tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-50660602983139740612024-03-13T15:31:12.091+00:00Heresiarch's DungeonWhat lies beneathHeresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.comBlogger33125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-12934289489726298152016-01-22T16:44:00.001+00:002016-01-22T16:50:25.947+00:00A view from the bottom<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span style="font-style: italic;">An insider's take on spanking, S&M and the new porn law</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;"> Originally published 20th Feb 2009<br />This is a guest post by <span style="font-weight: bold;">Pandora Blake</span></span>.<br />[Caution: this article contains links to images that some may find offensive, disturbing and NOT SAFE FOR WORK]<br /><br />"Show me a new medium and I'll guarantee it will attract censorship as soon as it becomes popular (or, in some instances, once it attracts public notice)" says Ramsey Campbell. He's writing in the introduction to <i><a href="http://nikiflynn.com/dances-with-werewolves.php">Dances with Werewolves</a></i>, the autobiography of Niki Flynn, an American-born writer, model - and star of "extreme" porn films. Niki is an intelligent, independent, articulate woman who has made a career as a "professional victim". She's also a friend. She has a website, a <a href="http://nikiflynn.com/notblog/">popular blog</a>, large numbers of fans who appreciate her DVDs, photostories and internet movie clips. I act alongside her in a couple of them.<br /><br />Niki and I make films in which we are punished, disciplined, abused, tormented, assaulted, abducted, tied up and generally mistreated. We do it because we love it. We don't earn huge amounts of money and no-one has ever made us do anything we didn't want to do - or at least, not more than once. You run into the occasional creep in every industry, but the world of corporal punishment porn is, in my experience, understandably careful about consent. Niki does it for her own intriguing reasons, which she describes eloquently in her writing. She finds danger compelling, and exploring the most extreme scenarios of the human condition through roleplay and acting, in a safe and consensual context, is when she feels most alive.<br /><br />I can certainly identify with that. I also do it for a straightforward reason which is perhaps easier to understand, which is that <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2008/07/writhe.html">I like pain</a>.<br /><br />Not everybody does. Not everyone who plays with pain likes it in the same way, either. Even I don't always enjoy the pain of a kink experience. Sometimes the point of the scene is that I won't, that I'll be frightened beforehand and, <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2009/01/aftermath.html">afterwards</a>, proud of my endurance. It takes courage to surrender absolutely, however much you trust your partner. Usually because you can trust them to push you. Because you need them to push you.<br /><span id="fullpost" style="display: inline;"><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JbG6OXhk_Ng77IF0SGgoA_z4zZuc7DflCFL958Epj6_BXgvb7qOwx9XWcxzd52ACW9fyAlFijhwEWNqH9eGpPQJuNUpfbUl0qARMN-_2uJ1hxtv-v_s1ZiAhsU0WrgKiIASRZzfIMu-M/s1600-h/pandorabot-bedtime1.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5304788644547797634" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2JbG6OXhk_Ng77IF0SGgoA_z4zZuc7DflCFL958Epj6_BXgvb7qOwx9XWcxzd52ACW9fyAlFijhwEWNqH9eGpPQJuNUpfbUl0qARMN-_2uJ1hxtv-v_s1ZiAhsU0WrgKiIASRZzfIMu-M/s320/pandorabot-bedtime1.jpg" style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(192, 192, 192) rgb(192, 192, 192) rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; cursor: pointer; float: left; height: 320px; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; padding: 6px; width: 224px;" /></a>I can't explain my kink to you in a single article. I've been writing about it for years and still haven't fully expressed it. Partly this is because it's as hard to make generalisations about kink as to make them about sex. I enjoy certain erotic pain experiences and I find sexual surrender profound and fulfilling, but the nature of my submission differs from partner to partner. With every person I play with, the texture and meaning of the experience is different.<br /><br />I can't speak for perverts in general, or even for submissives and masochists in general. What I can tell you is that my earliest memories are my four-year-old daydreams of being hurt and helpless, that kink has been a core part of my identity even before I knew what it was. I can tell you that I'm not a victim of violent abuse, and I'm not a rape survivor. My parents are kind and liberal and smart, and I was raised to ask questions and critique the arguments I was presented with; this isn't about re-enacting some traumatic event of my childhood.<br /><br />I can also tell you that it is absolutely possible to consent to suffering. People consent to suffering all the time. We risk broken bones to go skiing; we get tattooed; we fall in love. We get drunk even though we know the hangover will be horrible.<br /><br />I'm an independent, self-employed, over-ambitious perfectionist. I work hard and play hard and set myself tough goals. I need the profound emotional release that comes from, just for an evening, having no responsibilities at all. I need the deep, kittenish satisfaction that comes from offering myself to my lover, doing what I'm told and being found pleasing. I need the emotional simplicity that arises from being given very simple goals. <i>Don't move. Trust me. Endure this.</i> Pain grounds me in my body better than any meditation technique I've ever tried. It cleanses my psyche of all the self-inflicted anxiety and guilt that accumulates during my average working week. It leaves me feeling renewed.<br /><br />Being a professional fetish model is less intimate, but <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2008/10/ups-and-downs.html">no less intense</a>. When I'm working I strive to create something emotionally powerful and visually beautiful, something I would enjoy watching. I take pride in my performance, and get a kick out of <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2009/01/severity-and-intimacy.html">testing</a> my bravery and stamina. The heightened emotions create strong professional bonds, and there's always a lot of laughter on set.<br /><br />I have a deep and abiding fascination for the more creative expressions of human sexuality. I don't need to be turned on by everything I do on camera: it's all about getting inside the mindset, discovering what it is about this particular act that gets people going, and learning to push those buttons. It's one of the most exciting challenges an actor can face.<br /><br />Some of us are more adventurous than others. My friend <a href="http://beverlybacifetish.blogspot.com/">Beverly Bacci</a> is a well-known spanking actress, but she also models for <a href="http://beverlybacifetish.blogspot.com/2008/03/ballooon-shoot.html">fetishes</a> I'd <a href="http://beverlybacifetish.blogspot.com/2008/07/belly-punching.html">never even heard of</a> before she told me about them. One of her regular clients is a "horror variety theatre" specialising in murder fetish. Not my cup of tea; I like my pornstars alive and wriggling. I couldn't say whether Beverly enjoys her work in <i>that</i> way, but her professional enthusiasm is infectious. It's an ambitious challenge in acting and make-up, with obvious appeal to those with a taste for the gothic and macabre. She <a href="http://beverlybacifetish.blogspot.com/search/label/murder">writes candidly about the shoots in her blog</a>; it's perfectly clear that no models were harmed in the making of these videos. Like me, Beverly is an <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2008/12/sex-work-and-right-to-choose.html">independent agent</a>, and any misguided outside attempts to deny her that agency are infantilising and misogynistic.<br /><br /><br />On Monday 26th January, the new <a href="http://www.opsi.gov.uk/acts/acts2008/ukpga_20080004_en_9#pt5-pb1-l1g63">legislation</a> making it illegal to possess "extreme" porn came into effect. The day before, I stood in Parliament Square clutching a hand-made placard, <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2009/01/yes-we-caan.html">protesting</a> against a badly-worded and unnecessary curtailment of our civil liberties. Parliament didn't listen, of course, any more than it had listened to nearly three years of protests and discussion since the <a href="http://www.homeoffice.gov.uk/documents/cons-extreme-porn-3008051/">consultation</a> was released in 2006.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9XoNhgqOAp1ptaUeRBetx71LYuJAV_QNcrVe4P7w3Wh4bdqLaJ8F_K7HWZxzyYH0rNXNxxjtNOtcjMufS3WGClxFq2Srdm7_knuc-lXlFJhrii39ZsxI_hkvb3huS6sFAyY1d4fThTI/s1600-h/bhdsbiuygdsb.jpg"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296307659510610786" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9XoNhgqOAp1ptaUeRBetx71LYuJAV_QNcrVe4P7w3Wh4bdqLaJ8F_K7HWZxzyYH0rNXNxxjtNOtcjMufS3WGClxFq2Srdm7_knuc-lXlFJhrii39ZsxI_hkvb3huS6sFAyY1d4fThTI/s400/bhdsbiuygdsb.jpg" style="border-color: rgb(221, 221, 221) rgb(192, 192, 192) rgb(192, 192, 192) rgb(221, 221, 221); border-style: solid; border-width: 1px; cursor: pointer; display: block; height: 266px; margin: 0px auto 10px; padding: 6px; text-align: center; width: 400px;" /></a></span></span><br />
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<span id="fullpost" style="display: inline;"><span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); font-style: italic;">Mark Mackenzie</span></span></div>
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span id="fullpost" style="display: inline;"><br />As adult members of a democracy, we are entrusted with a vote in choosing our countries' leaders. We have a voice, however much it may be drowned out by others. We are granted autonomy over our own bodies, up to a point; we can eat and exercise as much as we please, smoke, drink, and cut ourselves with razors if that's what we want to do, without breaking the law. Every adult in this country has the legal right to conceive and raise children, and fill their heads with whatever ideas as they fancy. That's a hell of a responsibility.<br /><br />What this government does not trust us with is sexual agency. The extreme porn legislation sends a strong message that UK citizens are not to be trusted with pictures of violent sex. The excitement might go to our little heads, and we might rush out and re-enact them with no thought for the safety of ourselves or others.<br /><br />This is <a href="http://www.redpepper.org.uk/article936.html">tremendously insulting</a>. I'm female, so I'm used to legislation and media trying to deny me volition and agency. It happens all the time in films and TV. Now, the government is telling me that I'm not allowed to possess obscene pictures because it doesn't trust me to use them responsibly. What will the government do next? Make it illegal to rape a blow-up doll, wank over a photo of a friend or desecrate a photo of an enemy? Make it illegal to draw violent pictures, or write about extreme fantasies? Make it illegal to <i>talk</i> about them?<br /><br />Let's think about the argument here, for a second. The one championed so passionately by <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7364475.stm">Liz Longhurst</a> and the Daily Mail, that violent porn causes violent crime. The court case into Jane Longhurst's tragic murder did not demonstrate a causal connection between the extreme porn Graham Coutts liked to look at and his act of homicide; nor has it ever been demonstrated that there is a <i>de facto</i> link between one act (looking at violent imagery) and another (committing violent crimes). The debate on violent videogames has raged for years without conclusion.<br /><br />Everyone in the country is now affected by this law, despite the fact that the vast majority of us are not violent sexual offenders, and never will be,<a href="http://www.statistics.gov.uk/CCI/nugget.asp?ID=1661">especially if we're female</a>. This law has nothing to do with violent crime, and everything to do with censorship.<br /><br />Censorship never works. It never has. Here's a bit of relevant history from Ramsey Campbell's introduction:</span></span><br />
<blockquote style="background-image: url(http://www.blogblog.com/tictac_blue/quotes.gif); background-position: 0% 0%; background-repeat: no-repeat no-repeat; margin: 0px 0px 0px 30px; padding: 10px 20px 0px;">
<span style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0);"><span id="fullpost" style="display: inline;">In the 50s, horror comics aimed at adults apparently had to be stopped, and so they were in Britain by the Children and Young Persons (Harmful Publications) Bill, encouraged by a newspaper outcry under headlines such as 'Now Ban This Filth That Poisons Our Children' and 'Make Bonfires of Them' (the comics, not the children), along with a persistent media claim that a gunman called Alan Poole had been influenced by his own collection of hundreds of horror comics, although in fact he owned just a solitary comic, a Western one eventually described in Parliament as 'not very alarming'.</span><br /><span id="fullpost" style="display: inline;"><br /></span><span id="fullpost" style="display: inline;"><br /></span><span id="fullpost" style="display: inline;">A media campaign that uses an unexamined scare story or a single unrepresentative crime to whip up hysteria until the government feels forced to bring in extra censorship - it's a recurring turn of events. In the early 80s it was the "video nasty": while the term was coined by a publicist to sell horror fiction, it was hijacked to describe videos the public was supposed to find objectionable. The <i>Daily Mail</i> urged 'Ban the Sadist Videos' and clearly had the ear of Berard Braine, who referred in the House of Lords to 'a grave and growing social evil which no civilised or caring society would tolerate ... a filthy and pernicious trade' (which is to say, making and distributing horror films he didn't like).</span></span></blockquote>
<span id="fullpost" style="background-color: rgba(255, 255, 255, 0); display: inline;"><br /><br />How is a fetish movie different from any other TV of film scene attempting to realistically depict a violent event? Do we assume that all actors taking on gritty or gruesome roles must be helpless abductees with no ability to give informed consent? It's not even as if Hollywood is particularly asexual - half of the violent scenes in modern films are intended to be titillating, and to criminalise fetish porn while making an exception for classified films is to set up an explicit and unashamed double standard. The scariest thing about the extreme porn legislation is not that it assumes sexual narratives are automatically immoral, it's that the difference is defined as not being in the intention of the creator, but the mind of the viewer.<br /><br />Owning a DVD of <i>Kill Bill</i> is fine, but owning an excerpt of the<a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8hHburo9EMU"> schoolgirl death scene</a> in a folder marked "wank material" gives the police grounds to prosecute - particularly if they've already decided you're a bit dodgy and don't have anything better to pin on you. This legislation creates a thought crime in UK law, and Big Brother is watching YOU masturbate.<br /><br />I'm familiar with the old excuse that <i>some</i> murder fetish porn and <i>some</i> rape porn depicts real non-consensual acts, and <i>that's</i> the nasty stuff this law is aimed at. Give me a break. Rape and murder are already crimes. It's stupid and dangerous to criminalise fiction just because ignorant prudes can't tell the difference. At best, this law has achieved nothing except fuel <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-1104523/Protesters-say-right-watch-sadistic-porn-Tell-mother-girl-murdered-man-addicted-.html">prejudice against kink</a>, and at worst it's open to abuse or over-zealous enforcement by the whole judicial system, from street bobbies to high court judges.<br /><br />The ironic thing is that in some ways kink has become increasingly acceptable. Films like <i>Secretary</i> and shows like <i>Diary of a Call Girl</i> bring fetish into the mainstream. Ever since <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2008/07/fighting-for-freedom.html">Max Mosley</a> successfully sued <i>The News of the World</i>, the press has, with <a href="http://www.sundaymercury.net/news/midlands-news/2009/01/10/seedy-spanking-shame-of-sleazy-pensioner-66331-22665769/">some exceptions</a>, tended to be <a href="http://www.independent.ie/lifestyle/the?slave--trade-1613904.html">positive</a>. Certainly the industry has been getting increasingly progressive. Feminist porn is coming into its own; an increasing number of kinky sites are woman-led, and the internet has enabled a level of transparency and accountability that makes it very difficult to mistreat a model and get away with it. If the legislators were at all familiar with this industry rather than making uninformed assumptions from the punter's point of view, they'd know all this.<br /><br />Put bluntly, the government doesn't trust us. Especially if we're doing anything it doesn't understand.<br /><br />© 2009 Pandora Blake<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Pandora Blake blogs about her life and films <a href="http://pandorablake.com/blog/">here</a></span>.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-13780421050882677432012-07-31T20:07:00.013+01:002012-08-02T14:15:40.825+01:00The trial of Simon Walsh at Kingston Crown Court<span style="font-style: italic;">This report is dependent on the live-tweeting from inside the courtroom by solicitor </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://twitter.com/ObscenityLawyer">Myles Jackman</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> (who represents the defendant) and academic sex-researcher </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="https://twitter.com/lexingtondymock">Alex Dymock</a><span style="font-style: italic;">. Follow them for further updates. </span><br /><br />Simon Walsh, barrister and alderman of the City of London, was arrested at work in April last year. It is not clear why. As a result of the arrest he was sacked from his position on the London Fire Authority. The arrest has also inevitably had serious repercussions for his legal career. Although Walsh admitted to the police that he had an interest in "BDSM, coprophilia and urethral sounding" (of which more anon), he doesn't seem to have been unusually obsessed by violent pornography. <a href="http://obscenitylawyer.blogspot.co.uk/2012/07/porn-trial-this-time-its-extreme.html">According to Myles Jackman</a>, none was found on either his work or home computers. But he had been sent something by email. And that was enough for the Crown Prosecution Service to think it worthwhile putting him on trial at Kingston Crown Court.