cautious about the photos we share online. By syncing photos of us with whatever other personal information we've left lying around online, who knows just how detailed a personal profile could become?
Jonathan Bamford of the Information Commissioner's Office, the independent body that both promotes access to official information and campaigns to protect personal information, believes this is a genuine concern: "New technology means the risk of constant surveillance is higher, and we need to be aware of that risk. We are concerned that we're putting together the infrastructure for a surveillance society."
"You really need to understand how valuable your personal information is. I don't think people understand that the more and more you put out there in the electronic world, the more people can potentially access that."
Quotes from Finding that face in the crowd by Ronan Fitzgerald for the Guardian newspaper.
To the men out there who do not understand why escorts blur their faces, or do not show their faces, the article should explain why.
Have a good week.
Labels: guardian, Internet, security
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
I hope that Justice is done
I hope this pig farmer, who was a pillar of the community, gets what he deserves. Reading this story makes me ill. He had been arrested before, but charges were dropped, and you can see what he got up to.
Mounds of earth can be seen where diggers started work in June 2002. By the time they had finished, a year and a half later, they had demolished all the farm buildings on the seven-hectare (17-acre) site 18 miles east of Vancouver, sifted 378,000 cubic metres of mud, and taken 200,000 DNA samples. In the wake of the disappearance of 65 women from Vancouver's downtown eastside, the findings confirmed the conclusion that the authorities had been avoiding for years: a serial killer was at work.
The evidence removed, including clothing and personal effects, suggested that the bodies of 30 women had been disposed of at the farm. Officials could not rule out the possibility that human remains were in the meat processed at the farm for human consumption.
Kate Gibson sits in her office, next to a poster showing the faces of the missing women. Executive director of a drop-in centre for sex workers, Ms Gibson is concerned that the trial, with its media blitz, will add further strain to the women's already precarious lives.
"Everybody knows somebody," she says. "The women who live on the street, they live the same life as the women who died. Conditions haven't improved. They face fear every day. When all this was going on I think they were scared out of their minds. This is such a big thing, it brings up so much awfulness for them."
Most of the women who disappeared from the downtown eastside worked as prostitutes. Some did not. Most of them worked to finance drug habits, some did not. And some worked for pimps.
Robert Pickton, known as Willie, used to drive in to the eastside to pick up prostitutes, who often attended wild parties at a barn he owned with his brother, less than a mile from his farm. The barn, known as Piggy's Palace, hosted two types of party: respectable functions for local dignitaries to partake of his farm-raised pork and help the charity Mr Pickton had set up; and debauched affairs with prostitutes and Mr Pickton's biker friends.
It was not the first time Mr Pickton had been arrested. In 1997 he was charged with confinement and aggravated assault after a sex worker named Wendy Lynn Eistetter escaped from his farm covered in blood. According to the police report, Mr Pickton had stabbed her repeatedly. But charges were dropped. Mr Pickton was a wealthy pillar of the community while Eistetter was a prostitute. Between Mr Pickton's release in 1997 and his arrest in 2002, 30 more women went missing from the area.
It is unbearable to think he could have processed these womens bodies as meat.
Here is the article, Pig farmer and pillar of community:alleged serial killer finally faces trial by Dan Glaister for the Guardian newspaper.
Labels: guardian, Murders, Streetworkers
Friday, January 19, 2007
Unwanted guests
Something to look forward to on an Outcall. Thankfully, I have not had this experience yet, and hope I never do. The sad part of this story is their guests followed them home.
An American lawyer and his wife are suing an exclusive London hotel for millions of dollars after they were left with a most unpleasant souvenir of their trip to the capital. Sidney and Cynthia Bluming booked into the Mandarin Oriental Hotel in Hyde Park last May expecting luxury, pampering and relaxation. Instead they found themselves nibbled for five days and nights by legions of bedbugs who inflicted hundreds of bites on them, leaving their skin red, swollen and itchy.
The ordeal did not end there. The tiny creatures embedded themselves in the Blumings' luggage and clothing, hitching a transatlantic ride to their Manhattan apartment, where they continued biting the couple until they fumigated their apartment and replaced their clothing, bedding, luggage and personal effects. According to their lawsuit, the experience left the Blumings traumatised and haunted by the fear that some of the bugs had survived to prey on them as they slept.
Sam Jones and Agencies for the Guardian Newspaper, Unwanted guests.
An interesting post by Jeff Jarvis who says Size does not matter it is who views your content.
Just when we were getting used to it, the page view has been declared dead. There are many reasons for its passing, having to do with how web pages are now made and how web content is now distributed. But there is one seismic implication to this - in media, mass is over. Size doesn’t matter.
In a world of so many choices, the audience care about trust, taste, relevance, usefulness, not ratings. And advertisers care more about targeting, efficiency, engagement, branding and return on investment. These are better measurements than print circulation or broadcast ratings or online page views. And so now, publishers, advertisers and technologists must catch up and change their yardsticks for success yet again. It is time to measure quality over quantity.
Jeff Jarvis Guardian column death of the page view .
Have a good weekend.
Labels: guardian, Jeff Jarvis, Occupational Hazards