<br /><br />Walsh is being charged with several counts of possessing extreme pornography under the notorious <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2008/4/section/63">s63 of the 2008 Criminal Justice and Immigration Act</a>. This makes it illegal to possess (and looking at something on a website technically counts as possession) any pornographic image depicting animals, dead bodies or "an act which results, or is likely to result, in serious injury to a person's anus, breasts or genitals." I've written about this illiberal piece of legislation on <a href="http://heresycorner.blogspot.com/search/label/extreme%20images%20ban">several previous occasions</a>.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />The trial began yesterday. After the prosecution barrister outlined the charges, the first witness was called. DS Callahan described how the police had accessed the defendant's hotmail account - the password having been freely given to them - and discovered an email which contained nine attachments, including images and a story about a young soldier being hanged. The email subject line read "pics of me, cbt etc" (cbt="cock and ball torture"; I had to look it up. In fact I had to look up quite a lot of stuff while preparing this report. Thank me later.) So the man sending the pictures was presumably the one depicted in the images.<br /><br />Of the six charges outlined by the prosecution barrister, three involve "harm" to genitals, two feature anal fisting and one is described as an "indecent image". This relates to a photograph of a young man whose age is ambiguous; the prosecution argues that he might be under 18. Myles Jackman says that a further charge, relating to a picture of a man wearing a gas mask, was later dropped. Presumably it was too ridiculous even for the CPS. As to the other images, one involves a medical implement known as a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Urethral_sounding">urethral sound</a> which (as I discover) is inserted into the tip of the penis to increase the inner diameter of the urethra and to locate obstructions in it. Count two involved a "metal restrictive device around testicles." This is something known more informally as a "cock ring". Google Images may come in helpful for illustrative purposes as long as you don't use SafeSearch. And don't tell the police.<br /><br />A third picture was described by DS Callahan as showing a man in a harness with his legs apart and another man's arm inserted into his anus. There was excrement over the man's body and arm. A depiction of fisting formed the core of <a href="http://heresycorner.blogspot.com/2012/01/defending-obscenity.html">another case</a> brought at the beginning of this year at Southwark Crown Court under the Obscene Publications Act. The jury in that case, after hearing from several defence witnesses, decided that the activity did not meet the ancient OPA test of "depraving and corrupting" the viewer. Lawyers at the time expected that as a result CPS and police guidelines would be re-written and that the BBFC, which rules on the legality of sex videos, would remove its blanket ban on fisting porn. None of this has happened. Instead, having failed to have fisting accepted by a jury as obscene the CPS are hoping to have it accepted as "extreme", the test for which was intended to be considerably more stringent.<br /><br />The detective also read out extracts from the "hanging" story. The jury was then sent out for legal arguments. When it reconvened the next day, DS Callahan was allowed to inform the jury that the defendant had been a registered user of a website called "Nasty Kinky Pigs". This, I discover, is a social networking and image-sharing site for gay men with a taste for BDSM. No actual pigs, you will no doubt be relieved to know, are involved.<br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJK5VtQqPMtcj6B0eUkCjinsxB5SJThTB7hrpyDTRQ05hJzJvGCXD8txkPvCg26sRcAow8nyFc9yoPsNs8VoduCAgFqoQA53sx97YUrDk4HYLp_8pL8mwqqdL0djqrBkRLujI5uyYyrTI/s1600/walther_urethral_sounds_01_6.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 292px; height: 208px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjJK5VtQqPMtcj6B0eUkCjinsxB5SJThTB7hrpyDTRQ05hJzJvGCXD8txkPvCg26sRcAow8nyFc9yoPsNs8VoduCAgFqoQA53sx97YUrDk4HYLp_8pL8mwqqdL0djqrBkRLujI5uyYyrTI/s320/walther_urethral_sounds_01_6.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5771667870241365314" border="0" /></a>Today's main witness was a urological surgeon, Mr Paul Hegarty, who appeared for the prosecution. He had brought a box of urethral sounds with him (there are several varieties and widths), and discussed both their medical use and the health risks that they might pose in the wrong hands. They were mainly used, he said, to extract foreign objects from a patient's bladder. Among those he had come across in his career were a biro, a thermometer, some industrial plastics, a piece of wood and a catheter. He was aware that urethral sounds were also used for erotic purposes, a practice that he maintained was potentially dangerous, carrying risks of infection or injury if the sounds are not sterile or held properly. He admitted, however, that serious complications were rare. This might turn out to be an important admission. So might his statement that patients were sometimes taught to use a urethral sound on themselves, which implies that it is not a procedure that requires medical expertise to be performed safely.<br /><br />Hegarty maintained that the use of a urethral sound would be especially dangerous in conjunction with a constrictive device such as a penis ring, which featured in at least one of the images under consideration. But he also said that he had never seen the use of sounds and constriction device in combination before. Indeed, he had never never (to his knowledge) seen a patient who had an injury caused by the use of a urethral sound for sexual gratification, though he had caused minor injuries himself by accident. He did not agree with a medical report produced by the defence which suggested injuries sustained in erotic play using urethral sounds was rare; he disagreed with the methodology used. He did however state that the image being prosecuted showed clear signs of lubrication having been used, which would reduce the risk of injury or infection.<br /><br />That ended today's evidence; the court will resume on thursday. In the meantime, I did my own brief research into the use of urethral sounds for the purpose of sexual gratification. The practice is not as uncommon as you might suppose, or as I supposed. There is a well-developed subculture of "medical play" in which such instruments feature strongly. You can buy them quite freely on websites devoted to BDSM paraphernalia. One such outlet describes urethral play as:<br /><blockquote><br />an exhilarating way to gently stretch the urethra, and for men, stimulate the prostate from within. Both men and women will enjoy the scintillating stimulation when you add vibration into the mix. We carry vibrating sounds or you can add vibrations with the help of a tuning fork set.</blockquote><br /><br />It's worth noting that, when investing in a set of urethral sounds customers are invited to buy antiseptic wipes, lubrication and other hygienic accessories. Other sites go into more detail about the practice, giving advice on safety as well as on techniques to ensure maximum pleasure, while a number of dominatrices offer it as part of their repertoire. I won't link to any of these sites, which may contain potentially illegal images. But they're not difficult to find should you want to explore this fascinating topic any further.<br /><br />From all this I conclude that, despite the CPS's wish to categorise it as life-threatening or threatening serious injury, urethral play is, if done properly, relatively safe. If a senior consultant urologist had never come across serious complications arising from the activity, but nevertheless it is regularly indulged in by a particular subculture, it is likely that the majority of those practising it are well aware of any dangers and anxious to avoid them. Of course they are. People who are into serious BDSM are after erotic pleasure, not bladder infections. There's even an acronym for it: RACK - risk aware consensual kink.<br /><br />I have no idea what the rest of the trial will hold, though there will no doubt be a similarly intricate discussion of anal fisting, as there was in the January trial of "Sleazy" Michael Peacock. Already, though, some things are clear. Once again, a law intended (so Parliament was assured) to catch a small number of people with a supposedly dangerous "addiction" to pornography of extreme violence is being used to prosecute someone's private indulgence of sexual tastes that present no harm to anyone. The pictures themselves depict nothing that is not in itself legal to perform or to watch live: but of which it is, according to the prosecution, illegal to possess a photograph or a recording.<br /><br />This is the kind of case, as illiberal as it is absurd, that campaigners against the law warned about more than four years ago while it was being passed. They were told that their fears were being exaggerated, that the law posed no threat to practitioners of consensual BDSM and that it would only be used in exceptional cases. This has turned out to be untrue. People with no unconventional sexual tastes have been prosecuted for receiving video-clips unsolicited on their mobile phones, and in this case, it appears, police have gone into a man's email account on a fishing expedition, turning up very meagre results but proceeded with a prosecution anyway. In its vindictiveness, and in its targeting for no apparently good reason of a prominent gay man, it recalls the <a href="http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-468385/Lord-Montagu-court-case-ended-legal-persecution-homosexuals.html">prosecution in 1954</a> of Lord Montagu of Beaulieu, Peter Wildblood and Michael Pitt-Rivers, who were convicted of consensual homosexual offences in what most of us must have supposed was a forgotten dark age.<br /><br />For the CPS, this case represents further evidence of cluelessness and disproportionality after last week's dismissal of the charges against Paul Chambers in the Twitter Joke Trial. It shows, once again, that the CPS guidelines are woefully inadequate when it comes to assessing the public interest. In the year 2012, a man is on trial because someone sent him, by email, pictures of himself engaging in legal sexual activities. Words fail.<br /><br />Thursday update<br /><br />In today's short session, DS Callahan was recalled to the witness box. The main point of contention involved the image that the CPS claim is indecent, and whether or not the defendant had even seen it. It was contained in an attachment to an email that had remained on Walsh's hotmail inbox for three years. DS Callahan admitted that the police were unable to prove that the attachment had ever been opened. The image was held on a server located outside the UK. This in itself raises questions of the meaning of "possession" - a hotmail account, after all, does not technically belong to the account holder but to Microsoft, who merely give permission to the holder to access it using a password. The CPS are unable in any case to produce any clear evidence that the attachment was opened: how this is meant to prove possession "beyond reasonable doubt" is profoundly mysterious.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com18tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-4747206286331818062012-05-21T13:17:00.009+01:002012-05-22T17:50:49.432+01:00Alain de Botton's guide to porn<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFIpIffh_nkSgPW0ZYBSoA8W5eTUMP0HoQOXh51NoDgTiA-_jSDxyInSC5pbRVtGQG8IXs6A2-o9cYkN-PL4Sx0QXxkvAszB63mxEMZvrgnHinHuewzpR_Q9mNDwSfkQ0nMnnl1izrbg/s1600/ALAIN+DE+BOTTON.jpg"><img style="float: left; margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; cursor: pointer; width: 221px; height: 271px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgEFIpIffh_nkSgPW0ZYBSoA8W5eTUMP0HoQOXh51NoDgTiA-_jSDxyInSC5pbRVtGQG8IXs6A2-o9cYkN-PL4Sx0QXxkvAszB63mxEMZvrgnHinHuewzpR_Q9mNDwSfkQ0nMnnl1izrbg/s320/ALAIN+DE+BOTTON.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5744967244724997874" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">The writer and philosopher Alain de Botton has </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/alain-de-botton-to-explore-the-consolations-of-pornography-7766850.html">spoken of his desire</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> to create a new form of pornography, one "fit for thoughtful, good human beings" and that could be "harnessed to what is noblest in us." Here, writing exclusively for Heresy Corner, he outlines his vision and offers some more reflections on the modern porn industry</span>.<br /><br />The most boring and unproductive question one can ask of any pornographic film is whether or not it turns me on. To save time, and at the risk of losing readers painfully early on, let me bluntly state that, of course, no pornography turns me on in the visceral, blood-pumping, testosterone-surging, genital-engorging sense familiar to many, if not most, regular consumers of the genre. That is, needless to say, a symptom of the intellectual and aesthetic deficiency of most contemporary erotica, its increasing irrelevance. It must also be the root cause of the crisis in confidence among many of its traditional consumers, a crisis exhibited most clearly in an increasing unwillingness to pay.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />There are those whose response to the alienating, ennui-inducing nature of today's pervasive internet smut is to reject it entirely, to see in its garish, unimaginative images and its hackneyed and implausible scenarios proof of porn's inherent exploitativeness or degeneracy. Or, at best, as demonstrating Schopenhauer's observation that, for most people, sexuality is a "source of brief pleasure and protracted suffering." This would be a mistake. By far the wiser course would be to harness the undoubted power of the erotic so as to turn people on to philosophy and art, to provoke deep and noble feelings. Instead of being an aid to masturbation, it could become an aid to cogitation, a genuine art form in which the viewer might emerge from watching an intense thirty-minute session of group sex with a new (and hopefully lifelong) appreciation of Proust.<br /><br />To this end, I have compiled a short (and sadly not exhaustive) guide for the pornographically perplexed:<br /><br />ANAL<br /><br />Of all variations of sexual practice, the anal must be the most inherently futile, at least in its heterosexual manifestation. Quite apart from being, both in practice and in contemplation, somewhat uncomfortable, it is also a case of, quite literally, missing the point. To take a wrong turning, to proceed willfully up a blind alley, to mistake one's destination when it is, or ought to be, in plain view: these are the most obvious analogues of anal intercourse. How then can one explain its prevalence in contemporary porn? It is, I feel, a sure indication of modern man's fear of commitment, either to people or to causes, a preference for the gesture over the inner reality, a refusal to face facts. Anal sex is denial sex. It is sex in which the flesh might be willing but the spirit, ultimately, is weak. Transcending the anal will provide the key to a revived and truly philosophical pornography.<br /><br />BDSM<br /><br />As Friedrich Nietzsche so wisely observed: "Thou goest to woman? Do not forget thy whip."<br /><br />CELEBRITY SEX TAPES<br /><br />For Descartes, it was sufficient to think in order to be confident of one's own existence. The human being was self-determined. He or she had no need of external validation. Modern culture inverts this insight: I am seen, therefore I am. The sexual act, precisely because of its imagined intimacy, is especially vulnerable to this externalisation of perspective. Just as one cannot truly exist except in the minds of others, so to be a sexual being is to be, in some sense, an exhibitionist. Hence the paradox of celebrity. The singer or actor (male but most especially female) is available to the world (in most cases) in all senses except the sexual -- and thus not truly available at all. He or she remains a figure of remote fantasy. A celebrity without a publicly released sex-tape is thus only half-formed and so, for all his or her ubiquity, not quite real. Understood this way, the sex-tape is less a violation than a validation. It represents the visible consummation of the marriage between celebrity and public on which the modern system of fame ultimately depends. <i>Coeo ergo sum</i>.<br /><br />FEMINISM, Pornography and<br /><br />Sex might be "chiefly an affair of the man" (Schopenhauer again) but porn tends to be mainly about women. Feminists see in this evidence of misogyny and oppression. Yet outside of the porn industry, the only place one is likely to see such a prioritisation of the female experience over the male is at a feminist conference or in the women's pages of the Guardian.<br /><br />FISTING<br /><br />It is impossible to watch, still less to perform, the act of fisting (or impugnation, as it is of course more properly called) without contemplating the many metaphorical meanings of the fist. It was, from the first, a symbol of power. In ancient Mesopotamia, the clenched fist of the goddess Ishtar proclaimed her divine omnipotence; and already by classical Greek times boxers had discovered that, wrapped in leather, a fist made a potent weapon. More recently, a raised fist evokes feelings of solidarity, of the struggle against oppression. The fist is the instrument of liberation: it breaks through the barriers of the past. This is why the depiction of fisting has always proved especially troubling to censors.<br /><br />The fist, furthermore, is about achieving the impossible. Thus in porn fisting represents the trampling of boundaries, transcending the limits which nature seems to set upon us. It is not that it is worth doing for its own sake; rather, it teaches us a valuable lesson in perseverance. One finger at a time. No pain, no gain. But it can also hold out false hope. Like the so-called American dream, it promises to everyone an earthly paradise as a reward of effort and virtue. But as Seneca was well aware, even the successful insertion of a whole fist cannot guarantee an orgasm.<br /><br />GANGBANG<br /><br />Group sex is the ultimate reflection of the shallowness of the consumer society, in which people are defined not by their inner uniqueness but by their outward interchangeability. In a gangbang, the ostensible goal of variety is paradoxically undermined by the repetitiveness of the action and the clone-like appearance of the participants. One may fuck one person in a hundred different ways, it seems, but one may fuck a hundred people in only one way -- or, at most, two or three.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3dVhtg5ol3-g6mcduMlBTJw1sV_YBrfDDVNx8TWXg1draqPnxllqdXux7vRJfb3azF-Nk4USid0EgE3qeg0OKUKZO4Hp2LEu9di6NQVuzuRr0RRwAOMdeRuoBgMzaVMuEEd9dl5Z4pE/s1600/aretino.jpg"><img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 259px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhn3dVhtg5ol3-g6mcduMlBTJw1sV_YBrfDDVNx8TWXg1draqPnxllqdXux7vRJfb3azF-Nk4USid0EgE3qeg0OKUKZO4Hp2LEu9di6NQVuzuRr0RRwAOMdeRuoBgMzaVMuEEd9dl5Z4pE/s320/aretino.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5744967473632649922" border="0" /></a>GONZO<br /><br />As is well known, "gonzo" porn takes its name from Duke Federico di Gonzaga, 16th century prince of Milan and patron of Pietro Aretino. Aretino's "Postures", the name commonly given to a sequence of erotic poems with accompanying, highly graphic, illustrations, was banned by the Catholic Church for many centuries and remains to this day a key source of inspiration for pornographers. The term "gonzo" is thus a reminder of the noble artistic tradition of which modern porn partakes and to which today's producers too rarely seek to aspire.<br /><br />ORAL SEX<br /><br />Whenever I watch a porn actress performing a blow-job, I am forcefully reminded of the West's problematic relationship with food. The prevalent method of "deep-throating", in which the man's penis is fully inserted into the woman's mouth, is a visual metaphor for excessive consumption, the more so given pornography's preference for outsized male genitalia. It cannot be a coincidence that the popularity of deep-throating should exist in parallel with an obesity crisis. Yet the act itself is plainly bulimic, a fact demonstrated not just by the excessive skinniness of many of the female performers but also, more significantly, because oral intercourse is often the immediate prelude to ejaculation.<br /><br />SOFTCORE<br /><br />Perhaps the most honest form of pornography. Hardcore porn promises what it can't ultimately deliver. Softcore promises nothing, and thus cannot leave the viewer disappointed.<br /><br />WEBCAMS<br /><br />The Webcam offers the most exciting, yet most tragically underutilised, vehicle for porn I know. Nothing offers more completely the prospect of real communication, a genuine (if technologically mediated) connection between producer and consumer. Yet what do we find? Bored girls going through a circumscribed repertoire of repetitive acts. Equally bored customers whose deepest, most secret fantasies turn out to be no different from anyone else's. And at the end, a sense of frustration, of utter futility. How much more fulfilling it could be if, instead of merely touching herself intimately, the webcam girl took time to open her customer's mind to the glories of French literature! Just think of the satisfaction of knowing that, at such a remote distance, one could bring another human being, not just to orgasm but to a deeper knowledge of Kant! That surely would be a pornography in which eroticism would support, rather than undermine, our higher values. A pornography which even the greatest of philosophers would not be ashamed to download.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-81533806148744451872011-05-19T10:38:00.003+01:002011-05-19T10:46:37.249+01:00Off topicSome rather strange comments have appeared beneath Laurie Penny's <a href="http://www.newstatesman.com/blogs/laurie-penny/2011/05/young-women-princess-fantasy">anti-princess rant</a> in the New Statesman, not all of them clearly related to the subject in question. For example this from "Mr Divine", responding to "Buckskins":<br /><blockquote><br /> I miss Stuart too .. we had some great moments. He'll look back and realise that the engage he had with me was a pivotal moment in his life. That and his new girlfriend.<br /><br /> The whipping scene was ace, him trying to pull me off my camel, and me whipping him on his tiny willy with my diamond tipped whip. Those were the days. But I miss his Big Issue stories and unique perspective on todays events.<br /><br /> Was I hard? I was hard and I was soft. You were just soft soft to him. I made him angry, and I made him laugh at himself and at those words that made him angry. He said more than once how much he enjoyed his engages with me. Of course he liked you because you were nice to him, but he loved me because I made him laugh and cry.</blockquote><br />The site could probably do with some moderation. Just saying...<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-69552034521452237692011-05-13T18:16:00.002+01:002011-05-14T09:04:47.107+01:00Why privacy isn't just for the rich<span style="font-style: italic;">Cross-posted from <a href="http://heresycorner.blogspot.com/2011/05/why-privacy-isnt-just-for-rich.html">Heresy Corner</a></span><br /><br />The Daily Mail - along with several other respectable news outlets - brings us the story of Faith-Anne Lesbirel, primary schoolmistress by day and "kinky dominatrix" by night, whose unconventional second job has now led to a dressing down from the General Teaching Council. Found guilty of "unacceptable professional misconduct" (is there such a thing as acceptable professional misconduct?) she has received a two-year reprimand. She has, however - as the Mail was forced to report - "escaped being struck off." The panel also displayed a perhaps unexpected - and welcome - degree of enlightenment when it concluded that her essentially private activities did not make her a danger to children.<br /><br />By most accounts, indeed, she was an excellent and well-loved teacher, working at a school in Milton Keynes. But she was also into things like domination and sploshing, and as "Mistress Saffron" advertised her services online, both on her own website and on a forum for like-minded people called "Informed Consent". It was this advertising, we are led believe, that got her into trouble. The report quotes the tribunal's ruling that "the reputation and public standing of the profession was placed at risk by your choosing to initiate and run such a website and indeed the exposure of this did in the event damage the school and the profession." The clear implication is that the "publicly accessible" nature of both her website and the online forum was responsible for bringing her activities to the notice of local parents, who complained to the school. And that her exposure was therefore her own fault.<br /><br />That isn't really what happened.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Faith-Anne Lesbirel - who was also known as Faith Hamilton - carried out her BDSM activities for a long time without any of the parents or children finding out. And there was little reason why they should have found out. Informed Consent might be "publicly accessible", in the sense that anyone can view its contents without registering as a member, but it unlikely that many people would come across it without at least having a pre-existing interest in the subject. The same goes for her Mistress Saffron website. This is a niche area of the web, inhabited mainly by mistresses, their clients, and the odd tabloid journalist. Her two identities should have remained quite separate, as long as she observed a certain degree of cicumspection.<br /><br />Faith may have been a victim of the Max Mosley scandal. Those who are in a position to know believe that she was betrayed by "Woman E" - also known as Mistress Abi, "Michelle" and latterly Mistress Kiera - the dominatrix who secretly recorded the goings-on in that notorious Chelsea basement as part of the News of the World sting operation. You may recall that the relationship between "Abi" and the newspaper went sour after she was unable to provide Neville Thurlbeck with cast-iron proof that Mosley's party had had a "Nazi theme". In an interview with Sky News, she said that she had never claimed that there was a Nazi theme - it was all a product of Thurlbeck's lurid imagination. Whatever the truth, it seems that the Screws pressed her to provide some additional titillating information to justify their payments to her. And so she gave them Mistress Saffron the kinky schoolteacher. Who was supposed to be a friend of hers, as well as a fellow member of the Milton Keynes dungeon sorority.<br /><br />The story appeared under the headline "Miss gets strict with PVC punters" and was illustrated with pictures taken from her website. The paper predicted, not as is happened inaccurately, that "parents of the kids she teaches would go ballistic. While they’re reading their youngsters Winnie the Pooh at bedtime, their teacher is hard at it as a Miss Whiplash hooker."<br /><br />The involvement of Woman E has never been officially confirmed, I should say (though the coincidence of time - May 2008 - and place - Milton Keynes - is striking). What is beyond doubt is that it was the exposure of Ms Hamilton/Lesbirel in the News of the World, not her website, that led to her departure from the school - leaving her out of a job and the children, to whom she was devoted, confused and upset. To the News of the World, it was all in a day's work, of course. As Clair Lewis - longstanding friend of this blog - says in a statement released today by the campaigning organisation CAAN, "some media people remain unconcerned about smearing people and the dangers this poses. Shame on them."<br /><br />With Mosley's lawyers breathing down their neck, ruining the career of an unknown schoolteacher represented a much safer strategy than continuing to pursue that increasingly threadbare scoop. Faith-Anne Lesbirel wasn't going to sue them for invasion of privacy. She was in no position to get a super-injunction from Mr Justice Eady. She certainly didn't stand ready to petition the European Court of Human Rights to demand prior notification of embarrassing revelations. The most someone like her can hope for is a positive ruling from the largely toothless Press Complaints Commission.<br /><br />Sadly, with celebrity exposés now threatened by the advance of privacy law we may see more stories like hers, with the press attempting to justify their prurient interest in people's private lives because they happen to be teachers, nurses, social workers or police officers. And while professional bodies continue to have widely-drafted - some would say discriminatory - policies against "bringing the profession into dispute", anyone falling foul of a tabloid "outing" may well face much more devastating personal reperpercussions than the fleeting embarrassment of some footballer who has visited a hooker.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-9576155351517566332010-09-14T17:52:00.014+01:002010-09-15T09:12:30.472+01:00By viewing this post, you're breaking the lawThat's if you're in Britain, that is. In other parts of the world, you may be OK - though probably not. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Legal_status_of_cartoon_pornography_depicting_minors">It depends</a>.<br /><br /><br /><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFyW0wGrgQhy9kr4oDArGgt8ExpSm7RV37SMyie3evnHXTbejUgV7OyfCMdimrSbUU3JKs5EbyFCDQQ3vBWQeRXL5c5DsxMk6mMc9C0iwgmrKtHFx2XUrp2cK0y-tuq5DMITRIqiim5U/s1600/eisen-shunga.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 471px; height: 319px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgZFyW0wGrgQhy9kr4oDArGgt8ExpSm7RV37SMyie3evnHXTbejUgV7OyfCMdimrSbUU3JKs5EbyFCDQQ3vBWQeRXL5c5DsxMk6mMc9C0iwgmrKtHFx2XUrp2cK0y-tuq5DMITRIqiim5U/s400/eisen-shunga.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5516813676701012738" border="0" /></a><br />This rather worn print, by the early nineteenth century Japanese master Eisen, is currently being offered for sale by <a href="http://www.fujiarts.com/cgi-bin/main.pl">Fuji Arts</a> with a starting price of $245. I wouldn't advise you to buy it, though - there might be a problem getting it through customs. Or else the police will knock on your door five minutes after the postman has dropped it through the letterbox.<br /><br />Eisen is best known for his charming prints of elegant kimono-clad beauties, but in old Japan there was also a lively trade in exquisitely drawn but absolutely filthy pornography, coily known as Shunga ("spring pictures"). Almost all the major artists produced shunga, including the most famous of all, Hokusai, whose <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Dream_of_the_Fisherman%27s_Wife">Dream of the Fisherman's Wife</a> depicts a woman being groped and orally pleasured by two octopuses.<br /><br />This one, by contrast, shows a woman trying to juggle the joint attentions of a man and her baby. Sociologically it raises some interesting questions. Were living conditions so cramped in pre-Meiji Edo (now Tokyo) that such scenes were commonplace? Is the woman a prostitute, or is the man her husband? Is the picture intended to be comic, or did Shunga-buyers get off on that sort of thing? (Another picture up for sale on the same site shows a woman receiving cunnilingus from a horse, which is certainly comic. And Hokusai's tentacle porn is just hilarious.) Perhaps there are deeper ideas at play: the baby may be there as a reminder of the possible consequences of the sexual act, or the picture may express male ambivalence about the dual role of woman as mother and lover, or male fear of being usurped by his offspring in the woman's affections. And why does he look so bored?<br /><br />My purpose here, though, is to draw attention to the probable illegality of the picture under one of New Labour's recent laws. Section 62 of the portmanteau <a href="http://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2009/25/part/2/chapter/2">Coroners and Justice Act 2009</a> (which I discussed <a href="http://heresycorner.blogspot.com/2009/03/think-of-children.html">here</a>) makes it a criminal offence to be in possession of a pornographic image of a child, however unrealistic, which "is grossly offensive, disgusting <i>or otherwise of an obscene character</i> - which porn is by definition, of course. Being "in possession" includes looking at something on the internet. The offence also (ss 7) covers depictions of "the performance by a person of an act of intercourse or oral sex with or <i>in the presence of</i> a child." That is certainly what is going on here. It's no defence that the work in question is artistic (as the Eisen might possibly be considered to be). "Pornographic" is defined as "produced solely or principally for the purpose of sexual arousal". Art historians agree that that was, indeed, the main purpose of Shunga.<br /><br />This blog is not hosted in the UK, and I've deleted any versions of the image I may have had briefly on my hard-drive. So I'm safe, I think. But I'm sorry to say you're guilty. Go on, give yourself up.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-64131011330634626142010-07-21T17:44:00.005+01:002010-07-21T18:16:29.707+01:00Something Dark<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxi3bylQ8f7lwSH5nt6_FE8XB9TlPDO2k4tAL3CgTTlBU-DcZJp3ZoffwvHHVfTrgp7At6DmTG2uICs9ZuxYbLpZiYR7qj4uNZAGr3mywrA3-jmFurUw5xbszTDi21SsQ0qdvWFJUEqg/s1600/something-dark.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 226px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiHxi3bylQ8f7lwSH5nt6_FE8XB9TlPDO2k4tAL3CgTTlBU-DcZJp3ZoffwvHHVfTrgp7At6DmTG2uICs9ZuxYbLpZiYR7qj4uNZAGr3mywrA3-jmFurUw5xbszTDi21SsQ0qdvWFJUEqg/s320/something-dark.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5496403633163673362" border="0" /></a>Daryl Champion sent me the following press release about his new magazine, <a href="http://www.somethingdark.eu/">SomethingDark</a><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">SomethingDark (SDk), a new cultural webmagazine, has just been published after nearly two years in development. Issue 01 is available online for free in a format that occupies a unique space between the internet and a print publication.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">SDk takes full advantage of an innovative format to deliver its avant-garde mix of dark glamour and eroticism in photography, art and edgy fiction; of poignant nonfiction and criticism; and of exhibition, film and book reviews – all in the social, political and economic context of today’s disturbed world.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;"><br /><br />SDk additionally strives to be a valuable resource and, concerned with the world around us, is also a forum for re-assessing what is of value in contemporary society.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">How is SDk innovative? Unlike most news, magazine- and journal-style websites, which depart from their print-published counterparts in format, look and feel because they were developed with by-now conventional website design in mind, SDk has been developed with the format, look and feel of a print magazine. Yet, being fully html-coded – indeed, pushing that technology to the limit – it also offers the full dynamism of the internet, especially in a complex system of internal linking, that flash sites cannot deliver.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Feet back on the ground. If your taste in culture leads you to shaded woodlands replete with nymphs and satyrs, an expanse that must be treated with respect lest an unmindful step finds you teetering on the edge of an unimagined place, then SomethingDark is here.</span> <span style="font-style: italic;">Or there’s McDonald’s.</span><br /><br />I've taken a look. The picture sums up the contents quite well - if you like tasteful erotic photography and writing this may be for you. The first issue includes, among other things, a feature devoted to the work of Scottish photographer ArtPunk and a long critical analysis of Robert Mapplethorpe. The website is beautifully done and very easy to use.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-30921388693314908102010-07-06T15:11:00.005+01:002010-07-06T16:47:12.132+01:00A creative solution to hospital fundingIn these days of enforced budget cuts and national austerity, any idea for raising additional cash for government departments is welcome. One intriguing possibility was raised by the Conservative MP for Portsmouth North, Penny Mordaunt, in a Commons debate yesterday on the allocation of departmental budgets. She questioned the principle that departments and public sector bodies should be able to supplement their income without losing taxpayer funding, and <a href="http://www.theyworkforyou.com/debates/?id=2010-07-05a.85.0&s=penny+mordaunt+segment%3A20880055#g103.0">had an unconventional example</a> to illustrate her point:<br /><blockquote><br />A second scenario might see a Department creating an income-generating activity that failed to deliver value for money or came at the expense of the statutory service that that Department was charged with carrying out. I will give the House a quick example from real life, not "Yes Minister", although it could well have been used for that. When I was a director of Kensington and Chelsea council, I discovered that one of our local hospitals was hiring out one of its closed, but fully equipped, wards to a film company to use as a film set. To add insult to injury, the movie was a pornographic one. Although I cannot claim to have seen the final picture, as I understand that these things are no longer claimable on parliamentary expenses, it was a big-budget affair and it generated substantial income for the hospital-but apart from cheering up a few of the in-patients, it could not be said to be contributing to the objectives of the primary care trust.</blockquote><br /><br />I don't really understand Ms Mordaunt's criticism. It doesn't appear that the "fully equipped" ward was needed for patient care, in which case it was lying idle and was a drain on resources. So its utilisation in another capacity strikes me as very much contributing to the objectives of the PCT - the money raised was presumably spent on better healthcare for patients. It sounds like an excellent idea, and it's nice to know that there is (or was) sufficient money in the British porn industry to make big-budget films and, indeed, to pay top price for the use of locations.<br /><br />There must be many opportunities for such creative use of resources. Perhaps it would create political controversy if under-used schoolrooms were hired out to makers of corporal punishment videos, but what of all our courtrooms or, for that matter, prisons? The Palace of Westminster itself - no stranger to sexual hi-jinks - would make an excellent venue. Indeed, one enterprising former Labour MP, <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/politics/5038632/MP-Nigel-Griffiths-faces-sleaze-inquiry-over-sex-shame.html">Nigel Griffiths</a>, starred in his own impromptu Commons set photostory last year (though was admittedly unaware that his antics were being recorded by the News of the World).<br /><br />Indeed, Government and the porn industry already have much in common: they're both based on screwing people for money, after all.<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJYrNv9NPxbVXxAJIdSHF7fa-RNMzQx6wDmcOqiQMYot3X-W1hxxGXW0OXQ-n7iOrQ9X_87yvgZZHPMIsfOMTkjL0PdbMcoEEyh8jBQ66pRz9AX6PVfNhhMWAysy2v4WM1ScSVFfvZ2Y/s1600/xtremedesires.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 218px; height: 320px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKJYrNv9NPxbVXxAJIdSHF7fa-RNMzQx6wDmcOqiQMYot3X-W1hxxGXW0OXQ-n7iOrQ9X_87yvgZZHPMIsfOMTkjL0PdbMcoEEyh8jBQ66pRz9AX6PVfNhhMWAysy2v4WM1ScSVFfvZ2Y/s320/xtremedesires.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5490796672269941794" border="0" /></a>But which was the hospital, and what was the film? According to the <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/england/london/10518917.stm">BBC report</a> (which quickly went viral) the incident referred to must have happened before the present health trust was formed in 2002. Nicholas Cecil of the <a href="http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/standard/article-23853101-big-budget-porn-movie-filmed-in-london-hospital.do">Standard</a>, moreover, has "established" that the location was St Charles Hospital in Ladbroke Grove. But I'm most indebted to "Paddy the Greek" commenting on the Standard article, who thinks that the film may have been Pirate Deluxe: Xtreme desires, directed by the pioneering female pornographer (and fetish specialist) Tanya Hyde. It was originally produced in 1998, which fits. I've no proof, but I did find the following synopsis of the production, which starred Monique Covet, Silvia Saint and Laura Angel:<br /><blockquote><br />Already an icon on the busy British fetish scene, newly acquired Tanya Hyde proved a timely shot in the arm for the Private porn emporium with this inaugural effort for their Pirate Deluxe line.... The first of several high voltage fetish features Hyde bestowed upon the company before she took wing with her own Harmony Concepts label, XTREME DESIRES provides half a dozen vignettes of varying intensity, albeit usually on the high end of the scales, highlighted by the director's imagination and ingenuity, which in turn seems to have inspired the female cast to perform well above and beyond the call of duty....<br /><br />"Doctors" finds beautiful bespectacled nurse Silvia Saint pleasuring patient Laura Angel, in stir-ups for easy access, until medics Kevin Long and Tony De Sergio (the notorious British bisexual performer billed as "Jay Alexander" on gay projects) join in the fun.... Revisiting medical territory, "Nurses" has French John B. Root discovery Fovéa and the returning Mona resplendent in latex nun's habits, exchanging less than pious glances over supine patient Frank Major's bandaged physique, then draining his vital fluids with doc Mike Foster providing an additional appendage before death bells solemnly and irrevocably ring out. </blockquote><br /><br />I've omitted descriptions of the non-hospital related scenes, but the full information can be found <a href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0309084/">here</a>. And here's the rather explicit <a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBQrw2QwDzHtdh2V-mWnzRNWZWoNg_PBzrVT11oeSTFiLRs2mFLKdlppo-iJbJEPZhJvd0gbw7Fmg8kqK2ZhEJKRJzNaflGOgv95VCgsGkSjJ7CS3xhX3yeVDvtjXDJjjeeul9OcETVXo/s1600/xtreme-desires.jpg">back-cover photo</a>. You have been warned.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-18617957414516000742010-06-08T18:17:00.005+01:002010-06-08T18:32:47.197+01:00Face the truth about pornFollowing on from <a href="http://heresycorner.blogspot.com/2010/06/teenage-kicks.html">today's Heresy Corner article</a> on the impact of ubiquitous hardcore porn on the nation's children and teenagers, I'd like to share with you a little talk by Cindy Gallop, delivered at the free-thinking but ever-so-slightly cultish TED.<br /><br />Drawing on her personal experience with younger lovers (she cheerfully admits her cougarish proclivities) Cindy tackled a standard pornographic cliché: "My concern is particularly with the young girl whose boyfriend wants to come on her face. She does not want him to come on her face, but hardcore porn has taught her that all men love coming on women's faces, all women love having their faces come on, and therefore that she must let him come on her face, and she must pretend to like it."<br /><br /><object height="374" width="524"> <param name="movie" value="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf"> <param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"> <param name="wmode" value="transparent"> <param name="bgColor" value="#ffffff"> <param name="flashvars" value="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/CindyGallop_2009-high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/CindyGallop-2009.embed_thumbnail.jpg &vw=432&vh=240&ap=0"> <embed src="http://video.ted.com/assets/player/swf/EmbedPlayer.swf" pluginspace="http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" bgcolor="#ffffff" allowfullscreen="true" flashvars="vu=http://video.ted.com/talks/dynamic/CindyGallop_2009-high.flv&su=http://images.ted.com/images/ted/tedindex/embed-posters/CindyGallop-2009.embed_thumbnail.jpg &vw=432&vh=240&ap=0" height="374" width="524"></embed> </object><br /><br />That sounds plausible enough. But I can offer an equal and opposite experience. A close friend (all right, it was me) was once in bed with a woman and enquired what turned her on, sexually speaking. She replied that she liked it when men came on her face. "Surely not," I protested. "Men only come on women's faces in porn." My theory, I continued - I talk more or less how I blog, I'm afraid - was that the whole coming on women's faces thing was an invention of the porn industry, serving the practical function of externalising the act of ejaculation. I believe I actually used the verb "externalise". And now (by this time I was channelling Cindy Gallop) young girls habituated to porn pretended to like it when their boyfriends (who, equally cluelessly, got the idea from porn that coming on the girl's face was just something they were meant to do).<br /><br />"Oh no", said my companion, who was no ingenue and, like me, remembered the days before internet porn, "I like it when men come on my face." "Not really my thing," I lamented.<br /><br />Needless to say, the relationship was doomed.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-43022708335230816162010-05-02T19:01:00.029+01:002010-05-03T09:06:24.228+01:00A night of wild sexual abandon<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eHTkx2dJ3YfyQ8ctGtOIYPI7z17xO4KqYRxPBYAONhontAeKRQj3xiTqKsdwdXWlKkACax_4dEo7l_yfsRpvFp21wDOFlXZ5ARfTT_QvKFhO4_dBZoDpUXtYpdPzLOnYdTXf1cjMe6s/s1600/senses.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 283px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6eHTkx2dJ3YfyQ8ctGtOIYPI7z17xO4KqYRxPBYAONhontAeKRQj3xiTqKsdwdXWlKkACax_4dEo7l_yfsRpvFp21wDOFlXZ5ARfTT_QvKFhO4_dBZoDpUXtYpdPzLOnYdTXf1cjMe6s/s320/senses.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5466736308857213922" border="0" /></a>I attended my first-ever orgy the other night. Well, sort of. The <a href="http://www.nightofthesenses.com/">Night of the Senses</a>, incorporating the <a href="http://www.erotic-awards.co.uk/">Erotic Awards</a>, is a long-running institution founded by pioneering activist Dr Tuppy Owens (she was the first, though not the last, pornographer-academic and now leads the Sexual Freedom Coalition, among other things). It pitches itself both at "seasoned sexual adventurers" and at those at an earlier stage in their sensual journey, serves as a showcase for erotic performers, raises money and, via the Awards, recognises artists, campaigners and sex-workers alike. It sounded quite fun. And knowing (at least virtually) some of the nominees I stunned myself by purchasing a last minute ticket. Friday evening found me at a club near London Bridge, heart in mouth, ready for whatever might be about to happen.<br /><br />The dress-code was flexible but seemingly unforgiving: anyone in civilian wear - or anything "plain, humdrum or unsexy" - would be invited to visit the "dressing up shoppe" or else leave, I read. Dressing up, said the programme, allows you to "float around in a haze instead of feeling invisible". Nudity was an option, though not for me. Cue frantic search through the wardrobe. I considered black tie - but would that be "different" enough to avoid a humiliating arrest by the style police? In the end I went with subfusc, enlivened by a slightly garish silk waistcoat I once wore at a student ball. The academic gown with its schoolroom connotations was at least mildly kinky.<br /><br />I needn't have worried. There were plenty of people less exotically dressed than I was, though there was no shortage of stereotypically kinky outfits and goth wear. One man came dressed as the Pope, which in present circumstances was perhaps the most outrageous costume of all. There were a few extravagant historical or fantasy creations. On the other hand, those partygoers who used the same outfitters as Hans Christian Andersen's emperor were in for a chilly night: the programme warned people against wearing too much, yet many of those I spoke to complained about the cold. My gown, meanwhile, garnered several compliments, including from a similarly clad gentleman who was running a spanking booth.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />The evening kicked off a little before nine with the famous Erotic Awards. The trophies - impressively large (at least I thought so) winged golden penises - were distributed to a selection of performers and activists in a ceremony that was at times fairly shambolic. <a href="http://www.drpetra.co.uk/blog/">Dr Petra Boynton</a>, winner of the blog prize, was unable to be present - much to my disappointment - but Anna Arrowsmith (aka Anna Span) famously representing the Lib Dems in Gravesham, did step forward to accept her trophy as politician of the year. Her moment of glory came only after an embarrassing kefuffle when the compere forgot to announce the category and declared the end of the awards.<br /><br />Of course Arrowsmith is a hero to the sex industry, both as a pornographer and now as a public face, but I did wonder if she was strictly eligible, given that she is only potentially a politician. Perhaps she won it for agreeing to turn up. Another Liberal Democrat, Chris Huhne, had been suggested for the honour but (mindful, perhaps, of the shape of the trophy) had declined to be nominated. Even so, with the party's MEP Chris Davies the only other nominee it was clear where the organisers' political sympathies lay. That's not so surprising. Conservatives tend to veer inconsistently between libertarianism and moral puritanism - remember "back to basics"? - while pro-gay rights and feminist Labour has introduced a plethora of authoritarian laws against prosititution and extreme porn. As Ewan Morrison puts it in an article for Erotic Review - handed out free to departing guests - "no matter how much it tries to disguise the fact with its talk of liberties, the Left is about normalising standards for all and enforcing them."<br /><br />Other winners included two longstanding internet buddies of the Heresiarch's, the writer Jane Fae (formerly John Ozimek, and still looking more like a John than a Jane, alas) and the campaigner Clair Lewis. It was nice finally to meet them, if only briefly in Clair's case: her evening ended on a sour note when the organisers neglected to offer her a wheelchair-accessible platform from which to say a few words about the work of her pressure group <a href="http://www.caan.org.uk/">CAAN</a>. She left soon afterwards, and has since declared the whole ceremony to be a sham and the compere "very rude". Given that Night of the Senses prides itself on its acccessibility to disabled people, and raises money for a charity that aims to improve the personal and sexual opportunities available to the disabled, Clair's experience is at least somewhat embarrassing. She now dismisses Tuppy Owens' charity as "an archaic organisation which is too busy patronising disabled people to let us join in on an equal basis."<br /><br />After that unpromising start to the evening the cabaret began, a pleasingly varied succession of burlesque acts. There was blind woman talking while draped in a red sheet, a munchkin who polished a blow-up doll before taking her clothes off (hilarious but also a little bit scary), a Spanish poet who recited a rubbishy poem while removing his clothes and a much better one stark naked, a woman wearing a kimono and rope bondage who almost started a fire while attempting to light a paper lantern - and my personal favourite, a cross-dressing male stripper styled Major Suttle-Teese, part top-hatted toff, part vamp.<br /><br />Then it was party time.<br /><br />It wasn't quite the full-blown orgy I had been nervously anticipating. Indeed, I spent much of the time managing to avoid thinking about, talking about, and certainly having, sex. Perhaps that says more about me, but others I spoke to also complained that there was too much conversation and not enough action. The venue was plastered with notices demanding guests behave with appropriate respect and threatening transgressors with summary expulsion - not an unreasonable sentiment, of course, but the assumption that it needed to be said at all lent the party an unfortunate whiff of the nanny state. Equally counter-intuitive was the woman offering "non-sexual hugs". Non-sexual hugs have their place, of course - many, perhaps most, of the finest hugs have no sexual component - but as a Ukrainian-American artist I got chatting to pointed out, that place is surely not at an anything-goes sex party. There was a dungeon, but when I put my head round the door it was populated by people sitting around drinking while the implements of torture stayed forlornly underused.<br /><br />Needless to say, there was sex to be had, some of it presumably in the Room of Riotous Pleasures ("specially designed for women to live out their fantasies of enjoying anonymous sex with a succession of men"). I couldn't find it. I did notice the "frantically busy" Dark Room, which was reputed to contain people randomly having sex in the dark (though I didn't go in to find out). But nanny had insinuated herself even there. "Be respectful to others," cautioned a programme note, "No pushing or shoving, ask before joining in, ask before putting fingers anywhere." There was also a Grope Box, apparently a Night of the Senses institution, which you went in to be groped by unseeing arms. Whenever I walked past it seemed to be occupied by a woman, the groping hands almost entirely male. Maybe this is significant, maybe not.<br /><br />The only actual sex I witnessed all evening was in a tastefully decorated boudoir dubbed the "Sensuality Chamber". Participants were accompanied by musicians, while peep holes provided glimpses of the goings-on. I spotted one voyeur masturbating enthusiastically at the sight, but he was an exception.<br /><br />Much more to my taste was the Salon of the Five Senses, in which I was blindfolded, tickled, massaged, fed strawberries, enticed by all the perfumes of Arabia and lulled by gentle bells. Blissful. Given that sight was excluded, Salon of the Four Senses might have been more appropriate - unless, of course, an extra "sexual sense" had been identifed. I had kept my trousers on (I know, I know) so was not in the best position to find out. Waiting for my turn in a long but comfortable queue I found myself sitting next to a man sporting what turned out to be a Ukrainian floral headdress. (It belonged to his female companion, the American-born artist mentioned above. She was quite interesting. One of her projects, I learned, explored the practicalities of snogging in zero-gravity conditions. I subsequently discovered that she was staying at a charming boutique hotel near Paddington.) The woman on my left commented that he looked "baroque". "Like something out of Caravaggio", I suggested, thinking of the celebrated portrait of Bacchus. It turned out that she was an art historian.<br /><br />That sort of thing happened to me a lot. Later I found myself talking to Dr Antony Lempert, founder of the <a href="http://www.secularmedicalforum.org.uk/">Secular Medical Forum</a> and Golden Penis laureate in the academic category. We discussed the Pope, the insidious spread of faith schools, the brilliance of Lord Justice Laws' recent judgement in the McFarlane case, the religious strangehold on hospital counselling services (in the guise of denominational chaplaincies) and his own idée fixe, the iniquity of male circumcision, which appears to him to contravene the Offences Against the Person Act. Fascinating, but in the circumstances more than a bit surreal.<br /><br />Though perhaps not quite so surreal as what I saw next, back in the cabaret lounge, where renowned artiste Mouse was putting on a jaw-dropping show loosely based on the story of Goldilocks. Mouse used considerable dramatic licence. There there was only one bear, for example, and I don't remember the part of the nursery tale where the heroine inserts fireworks into every available bodily orifice, or lights a birthday cake using a candle held with impressive firmness in her vagina. And then sits on it. Nor was I psychologically prepared for the woman in the blonde wig's demonstration of her ability to absorb and then spew out copious amounts of liquid. I was thankful to be standing at the back.<br /><br />It was the most extreme thing I have ever seen or am ever likely to see. After that, anything could only be an anticlimax (even the climaxes being offered to patrons of the Climax Clinic). In any case, I was wilting. It was an all-nighter, and I hadn't had much sleep the night before - the anticipation, you see. Plus a tummy ache. I crashed out in the cabaret room, almost oblivious to the hardcore porn being projected onto the big screen or the gyrations of an amateur pole-dancer who had come to the party with a much older man. Four O'clock found me sitting at a table with Jane Fae and my new artist friend, discussing the minutiae of East European geography, Jane's <a href="http://janefae.wordpress.com/2010/04/23/npower-discrimination/">problems with nPower</a> and the balance of subject matter at Heresy Corner. And that, I thought, was that.<br /><br />I was wrong, but that's a whole different story.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-63517246103806412502010-03-27T17:16:00.005+00:002010-03-27T17:34:24.846+00:00Recognise these people?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Fr3eipEoJq3gW00THDKqlwyLePn1CQxfXWug-zPHZhewrdN-yolocq9rp8HGBpW2YtMLBTv_l8z8orbEVOglujlm0UdYO-SaKXApj2KE6ErUQapzOkGe_tvNbTvtvBKLPqoXeEi9XHU/s1600/westboro.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 460px; height: 278px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg_Fr3eipEoJq3gW00THDKqlwyLePn1CQxfXWug-zPHZhewrdN-yolocq9rp8HGBpW2YtMLBTv_l8z8orbEVOglujlm0UdYO-SaKXApj2KE6ErUQapzOkGe_tvNbTvtvBKLPqoXeEi9XHU/s400/westboro.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5453364550415179746" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Yes, it's the Westboro Baptist Church, Christianity's answer to Anjem Choudary's boys. This time they might even be said to have a point.<br /><br />I notice that the minuscule church - whose leaders were banned from Britain last year by the much-missed Jacqui Smith - have set up a subsidiary <a href="http://www.priestsrapeboys.com/inthenews.html">website</a> dedicated to gleefully recording the unfolding scandal in the Roman Catholic Church. They have a charming message for the Pope:<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Praise God’s righteous work! He alone brings to pass events to fulfill his word. What an amazing/wondrous work of God! Hundreds of years those raping perverts have preyed upon helpless creatures. God made your children bear the burden of your filthy deeds, keeping the matter under the radar. Now, he’s causing the world to hate your guts, fulfilling his word, to wit: </span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And the [nations]…shall hate the whore, and shall make her desolate and naked, and shall eat her flesh, and burn her with fire. For God hath put in their hearts to fulfil his will, and to agree, and give their kingdom unto the beast, until the words of God shall be fulfilled. (Rev. 17:16-17.)</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Lying Whore False Prophet Benedict winked at the abominable conduct of those raping priests. He knew full well of the depths of their depravity, that God had given them over to reprobate minds and vile affections - and he decided to give them more little children to molest. The leader of the catholic church helps so-called religious figures get away with rape. The Pope hates children & so does any parent that would subject them to those catholic monsters.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">Proverbs 6:12 ¶ A naughty person, a wicked man, walketh with a froward mouth.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">13 He winketh with his eyes, he speaketh with his feet, he teacheth with his fingers;</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">14 Frowardness is in his heart, he deviseth mischief continually; he soweth discord.</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">15 Therefore shall his calamity come suddenly; suddenly shall he be broken without remedy.</span><br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">You have spit in God Almighty's face for too long! Your doom is coming & your destruction is imminent!</span><br /><br />It's phrased rather differently from a Guardian editorial, but underneath the sentiment is not altogether dissimilar.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-73398549602060160182010-02-14T16:09:00.007+00:002010-02-14T16:54:53.907+00:00New light on "60's sex-ed mystery"<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEpAxcWeisIK-tfMjpaOUXxxnnl1yj91WPEvVA-JtFZm1dpB8mFRE_mKZ9_ln-jB4ZsIhT_BHVufMehcMopix05-MUcZgi7MPltvjsi7VYR_UGHBBfzF-OT1qtUl6iy770YKKi0rkER4/s1600-h/sex-ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img style="width: 441px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEpAxcWeisIK-tfMjpaOUXxxnnl1yj91WPEvVA-JtFZm1dpB8mFRE_mKZ9_ln-jB4ZsIhT_BHVufMehcMopix05-MUcZgi7MPltvjsi7VYR_UGHBBfzF-OT1qtUl6iy770YKKi0rkER4/s400/sex-ed.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br /><br />Like many proper viruses, viral emails have a tendency to lay low for long periods of time, briefly breaking out in epidemics before disappearing again. The supposed sex-advice I covered in the <a href="http://heresydungeon.blogspot.com/2010/02/good-advice.html">last post</a> is a case in point. Over the past few years, it has broken cover several times. The earliest outbreak I could trace was in 2003, though doubtless there were earlier instances. As I discussed, the extract derives from an elaboration of an earlier spoof entitled "The Good Wife", purportedly from a 1950s housekeeping magazine but more likely dating from the late 1980s.<br /><br />So what caused this latest outbreak, which centres around what looks like a scrunched-up photocopy? While the printed original remains elusive, I've found what might be a clue from a <a href="http://www.southwalesargus.co.uk/news/staffblogs/mariawilliams/4662036.The_joy_of_sex_education__Sixties_style/">blog entry</a> by Maria Williams, a journalist with the South Wales Argus, dated 5th October 2009. She writes as follows:<br /><blockquote><br />IT'S been a thoroughly depressing week on many fronts... So I was cheered when a colleague brought in an item one of his relatives had been given at a retirement seminar to show just how far our society has come in the past 40 years.<br /><br />It was an extract from a 1960s sex education textbook for girls, written by a woman - and I shall share it with you in a bid to brighten your day. </blockquote><br />Is the South Wales Argus the source of this latest infection?<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Ms Williams also has this to say:<br /><blockquote><br />How the world has changed - perhaps a little too far now that tweenie magazines have advice on sexual positions and how to get and keep your boy using management techniques.<br /><br />But is does put me in mind of that great quote by the American humourist P.J. O'Rourke: "If anyone ever tells you that things were better in the good old days, just say the word dentistry." </blockquote><br /><br />As sex law expert Chris Ashford <a href="http://lawandsexuality.blogspot.com/2010/02/sex-education-60s-style.html">notes</a>, hoaxes like this are doubly revealing: of our views about the past, and of our present attitudes and ideas. We are encouraged to smile at the supposed naivety or antediluvian attitudes of our predecessors, but at the same time pause for thought at the implied contrast with today's sexual free-for-all. What Williams' "dentistry" remarks shows, however, is that the piece ultimately affirms contemporary mores by casting the past as a place of rampant sexism and sexual misery.<br /><br />It may not be entirely coincidental that the "advice" has re-emerged at a time when traditional views of marriage have once again become politically contentious. The subject is certainly "in the air" - witness the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/religion/7221802/Vicar-tells-women-to-submit-to-husbands.html">news story</a> about the Rev Mark Oden's instruction to the women in his congregation to submit to their husbands. Though I don't think Oden was just talking about sex.<br /><br />No doubt I'm reading far too much into what is just a bit of harmless fun.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-86673667117988407892010-02-11T17:35:00.024+00:002010-02-19T10:18:53.428+00:00Cautionary advice to young ladies - and Internet usersI found this bizarre photocopy - posted <a href="http://twitpic.com/12k9z6">here</a> - via someone's Twitter feed earlier today. Stu Kennedy, who put it up, tells me that it was forward to his brother at work as part of a circulatory email.<br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEpAxcWeisIK-tfMjpaOUXxxnnl1yj91WPEvVA-JtFZm1dpB8mFRE_mKZ9_ln-jB4ZsIhT_BHVufMehcMopix05-MUcZgi7MPltvjsi7VYR_UGHBBfzF-OT1qtUl6iy770YKKi0rkER4/s1600-h/sex-ed.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img style="width: 441px; height: 282px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBEpAxcWeisIK-tfMjpaOUXxxnnl1yj91WPEvVA-JtFZm1dpB8mFRE_mKZ9_ln-jB4ZsIhT_BHVufMehcMopix05-MUcZgi7MPltvjsi7VYR_UGHBBfzF-OT1qtUl6iy770YKKi0rkER4/s400/sex-ed.jpg" border="0" /></a></div><br />The text, which purports to be from "a sex education textbook for girls" from the 1960's", reads as follows:<br /><br /><blockquote>When retiring to the bedroom, prepare yourself for bed as promptly as possible. Whilst feminine hygiene is of the utmost importance, your tired husband does not want to queue for the bathroom, as he would have to do for his train, but remember to look your best when going to bed. Try to achieve a look that is welcoming without being obvious. If you need to apply face cream or hair rollers, wait until he is asleep before doing so, as it can be shocking for a man last thing at night. When it comes to the possibility of intimate relations with your husband, it is important to remember your marriage vows and in particular, your commitment to obey him.<br /><br />If he feels that he needs to sleep immediately afterwards, then so be it. In all things be led by your husband's wishes. Do not pressure him in any way to stimulate intimacy. Should your husband suggest congress, then, agree humbly all the while being mindful that a man's satisfaction is more important than a woman's. When he reaches his moment of fulfilment, a small moan from yourself is encouraging to him and quite sufficient to indicate any enjoyment that you may have had.<br /><br />Should your husband suggest any of the more unusual practices, be obedient and uncomplaining but register any reluctance by maintaining silence. It is likely that your husband will fall promptly asleep after relations have concluded, so once he is fast asleep, adjust your clothing, freshen up and apply your night-time face and hair care products.<br /><br />You may then set the alarm so that you can arise shortly before him in the morning. This will enable you to have his morning cup of tea ready when he awakes.</blockquote><br />A hoax, I presume. It certainly reads like one, though that hasn't stopped many people from taking it at face value. The "sex education" book isn't named in any of the online sources for the text. It is variously attributed to the early 60s, the 1950s, or specifically to 1963; several sources add the claim that it was "written by a woman" (although the author herself is never named). Almost all versions include the phrase "this is an actual extract". The earliest dated example I've tracked down online is from an old messageboard, August 2002.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />The page above, whose provenance I cannot trace, seems to be from a printed original. I can't confirm this; there are, however, other known printed versions. The same passage also occurs in "<a href="http://www.eurofem.net/info/Home%20Economics%20textbook.html">The Good Wife's Guide"</a>, supposedly taken from a Home Economics textbook (also from the Sixties) in which the sexual advice is tacked onto the end of more general comments about an ideal housewife.<br /><br />The first paragraphs of this read as follows:<br /><blockquote><br />Have dinner ready. Plan ahead, even the night before, to have a delicious meal ready on time for his return from work. This is a way of letting him know that you have been thinking about him and are concerned about his needs. Most men are hungry when they come home and the prospect of a good meal (especially his favourite dish) is part of the warm welcome needed.<br /><br />Prepare yourself. Take 15 minutes to rest so you will be refreshed when he arrives. Touch up your make-up, put a ribbon in your hair and be fresh looking. He has just been with a lot of work weary people. Be a little gay and a little more interesting for him. His boring day may need a lift and one of your duties is to provide it. Clear away the clutter. Make one last trip through the main part of the house just before your husband arrives.</blockquote><br />These same paragraphs also occur in a shorter piece with the same title, which claims to be from Housekeeping Monthly, 13 May, 1955.<br /><br /><br /><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLY2f8r4cFBpeHR8P0o9nzfxGrUQyLtraS41VbHHAsqSEuXh-xfp7EfbI8G70eQEUIlQO0lZEyTST3fpugQMrA1HBh0o-IVz4TjIjHL91ffZdHcJGFuZ_41-_pT6sz9X4G8TV5vu_WG4/s1600-h/goodwifeguide.gif" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img style="width: 441px; height: 285px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoLY2f8r4cFBpeHR8P0o9nzfxGrUQyLtraS41VbHHAsqSEuXh-xfp7EfbI8G70eQEUIlQO0lZEyTST3fpugQMrA1HBh0o-IVz4TjIjHL91ffZdHcJGFuZ_41-_pT6sz9X4G8TV5vu_WG4/s400/goodwifeguide.gif" border="0" /></a></div><br />This is how The Good Wife's Guide ends:<br /><br /><blockquote>Don't ask him questions about his actions or question his judgment or integrity. Remember, he is the master of the house and as such will always exercise his will with fairness and truthfulness. You have no right to question him.<br /><br />A good wife always knows her place. </blockquote><br />The longer Internet version omits the two sentences following "fairness and truthfulness". Instead, it continues like this:<br /><blockquote><br />Once he has had a chance to have his evening meal clear the dishes and wash up promptly. If your husband should offer to help decline his offer as he may feel obliged to repeat this offer and after a long working day he does not need the extra work.<br /><br />Encourage your husband to pursue his hobbies and interests and be supportive without seeming to encroach. If you have any little hobbies yourself try not to bore him speaking of these, as women's interests are often rather trivial compared to men's.<br /><br />At the end of the evening tidy the home ready for the morning and again think ahead to his breakfast needs. Your husband's breakfast is vital if he is to face the outside world in a positive fashion.<br /><br />Once you have both retired to the bedroom prepare yourself for bed as promptly as possible....</blockquote><br />There follows the sexual advice with which we began.<br /><br />According to Urban Legend site <a href="http://www.snopes.com/language/document/goodwife.asp">Snopes</a>, the magazine extract is a fabrication: it didn't surface until long after the text began circulating by email and is "clearly a mock-up". It is just possible that it dates from the 50s - presumably as a satire on contemporary images of the ideal housewife. On balance it's likely to be far more recent, however. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Good_Wife%27s_Guide">It is said</a> to have been circulating in faxed form since the 1980s.<br /><br />To sum up: the sex advice, purporting to be "an actual extract from a sex education textbook", began life as a hoax continuation of an original spoof article, itself likely to have been a hoax. But the style also owes something to another piece <a href="http://www.snopes.com/weddings/newlywed/advice.asp">dismissed</a> by Snopes, the hilarious <a href="http://www.squaredancecd.com/Bride/brides.htm">"Advice to Young Brides"</a> supposedly written in 1894 (though the repeated use of the word "sex" rather gives it away). The bride in that text, though, is imagined to be a young woman of rather more spirit than the submissive Stepford-style wife depicted in the passage allegedly from the 1960s. For example:<br /><blockquote><br />The wise bride will permit a maximum of two brief sexual experiences weekly during the first months of marriage. As time goes by she should make every effort to reduce this frequency.<br /><br />Feigned illness, sleepiness, and headaches are among the wife's best friends in this matter. Arguments, nagging, scolding, and bickering also prove very effective, if used in the late evening about an hour before the husband would normally commence his seduction.<br /><br />Clever wives are ever on the alert for new and better methods of denying and discouraging the amorous overtures of the husband. A good wife should expect to have reduced sexual contacts to once a week by the end of the first year of marriage and to once a month by the end of the fifth year of marriage.</blockquote><br />It's also rather kinky:<br /><blockquote><br />Most men are by nature rather perverted, and if given half a chance, would engage in quite a variety of the most revolting practices. These practices include, among others, performing the normal act in abnormal positions; mouthing the female body; and offering their own vile bodies to be mouthed in turn.</blockquote><br />A hoax, obviously. Yet according to <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Instruction_and_Advice_for_the_Young_Bride">Wikipedia</a>, while Advice to Young Brides "reads like a satire on the Victorian era" and is often assumed to be a spoof, it is actually genuine. At least, it is accepted as being so by the University of Washington, which published the piece in its bizarre entirety on its website in 1998. The <a href="http://depts.washington.edu/psy210/1894.html">URL</a> would seem to bear this out. Furthermore, it was the pamphlet's use in a UW course in human sexuality that year that led to its modern circulation on the Internet.<br /><br />Despite these undoubted facts, I remain sceptical. There are <a href="http://www.themediadesk.com/newfiles2/youngbride.htm">good reasons</a> for thinking it to be a hoax: neither the alleged writer (a suspiciously-named Ruth Smythers) nor the supposed publisher have left any trace in the records. In fact, the only evidence offered in the text's favour is its endorsement by the University of Washington. Academics have fallen for hoaxes often enough not to take this as decisive.<br /><br />And what of the piece with which we began? Some sources date it precisely to 1963, the year (according to Philip Larkin) in which "sexual intercourse began". A coincidence? The world it depicts probably never existed - unless Mad Men is a documentary.<br /><br />If anyone has any clue as to who actually wrote any of these pieces, and when, do please let me know.<br /><br /><a href="http://heresydungeon.blogspot.com/2010/02/new-light-on-60s-sex-ed-mystery.html">SEE UPDATE 14/2/2010</a><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com11tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-80031168390442268112009-09-30T22:48:00.008+01:002010-02-14T16:56:10.486+00:00Hunting PunterNetIn her speech to the Labour conference today, Harriet Harman <a href="http://www.labour.org.uk/harriet-harman-speech-conference">announced</a> a new, shocking development in the world of online vice:<br /><blockquote><br />And there is a very sinister development which we are determined to stop. You know trip advisor – a website where guests put their comments on line for others to see. There is now a website, like that, where pimps put women on sale for sex and then men who’ve had sex with them put their comments on line. It is ‘Punternet’ and fuels the demand for prostitutes. It is truly degrading and puts women at risk.<br /><br />Punternet has pages and pages of women for sale in London. But Punternet is based in California so I’ve raised it with the US Ambassador to London and I’ve called on California’s governor Arnie Schwarzenegger to close it down. Surely it can’t be too difficult for the Terminator to terminate Punternet and that’s what I am demanding that he does.<br /><br />And I’ve got news for him: if he doesn’t, I’ll be back.</blockquote><br /><br />Actually, according to its front-page PunterNet has been going for more than ten years. There are no pimps in sight - though women working in the sex trade are active in the site's forum pages. Several have left messages today mocking Harriet's hopelessly naive comments. There's a lively thread <a href="http://www.punternet.com/forum/showthread.php?t=22494">here</a>. One of the contributors points out that PunterNet is actually registered in Ohio! From what I've seen, PunterNet is, as its name implies, entirely client-driven. It's basically a modern version of <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2005/apr/11/books.booksnews">Harris's List of Covent Garden Ladies</a>, though rather less well-written.<br /><br />Alix Mortimer, now gloriously restored to blogging life, pulls Hattie to pieces <a href="http://fabulousblueporcupine.wordpress.com/2009/09/30/cruising-on-punterne/">here</a>.<br /><br />Also up on the site today was an open letter from the site's proprietor, who goes by the name of Galahad:<br /><br /><blockquote><br />Dear Mrs. Harman,<br /><br />I have a few points to make regarding your recent remarks regarding my website and your fantastic demand that the Governor of California close it down.<br /><br />Firstly, PunterNet is not violating any laws. If it were, then surely the many websites catering to the US prostitution scene (where sex for pay is almost completely illegal) would already have been closed down.<br /><br />In the USA, there is a concept called "freedom of speech" which is considered the most important personal right guaranteed by the Constitution. It exists specifically to prevent the sort of abuse of power that you are attempting. The Governor (indeed, even the President) has no authority with which to shut down a perfectly lawful enterprise such as PunterNet.<br /><br />PunterNet was not the first, and is certainly not the only, website in the UK with the same subject matter. Rather than creating the demand for commercial sex, sites like PunterNet are a response to that demand, which has existed since the dawn of mankind and certainly long before the advent of the Internet!<br /><br />One of the missions of PunterNet is education - to provide information and guidance in hopes that the commercial sex scene is limited to consenting adults and those who choose of their own free will to engage in it.<br /><br />If sites like this one did not exist, and if prostitution were outlawed, then it would effectively be handed to organised crime on a platter - just as happened with liquor during Prohibition. If, on the other hand, sex-work is recognised as a legitimate, honourable profession, then there will be no market for the criminal elements, and the truly despicable aspects of the scene such as sex slavery and trafficking will die out. Surely that is a far more desirable goal than driving it back underground where it will then consist only of criminals and victims?<br /><br />In closing, I would like to thank you for the huge influx of traffic to my website which your actions have caused. I am sure that the ladies who are a part of the PunterNet community thank you as well, as they will no doubt benefit financially from the many new clients who might otherwise never have found them.</blockquote><br />The last point is, of course, the most pertinent. In delivering her scoop about the existence of a ten-year old website, Harman has triggered a predictable Streisand effect. But she got her Terminator gag in, so she's probably happy.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-41614020412592665002009-09-30T20:02:00.001+01:002009-09-30T20:04:37.720+01:00Double standards<span class="fullpost">From the <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/sep/28/roman-polanski-arrest-switzerland">Agnes Poirier thread</a>:<br /><br /></span><div class="pluck-comment-body"> <p>A priest and Roman Polanski walk into a Hollywood bar.</p><p>The priest says to the bartender, "I just molested one of my altar boys." The bartender says, "Get out of my bar you creepy pervert before I call the police!" The priest leaves.</p><p>Roman Polanski says to the bartender, "Thirty years ago, I drugged and sodomized a 13-year-old girl." The bartender says, "Man, I loved Chinatown!"<br /></p><p>"Grant"<br /></p> </div><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-44311448954984105842009-09-07T17:16:00.003+01:002009-09-07T17:36:10.304+01:00Bad girls really bad<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Sg6bz5PzYRDog9Zz0xGnhlBrLnf3PZUFwvvKPjUVzhddizwid719UirDvB4UTIAgLpBI0xTMznx8b1oY63gJv7mg5Ehr0aQe13vbXkW3fde2lvqISxcICg2xmuWKXtX8_Te_pFMtjtk/s1600-h/ssluts4.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 436px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh1Sg6bz5PzYRDog9Zz0xGnhlBrLnf3PZUFwvvKPjUVzhddizwid719UirDvB4UTIAgLpBI0xTMznx8b1oY63gJv7mg5Ehr0aQe13vbXkW3fde2lvqISxcICg2xmuWKXtX8_Te_pFMtjtk/s400/ssluts4.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378760873440135058" border="0" /></a><br /><span class="fullpost">The Heresiarch's longer standing readers may remember the Satanic Sluts, a Gothicky softcore performance troupe briefly rescued from obscurity last October when one of their number featured in one of the year's most ridiculous scandals. That was the delectable Georgina Baillie, aka Voluptua, a granddaughter of actor Andrew Sachs and a one (or possibly two) time paramour of Russell Brand - I think she's the one in the middle. Ah, yes, <span style="font-style: italic;">those</span> Satanic Sluts.<br /><br />They've hardly been seen since, but apparently they're still going. A source spotted them on the bill at the <a href="http://www.darkmillsfestival.com/introduction.html">Dark Mills Festival</a> in SW19 on Saturday. Dark Mills describes itself as "the Premier celebration of the alternative scene in London, bringing together cabaret, burlesque, art, music and theatre from the Gothic scene". Apparently, Les Filles Sluts did not impress. They were"execrably bad", reports my source. "Describing them as 'burlesque' is paying them far too high a compliment. 'Cover themselves in stage blood and wriggle' seems to be the content of their act."<br /><br />Mind you, Russell Brand has never been renowned for being fussy.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-50632432029994791012009-09-06T19:16:00.005+01:002009-09-06T19:30:48.305+01:00The Face of Jaycee?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQQ2ufMjENChZToE71INdRNy44Uu7cSiM1Nm0MchkMpHJv9HQfIEG5NGlaIMBgreequrUkuvv_V4eJmrEEGQvFzbEj51uVF3J2ZWW5fjLGeHfMLVZn-ffAopxq0VlBdXsXfCyjl1N998/s1600-h/jaycee.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 197px; height: 299px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiuQQ2ufMjENChZToE71INdRNy44Uu7cSiM1Nm0MchkMpHJv9HQfIEG5NGlaIMBgreequrUkuvv_V4eJmrEEGQvFzbEj51uVF3J2ZWW5fjLGeHfMLVZn-ffAopxq0VlBdXsXfCyjl1N998/s320/jaycee.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378420290965323410" border="0" /></a>One of the strangest facts to emerge from the deeply weird (as well as horrifying) story of Jaycee Lee Dugard is that her deranged abductor Philip Garrido allowed her face to appear on some of his business cards. The Telegraph ran with the <a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/jaycee-lee-dugard/6123631/Jaycee-Lee-Dugard-put-her-picture-on-business-cards-as-cry-for-help.html">story</a> a few days ago, quoting one of Garrido's clients, Cheyvonne Molino: "Her picture was all over his business cards for the last 10 years". The paper speculated, bizarrely, that this may have been a "cry for help" on the kidnap victim's part.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/jaycee-lee-dugard/6143668/Jaycee-Lee-Dugard-Creepy-Phil-Garridos-tips-on-how-to-keep-your-children-safe.html">Today</a>, we learn that<br /><blockquote><br />The Sunday Telegraph was shown a card advertising the business that featured her in a glamorous pose, head resting on her hands, blonde hair falling across her made-up face.<br /><br />She looks just like a happy young woman, even an aspiring model. That she could have appeared so contented is another mystifying twist to a near-inexplicable story.<br /></blockquote><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bZNwjwm6XthybvHgpFahLhcVRG2hrWVv0WfVymBcSg39hqQTjcOpKuFIkCLHkTNJjN0Z7c8S_d1hFFOutKItN_lpI-tlwt2pLfAsECsp9cjRfj5i04vG-dad8dtpH9TTt6e2FMcXPCc/s1600-h/jaycee-bc.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0px; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 219px; height: 159px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh6bZNwjwm6XthybvHgpFahLhcVRG2hrWVv0WfVymBcSg39hqQTjcOpKuFIkCLHkTNJjN0Z7c8S_d1hFFOutKItN_lpI-tlwt2pLfAsECsp9cjRfj5i04vG-dad8dtpH9TTt6e2FMcXPCc/s400/jaycee-bc.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5378420761231664482" border="0" /></a>The cards, if genuine, must now be quite valuable collectors' items - though I couldn't, yet, find any available for sale. I did however track down what seems to be the picture described in the Telegraph report. It's hard to tell if it's the real thing. It certainly looks a lot like her last known childhood photo (above), but it's so blurred it's impossible to be sure. The hair and make up have rather an Eighties feel to them, though it must have been taken no more than ten years ago - but then Garrido did inhabit a time-warp of his own creation.<div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-44243139555372789492009-08-28T17:44:00.003+01:002009-08-28T17:59:01.537+01:00Total Fiddlesticks<span class="fullpost"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdRLIbztdU-6Sd6tmHaCCZcwkLDlKdI7rWV4n3IEVkf86WaN7S2KiYC5QKeScNF_d2xZl-CVfbk12Nb3vciOkONy8XWG2PIjD-MGLG7fQG0INe4MW8TupDDfHOY9HeC7ZS02Yw-Q9zYA/s1600-h/rightofcentre.png"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 178px; height: 75px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzdRLIbztdU-6Sd6tmHaCCZcwkLDlKdI7rWV4n3IEVkf86WaN7S2KiYC5QKeScNF_d2xZl-CVfbk12Nb3vciOkONy8XWG2PIjD-MGLG7fQG0INe4MW8TupDDfHOY9HeC7ZS02Yw-Q9zYA/s400/rightofcentre.png" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5375052069107388066" border="0" /></a><br />A day late, I discover that <a href="http://heresycorner.blogspot.com/">Heresy Corner</a> ranks at no 30 in the "<a href="http://www.totalpolitics.com/blogs/index.php/2009/08/27/top-100-right-of-centre-blogs">Right of Centre</a>" category of this year's Total Politics poll. That's a miserable 7 places higher than last year, when my average daily readership was less than a third of what it is today. From that I conclude that most readers didn't bother to vote for me. Pooh. (But if you did, a thousand thankyous.) I'm less popular than <a href="http://blog.dorries.org/Default.aspx">Nadine Dorries</a>. Or even <a href="http://www.boatangdemetriou.com/">Boatang and Demetriou</a>. How the hell did that happen?<br /><br />I demand a recount.<br /><br />I'm happy to congratulate my evident superiors, though, including <a href="http://leg-iron.livejournal.com/">Leg-Iron</a> and the <a href="http://www.lettersfromatory.com/">Epistolary Conservative</a>, who had a tremendous result at 14.<br /><br />I also take some consolation from the fact that I didn't debase myself this year by soliciting votes, and in any case Heresy Corner is not a committed, one-dimensional political blog like many others on the list. "Right of centre" is also by far the largest category, with 491 blogs in the <a href="http://www.totalpolitics.com/politicalblogs/">Total Politics database</a>. Annoyingly, if it had been placed in the libertarian category (which I think it qualifies for) it would have come in at more impressive-looking number nine.<br /><br />I note, by the way, that more than 2000 blogs are listed in the TP directory, while only around 1,500 people bothered to vote (or could think of ten blogs to vote for). I've had <span style="font-style: italic;">afternoons</span> with more hits than that. So the result is utterly meaningless, except in a willy-waving sort of way. The real result, the top 100, will be revealed in a couple of days time. I anticipate humiliation.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-5565414809224027872009-08-13T19:49:00.007+01:002010-02-14T16:56:10.486+00:00What Women WantThe <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/aug/13/women-erotica-sex-objects-magazine">hit topic</a> on Comment is Free today concerns an erotica/porn mag aimed at women called <a href="http://www.filamentmagazine.com/">Filament</a>. It has recently launched, or it will launch if it can find a printer. They started off with soft-focus shots of men in shorts - but it seems that in the course of their research they uncovered a desire for something a little more obvious, to wit, erections. The magazine's staff were more than happy to oblige - indeed, photographer guidelines have been issued which state, inter alia, that "if your model is keen, we encourage it", but encourages freelancers to "think creatively when photographing an erection". Some may find that easier than others.<br /><br />Unfortunately, they hit a snag: "the pervasive nervousness about depictions of aroused men". Nervousness among printers and distributors, that is. There was some concern about the Obscene Publications Act, and printers, citing potential objections from "the women's/religious sectors", didn't want to go anywhere near it. Kristina Lloyd and Mathilde Madden, writing on CIF, think that this attitude ("cockblocking") reveals "a deeply entrenched sexism: men can look at women but women cannot look at men". In a magnificent display of Guardian logic, they then go on to argue that while pictures of naked women aimed at a male audience are inherently sexist, pictures of naked men aimed at women aren't:<br /><blockquote><br />But there's nothing inherently sexist about depicting nudity. It's sexist when only women are deemed to signify the erotic; it's sexist when eroticised images of women are so normalised and widespread that women stand to be viewed first and foremost as sex objects – their value inextricably linked to their sexual desirability. The sexism is in the inequality.</blockquote><br /><br />Filament, by contrast is "challenging a culture that positions women as sex-products for men" - by, erm, positioning men as sex-products for women. This is far more positive, since it "is asking for women to be acknowledged as human beings who can look and lust just as men can." Otherwise, the "deficit" in penis (compared to nipple/vagina) depiction "positions women as the providers of sex for perpetually horny dudes." This leads on to a rather convoluted piece of political positioning, which rather misses the point of any sort of porn, which is to turn people on:<br /><blockquote><br />Perhaps what's most insidious in this saga is that the market's refusal to admit that Filament reinforces an idea of female sexuality that justifies that very refusal.</blockquote><br /><br />Come again? No, that sentence doesn't work, grammatically or otherwise.<br /><blockquote><br />The absence of visual erotica for women on shelves crammed with magazines where women are products for male consumers, reduces female desire to the less-interested counterpart of male desire.</blockquote><br /><br />Help!<br /><blockquote><br />And so, runs the self-fulfilling logic, of course women don't want magazines targeting their desire. Women don't have desire, see? They merely receive it. How do we know? Just check out those magazine shelves.</blockquote><br /><br />Oh, I see. I think. As an experiment it's worth doing. There's no reason in principle why women shouldn't be able to buy magazines featuring naked men, with or without erections., provided the same concession is accorded to men wanting to look at naked women. But I fail to see why it should be seen as some sort of moral crusade. Many feminists object to pornography on the grounds that it degrades and "objectifies" women. It certainly reduces its participants, male as well as female, to their sexual attributes, using them instrumentally to provoke sensations of arousal. Porn is exploitative, by its very nature: not because it exploits the women who appear in it (some of whom, it seems to me, are more exploited than others) but because it exploits the consumer. It takes a fact of nature - that sexual arousal (in the male) is a necessary precondition of successful coitus, which in turn is biologically driven - and turns it into a source of profit.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Is the woman (or the man) who is "objectified" in the name of porn degraded thereby? Only in a society which regards sexual allure as inherently demeaning, surely. Such would seem to be the underlying assumption of those opposed to porn on political as opposed to religious grounds. It's one thing to say that sex is crassly commercialised in the modern western world, and that this puts undue pressure on young women to dress or act in overtly sexy ways. But it's quite another to maintain that women who do act in this way, to the extent that they become strippers, glamour models, pornstars and the like, are debased by it. In a society that worships sex, such women ought to be objects of worship; and, indeed, the most successful "adult" performers become brands, selling not merely videos but sex-toys and other paraphernalia, signing autographs for the thousands of fans who queue up for a brief glimpse - in the flesh, as it were - of their fantasy object.<br /><br />Kristina Lloyd protests in a comment:<br /><blockquote><br />At the heart of all this seems to be a culture which says women don't want to be consumers of sex/porn/erotica because women don't lust, they are the objects of lust. </blockquote><br /><br />But are the women in porn seen merely as objects? On the contrary, they are usually depicted as active participants, getting a kick out of displaying their bodies, masturbating, actively enjoying the sexual acts taking place, reaching improbably explosive orgasms. They are not - except in some sub-genres - lying still and passively accepting what is being done to them. The main purpose of heterosexual porn marketed to men is to arouse men by the depiction of female pleasure. An unrealistic fantasy of female pleasure, no doubt, and one that flatters the male that he is a "stud" - and may mislead the viewer as to what women actually enjoy - but the payoff is nevertheless significant. The woman who is sexually uninhibited, unabashed, in control, demanding "more" - and getting it, and climaxing - is the star of the show. It is the male, with his obliging erection, who is the bit-part player. He isn't even strictly necessary, as the huge market in faux-lesbianism reveals. At most, he provides reassurance to the male viewer that women really enjoy heterosexual intercourse.<br /><br />Why should there be such emphasis on female pleasure if porn is inherently misogynistic and degrading? Why, if men hated women, would they want to fantasise about women having fun?<br /><br />But back to Filament. On their website, the editors set out what they see as the main imbalance in the erotic marketplace.<br /><blockquote><br />Representations of women’s bodies far outnumber representations of men’s bodies everywhere: from advertising to art. In erotic image in particular, representations of the male body specifically designed for women are almost non-existent.<br /><br />The common explanation for why women have sometimes seemed disinterested in images supposedly intended for them – the idea that "women are less visual" – has now been largely disproven by research. Research also shows that women prefer images of men designed quite differently to those usually marketed toward women. </blockquote><br /><br />Filament's big idea is "the female gaze" - cod-academic jargon for what women find attractive. To discover precisely what women did want in their naked men, the editors looked at both psychological research into female sexual tastes and the input of a panel of women who contributed their thoughts via LiveJournal (I notice that this year's most exciting young feminist, <a href="http://pennyred.blogspot.com/">Laurie Penny</a>, was one of those who took part). They determined that women tend to prefer men who were "not muscle-bound", had "more feminine faces" and adopted poses that showed "the subject's character and the environment he is in". Boy bands rather than hunks, then. However, the guidelines suggest that "if you’ve got a guy who is very muscular and you think, very hot, we’ll certainly consider your images".<br /><br />The advice for photographers is extremely detailed - and thus informative as to what they think women want to look at. It counsels photographers against using body-oil, instead suggesting a “flushed and sweaty” look that might be achieved by "having your model run up and down the stairs a few times before you photograph them." It urges them to shoot in interesting, beautiful and/or recognisable environments where it would be reasonably believable that a sexual encounter might take place - which apparently does not include "places like kitchens, the outdoors, plain studio backgrounds or hotel rooms". Facial expression should "convey eroticism" without being "angry or arrogant", and could include "vulnerability", but not "pictures of men looking hurt or abused". They don't want pictures of men cross-dressing, holding babies ("just inappropriate") or doing housework.<br /><br />What is most striking about Filament's website is its overwhelming, almost oppressive, air of moral seriousness. This is porn with a purpose. It might be thought that satisfying a demand among women to see naked men was enough on its own, but no. Under "What inspired the concept of Filament?" we learn that:<br /><blockquote><br />Women are 10 times more likely than men to undergo cosmetic surgery and 43 times more likely than men to suffer an eating disorder. Is this because women are ‘naturally’ life-threateningly obsessed with their appearance, or is this in some way influenced by women’s media? Many men’s magazines don’t discuss men’s appearance, but nearly all women’s magazines discuss women’s appearance.</blockquote><br /><br />Difficult to see how a few tastefully photographed stiffies will put an end to all that.<br /><br />UPDATE: Ms Penny explains her involvement with Filament in more detail <a href="http://pennyred.blogspot.com/2009/08/what-women-want.html">here</a>. Similarity of title might or might not be a coincidence.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-81633708967489703722009-07-29T11:04:00.002+01:002009-07-29T11:27:03.921+01:00Beware the Spinal Trap<span style="font-weight: bold;">Simon Singh's allegedly libellous article<br />Originally from The Guardian, Saturday April 19 2008</span><br /><br />(DISCLAIMER: I publish this as a gesture of solidarity, and for information purposes, only. The words complained of are in italics. The British Chiropractic Association successfully argued before Mr Justice Eady that the phrase "happily promotes bogus treatments" amounted to an accusation of knowing fraudulence on their part. Singh continues to deny this.)<br /><br />This is Chiropractic Awareness Week. So let's be aware. How about some awareness that may prevent harm and help you make truly informed choices? First, you might be surprised to know that the founder of chiropractic therapy, Daniel David Palmer, wrote that, "99% of all diseases are caused by displaced vertebrae". In the 1860s, Palmer began to develop his theory that the spine was involved in almost every illness because the spinal cord connects the brain to the rest of the body. Therefore any misalignment could cause a problem in distant parts of the body.<br /><br />In fact, Palmer's first chiropractic intervention supposedly cured a man who had been profoundly deaf for 17 years. His second treatment was equally strange, because he claimed that he treated a patient with heart trouble by correcting a displaced vertebra.<br /><br />You might think that modern chiropractors restrict themselves to treating back problems, but in fact they still possess some quite wacky ideas. The fundamentalists argue that they can cure anything. And even the more moderate chiropractors have ideas above their station. <span style="font-style: italic; font-weight: bold;">The British Chiropractic Association claims that their members can help treat children with colic, sleeping and feeding problems, frequent ear infections, asthma and prolonged crying, even though there is not a jot of evidence. This organisation is the respectable face of the chiropractic profession and yet it happily promotes bogus treatments.</span><br /><span id="fullpost"><br />I can confidently label these treatments as <span style="font-style:italic;">bogus</span> because I have co-authored a book about alternative medicine with the world's first professor of complementary medicine, Edzard Ernst. He learned chiropractic techniques himself and used them as a doctor. This is when he began to see the need for some critical evaluation. Among other projects, he examined the evidence from 70 trials exploring the benefits of chiropractic therapy in conditions unrelated to the back. He found no evidence to suggest that chiropractors could treat any such conditions.<br /><br />But what about chiropractic in the context of treating back problems? Manipulating the spine can cure some problems, but results are mixed. To be fair, conventional approaches, such as physiotherapy, also struggle to treat back problems with any consistency. Nevertheless, conventional therapy is still preferable because of the serious dangers associated with chiropractic.<br /><br />In 2001, a systematic review of five studies revealed that roughly half of all chiropractic patients experience temporary adverse effects, such as pain, numbness, stiffness, dizziness and headaches. These are relatively minor effects, but the frequency is very high, and this has to be weighed against the limited benefit offered by chiropractors.<br /><br />More worryingly, the hallmark technique of the chiropractor, known as high-velocity, low-amplitude thrust, carries much more significant risks. This involves pushing joints beyond their natural range of motion by applying a short, sharp force. Although this is a safe procedure for most patients, others can suffer dislocations and fractures.<br /><br />Worse still, manipulation of the neck can damage the vertebral arteries, which supply blood to the brain. So-called vertebral dissection can ultimately cut off the blood supply, which in turn can lead to a stroke and even death. Because there is usually a delay between the vertebral dissection and the blockage of blood to the brain, the link between chiropractic and strokes went unnoticed for many years. Recently, however, it has been possible to identify cases where spinal manipulation has certainly been the cause of vertebral dissection.<br /><br />Laurie Mathiason was a 20-year-old Canadian waitress who visited a chiropractor 21 times between 1997 and 1998 to relieve her low-back pain. On her penultimate visit she complained of stiffness in her neck. That evening she began dropping plates at the restaurant, so she returned to the chiropractor. As the chiropractor manipulated her neck, Mathiason began to cry, her eyes started to roll, she foamed at the mouth and her body began to convulse. She was rushed to hospital, slipped into a coma and died three days later. At the inquest, the coroner declared: "Laurie died of a ruptured vertebral artery, which occurred in association with a chiropractic manipulation of the neck."<br /><br />This case is not unique. In Canada alone there have been several other women who have died after receiving chiropractic therapy, and Professor Ernst has identified about 700 cases of serious complications among the medical literature. This should be a major concern for health officials, particularly as under-reporting will mean that the actual number of cases is much higher.<br /><br />Bearing all of this in mind, I will leave you with one message for Chiropractic Awareness Week - if spinal manipulation were a drug with such serious adverse effects and so little demonstrable benefit, then it would almost certainly have been taken off the market.<br /><br />· Simon Singh is the co-author of <span style="font-style: italic;">Trick or Treatment? Alternative Medicine on Trial</span><br /><a href="http://www.simonsingh.net/">www.simonsingh.net</a><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-55753034274552745802009-05-03T11:48:00.017+01:002010-02-14T16:56:10.487+00:00Mistress of ReinventionIt's a year since the Heresiarch first became intrigued by the goings-on of Max Mosley and his friends in Chelsea. For those directly involved, it has been quite a year - especially for Mosley himself who not only won his legal action and reasserted his control over the FIA but has turned himself into a scourge of tabloid journalism. His ongoing feud with Paul Dacre may well lead to permanent changes in the way in which newspapers operate in this country, for good or ill.<br /><br />For his nemesis, the Milton Keynes-based dominatrix known officially as Woman E, who filmed the private spanking party (inaccurately described as a "Nazi orgy") at the behest of NoW's Neville Thurlbeck, the fallout from the affair has been less happy. Her husband lost his job with MI5, the Screws diddled her out of some of the money they had promised, she was shunned as a traitor by many former colleagues, barred from clubs and placed on blacklists. She was reduced to begging forgiveness in a cringe-making Sky Television interview - in which she was revealed as a very ordinary-looking housewife called "Michelle" - and selling her story to Dacre's Mail on Sunday.<br /><br />It seemed to be all over for her. But, as the Heresiarch can exclusively reveal, the dominatrix formerly known as Abi is now getting back into the mistressing business. She has a new name, a new website, and even a new costume which an untutored eye might think incorporates elements of Nazi chic.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAthlALIWgk-zOh_UGgmnNa0T6EhHTEShSr_dViOS21m1ZS-h7XrTmPwIMFwlsdDBNSICMU5_Lc-l3He0r99ToznZa9_p8w0s_lOnmjhv4Mi752DWc9qKHbz346gIDqw0-zNKDDB6Pnhc/s1600-h/mk_032.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 274px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAthlALIWgk-zOh_UGgmnNa0T6EhHTEShSr_dViOS21m1ZS-h7XrTmPwIMFwlsdDBNSICMU5_Lc-l3He0r99ToznZa9_p8w0s_lOnmjhv4Mi752DWc9qKHbz346gIDqw0-zNKDDB6Pnhc/s400/mk_032.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5331548455099247378" border="0" /></a><br /><br />In her new site, illustrated with pictures both of her facilities and of herself in a number of poses, she introduces herself as "Mistress Kiera, supreme Dominatrix and Goddess". "I am a tall, beautiful, sensual and sadistic Dominatrix with many years of experience," she proclaims. "I have a commanding presence and I am always dressed in the finest rubber, leather and fetish clothing." But although she might "seem an unattainable goddess", she reassures her potential clients that she is "approachable" and will "consider most requests". Including, no doubt, those from journalists.<br /><br />Kiera offers "high class BDSM and fetish services from my fully equipped chambers in Buckinghamshire". (Always fully-equipped, these dungeons. When did you last hear of a "semi-equipped dungeon"?) The range of her services is as extensive as ever, ranging from "anal training" and "foot worship" to "light to severe nipple torture" and "shaving". Wasn't that one of Max's special requests?<br /><br />Not without reason, given last year's events, Kiera would appear to be especially proud of her expertise in blackmail. She boasts:<br /><blockquote><br />I run a number of blackmail and financial schemes including; taxation, extortion, contractual control, photo and personal details blackmail. Each scheme is tailored to individual requirements and a bespoke contract will be drawn up between us by my legal slave. Because of timewasters you will be expected to prove you are genuine by either visiting me for a session or pay an upfront fee to cover the set up costs (contracts etc) before any scheme can start.</blockquote><br /><br />She must regret not following these rules when negotiating with Mr Thurlbeck.<br /><br />Given the animosity towards her in the tight-knit world of bondage and whipping, it might be expected that she would be desperate for any custom that came her way. But apparently she can still afford to be choosy. She writes:<br /><blockquote><br />Personal hygiene is extremely important to me and I expect the same from clients. Anyone arriving for a session who is lacking in this area will be turned away. Also anyone who in my opinion is under the influence of alcohol or drugs will be turned away. My chambers are situated within a private house and are extremely discreet. I expect the same level of discretion from all clients in return. Anyone who fails to arrive for an appointment without having the courtesy to cancel will be banned from ever visiting me again. Likewise all other timewasters will have their phone and email details submitted to 'timewasters' websites and to fellow Mistresses.</blockquote><br /><br />As to who those fellow mistresses might be, we are given no clues. Presumably they don't include the celebrated Mistress Switch, her former best friend turned sworn enemy, who has been warning her contacts and anyone else who cares to listen of the prospect of Woman E's re-entry onto the scene for several months now. On an online forum, La Switch has repeatedly calumniated her traducer as "thick" and "a liar" who "has no loyalty to anyone except herself". "Leopards don't change their spots", she believes. She complains that:<br /><blockquote><br />This bitch is playing the sympathy angle, I hear what untrue stories she is putting about. I'm sure she'll be deluding herself and not facing facts. Too scared to look at herself and see what she did. All you have to remember is SHE (not her husband, not the newspaper) walked into a flat wired and betrayed a client and her friends for money. Who would do such a thing?</blockquote><br /><br />Who indeed? Clearly, for Mistress Switch, the anger is still very raw against a woman who "went against everything that is fundmental to a PD/client relationship, discretion and trust". She was "blinded by the pound signs" says Switch, who isn't above issuing the odd predictive curse:<br /><blockquote><br />I believe in karma. Years ago a neighbour caused our family unnecessary nasty aggravation. My husband said at the time that she was evil to the core. 2 years later she died of bone cancer.</blockquote><br /><br />Another mistress joins in, expressing doubt that Kiera's new venture will prove successful. "Even the watersports enthusiasts wouldn't piss on her if she was on fire!" But this lady intuits that there might be something more to the story:<br /><blockquote><br />Is she hoping that this will hit the tabloids and get her some more lucrative column inches, a contract with Max sodding Clifford, and perhaps a new job on the telly where she's wheeled out to make a comment on every future scandal as it breaks from an *insider's* perspective? It all seems a bit odd.</blockquote><br /><br />It makes the atmosphere in the higher reaches of the Labour party seem loving by comparison.<br /><br />"She's most likely back because she's penniless and isn't qualified to do anything else" Andi Switch speculated the other day. She's advising anyone booking a session with Kiera to "film your sessions for You Tube, we could do with the laugh being on her". I thought YouTube had guidelines about that kind of thing.<br /><br />For Mistress Switch herself, things are going rather better. Together with two of the other Mosleyettes and a number of other women, she was in Las Vegas a couple of months ago to film some shorts and take part in a prestigious spanking convention. She continues as active as ever in her particular demi-monde. Women C and D are equally busy: a recent explicit lesbian romp featuring the two of them has attracted great excitement, while Miss D chose to celebrate the completion of her doctorate by getting several of her colleagues to kidnap her and subject her to waterboarding and "interrogation". It was, she reports, "the most amazing experience in my scene life so far". Mistress Switch was a particularly sadistic interrogator, by all accounts, leaving her victim "totally broken". Perhaps "Kiera" should watch her back.<br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-56860056920422048032009-03-26T17:32:00.003+00:002009-04-28T12:14:24.127+01:00The Istanbul DeclarationThe Muslim Council of Britain is under official interdiction from the British government after one of its leaders, Daud Abdullah, attended a conference on Gaza in Istanbul which agreed an outspoken declaration of Islamist principles. Hazel Blears takes particular exception to two paragraphs, which appear to treat international forces in the area - potentially including British forces and ships - as the enemy. But the document, signed by Dr Abdullah <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2009/mar/26/hazelblears-islam?commentpage=3">apparently without reservation</a>, contains considerably more than that. It withholds from Israel even the recognition of its name, preferring to call it the "Jewish Zionist occupying entity". It declares that the Palestinian authority is illegitimate, and that all Arab governments are traitors to Islam. It invokes the blessings of Allah upon global Jihad, which it declares to be a religious duty. And it looks forward to the day when the whole of Palestine is in Muslim hands.<br /><br />That a senior MCB representative could sign such a document, without apparently realising that it was potentially controversial, demonstrates beyond doubt the full-blown Islamist character of the Muslim Council of Britain. Preferring to draw attention to Blears' "interference" - in calling for his resignation - Abdullah is entirely unrepentant about the document, though cagey about its precise contents. If the Muslim community in Britain is to be represented by an "umbrella body", then it should be a non-political one which concerns itself primarily with the welfare of Muslims in Britain, most of whom have no personal connection with the Palestinian conflict or indeed with the Arab Middle East. Instead the MCB believes that it best represents Muslims by acting as a conduit for political Islam.<br /><br />I welcome the fact that the government has suspended its ties to this dangerous organisation. I only regret that it has taken them so long.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />The "Istanbul Declaration" is available as a <a href="http://www.hurryupharry.org/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/istpdf.pdf">PDF</a> from Harry's Place. For your convenience, however, I reproduce it here in its entirety, with the most "interesting" passages highlighted.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Statement signed by Duad Abdullah, among others</span><br /><br />In the name of Allah the Most-merciful the All-merciful<br /><br />A statement by the religious scholars and proselytisers (<span style="font-style: italic;">du’a</span>) of the Islamic Nation (<span style="font-style: italic;">ummah</span>) to all rulers and peoples concerning events in Gaza<br /><br />Praise to Allah who strengthened His troops, aided His servants and alone routed the Zionist Jews, who says,<br /><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">‘It was incumbent on Us to aid the believers.’ [Quran 30:47]</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">And blessing and peace be on the Imam of the mujahidin who says,</span><br /><span style="font-style: italic;">‘There will remain a group of my Ummah adhering to the truth, and those who oppose them will not harm them until Allah’s command comes.’ [Hadith]</span><br /><br /><br />This statement is addressed to the Islamic Nation, its religious scholars, its rulers and its peoples. In it <span style="font-weight: bold;">we congratulate the whole family of Islam on the manifest victory which Allah has granted us in the land of Gaza</span>, a land of pride and dignity, <span style="font-weight: bold;">over the Zionist Jewish occupiers</span>. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">Allah has appointed it as the first step in the complete victory for all of Palestine</span> and the holy places of the Muslims. Furthermore, we herein emphatically affirm various resolutions and judgments.<br /><br />I. Affirmation of the following unequivocal resolutions:<br /><br />1. We affirm that the <span style="font-weight: bold;">victory that Allah accomplished by means of our brothers the mujahidin</span>, our defiant and steadfast kinsfolk in Gaza, was indeed achieved through His favor and help - exalted be He! It was also achieved <span style="font-weight: bold;">through fulfilling the religious obligation of jihad in His way</span>. This is a confirmation of His statement - sublime is He! -<br />‘How often a small party overcame a large party, by Allah’s leave.’ [Quran, 2:249]<br /><br />2. We affirm that this manifest victory has clearly disclosed the volume of international and local military and political conspiracy against the jihad and the mujahidin in Gaza, as represented by the following:<br /><br />• Military co-operation in tightening the blockade and closing the crossings to the people of Gaza, especially the Rafah crossing<br /><br />• Public or quasi-public support for the enemy<br /><br />• The prevention of demonstrations and popular events held in support of the mujahidin; the arrest, trial and severe punishments of those who instigate them<br /><br />• The aggressive pressure put on the mujahidin to break their will and force them to agree to their [the conspirators] terms and the stipulations of the Zionist enemy<br /><br />• The attempt to present the Hamas government as the cause of this malicious Jewish Zionist war over Gaza<br /><br />• The absence of any official and effective Arab and Islamic stance and its weakness in reflecting the will of the Arab and Islamic peoples to help our brothers in Gaza win. This indicates the width of the gap between the Nation and those rulers who lead it<br /><br />• The use of funds for reconstruction and aid to those hurt as a negative pressure card on the mujahidin to abandon their legitimate demands, or some of them<br /><br />• The prevention of delivery of aid and reconstruction funds to the Hamas government and the reliable authorities in Gaza; deeming the Palestinian Authority, represented by the presidency of Abbas and the Fayyad government, the sole representative of the Palestinian people, without the Hamas government; and the delivery of such funds and aid to increase their grip on the legitimate elected government of Hamas. This redoubles the suffering of the people of Gaza at the time they mostly need those funds and aid<br /><br />3. We affirm in full conviction that t<span style="font-weight: bold;">he Palestinian Authority</span>, whose mandate is coming to an end, <span style="font-weight: bold;">is not eligible to represent the Palestinian people</span>. It stands outside the will of its people, and <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">has given up the choice of jihad in the way of Allah Almighty as an effective means in defeating the occupation and the liberation of the Islamic holy places</span>. It adopts the wishes of the Nation’s enemies in exchange for the illusions of false peace.<br /><br />4. We affirm in full conviction that t<span style="font-style: italic;">he so-called Arab peace initiative is a proven betrayal of the Islamic Nation</span> and the Palestinian cause, and a blatant betrayal of the Palestinian people. It aims to criminalise the Resistance [muqawama] against the<span style="font-weight: bold;"> Zionist occupying entity</span> in perpetuity through its de facto recognition of it, as well as the confiscation of the right of refugees to return to their homes and their property.<br /><br />II. Affirmation of the following legal judgments:<br /><br />1. The obligation of the Islamic Nation to rush to the aid of the people in Gaza; to rebuild what the Zionist aggression destroyed; to compensate the injured and support the widows, orphans, those suffering permanent disabilities, and the old and infirm.<br /><br />2. <span style="font-style: italic;">The obligation of the Islamic Nation to restrict itself to dealing only with the legitimate elected Palestinian government (Hamas)</span> in the delivery of aid and reconstruction of dwellings. It is the sole government authorised to do that by reason of its official legitimacy as well as its maintaining the <span style="font-weight: bold;">Resistance against the Jewish Zionist occupation</span>, its integrity, and its solidarity with the people in all circumstances.<br /><br />3. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The obligation of the Islamic Nation not to recognise the Palestinian Authority</span>, whose mandate is ending, as representative of the Palestinian people. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">It must not elect it again</span>, in view of its proven financial and administrative corruption as well as its squandering of time and assets behind the false peace process. It is also necessary to work seriously to choose a new authority that will guard the Palestinian ranks, respect their will and their right to resist the occupation, and <span style="font-style: italic;">work for the complete liberation of its land</span> and holy places.<br /><br />4. The obligation of the Islamic Nation to circulate a declaration to withhold aid funds from the undeserving or placing them in the hands of those who are not trustworthy. It must regard this as a legal betrayal that should be prosecuted, and punish those who cause mayhem, negligence and waste of these moneys.<br /><br />5. The obligation of the Islamic Nation to find a fair formula of reconciliation between the sons of the Palestinian people, under whose responsibility <span style="font-weight: bold;">a legitimate authority will be formed that</span> will attend to the fixed norms and the legitimate and national rights; and <span style="font-weight: bold;">will carry on with the jihad and Resistance against the occupier until the liberation of all Palestine</span>.<br /><br />6. The obligation of the Islamic Nation to open the crossings -- all crossings -- in and out of Palestine permanently, in order to allow access to all the needs of the Palestinians -- money, clothing, food, medicine, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">weapons</span> and other essentials, <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">so that they are able to live and perform the jihad in the way of Allah Almighty</span>. The closure of the crossings or <span style="font-weight: bold;">the prevention of the entry of weapons through them should be regarded as high treason in the Islamic Nation, and clear support for the Zionist enemy</span>.<br /><br />7. <span style="font-style: italic;">The obligation of the Islamic Nation to regard everyone standing with the Zionist entity, whether countries, institutions or individuals, as providing a substantial contribution to the crimes and brutality of this entity</span>; the position towards him is the same as towards this usurping entity.<br /><br />8. <span style="font-weight: bold;">The obligation of the Islamic Nation to regard the sending of foreign warships into Muslim waters, claiming to control the borders and prevent the smuggling of arms to Gaza, as a declaration of war, a new occupation</span>, sinful aggression, and a clear violation of the sovereignty of the Nation. <span style="font-weight: bold; font-style: italic;">This must be rejected and fought by all means and ways.</span><br /><br />To conclude: <span style="font-weight: bold;">the Nation’s scholars and proselytisers remind the Islamic Nation, rulers and ruled alike, of the necessity of returning to its religion, adhering to the book of its Lord and the sunna of his Prophet, working for its unity, and seizing control of the instruments of power that will <span style="font-style: italic;">make possible its supremacy</span> and the preservation of its holy places and provisions</span><br /><br />‘Allah prevails in his purpose, but most people know not.’ [Quran, 12: 21]).<br /><br /></span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-2291326115623867702009-02-13T19:18:00.002+00:002009-04-28T12:18:14.046+01:00What Wilders would have said<span style="font-style:italic;">Geert Wilders has released the text of the speech he wanted to make in the House of Lords. Here it is.</span><br /><br />Ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.<br /><br />Thank you for inviting me. Thank you Lord Pearson and Lady Cox for showing Fitna, and for your gracious invitation. While others look away, you, seem to understand the true tradition of your country, and a flag that still stands for freedom.<br /><br />This is no ordinary place. This is not just one of England’s tourist attractions. This is a sacred place. This is the mother of all Parliaments, and I am deeply humbled to speak before you.<br /><br />The Houses of Parliament is where Winston Churchill stood firm, and warned – all throughout the 1930’s – for the dangers looming. Most of the time he stood alone.<br /><br />In 1982 President Reagan came to the House of Commons, where he did a speech very few people liked. Reagan called upon the West to reject communism and defend freedom. He introduced a phrase: ‘evil empire’. Reagan’s speech stands out as a clarion call to preserve our liberties. I quote: If history teaches anything, it teaches self-delusion in the face of unpleasant facts is folly.<br /><br />What Reagan meant is that you cannot run away from history, you cannot escape the dangers of ideologies that are out to destroy you. Denial is no option.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />Communism was indeed left on the ash heap of history, just as Reagan predicted in his speech in the House of Commons. He lived to see the Berlin Wall coming down, just as Churchill witnessed the implosion of national-socialism.<br /><br />Today, I come before you to warn of another great threat. It is called Islam. It poses as a religion, but its goals are very worldly: world domination, holy war, sharia law, the end of the separation of church and state, the end of democracy. It is not a religion, it is a political ideology. It demands you respect, but has no respect for you.<br /><br />There might be moderate Muslims, but there is no moderate Islam. Islam will never change, because it is build on two rocks that are forever, two fundamental beliefs that will never change, and will never go away. First, there is Quran, Allah’s personal word, uncreated, forever, with orders that need to be fulfilled regardless of place or time. And second, there is al-insal al-kamil, the perfect man, Muhammad the role model, whose deeds are to be imitated by all Muslims. And since Muhammad was a warlord and a conqueror we know what to expect.<br /><br />Islam means submission, so there cannot be any mistake about it’s goal. That’s a given. The question is whether the British people, with its glorious past, is longing for that submission.<br /><br />We see Islam taking off in the West at an incredible speed. The United Kingdom has seen a rapid growth of the number of Muslims. Over the last ten years, the Muslim population has grown ten times as fast as the rest of society. This has put an enormous pressure on society. Thanks to British politicians who have forgotten about Winston Churchill, the English now have taken the path of least resistance. They give up. They give in.<br /><br />Thank you very much for letting me into the country. I received a letter from the Secretary of State for the Home Department, kindly disinviting me. I would threaten community relations, and therefore public security in the UK, the letter stated.<br />For a moment I feared that I would be refused entrance. But I was confident the British government would never sacrifice free speech because of fear of Islam. Britannia rules the waves, and Islam will never rule Britain, so I was confident the Border Agency would let me through. And after all, you have invited stranger creatures than me. Two years ago the House of Commons welcomed Mahmoud Suliman Ahmed Abu Rideh, linked to Al Qaeda. He was invited to Westminster by Lord Ahmed, who met him at Regent’s Park mosque three weeks before. Mr. Rideh, suspected of being a money man for terror groups, was given a SECURITY sticker for his Parliamentary visit.<br /><br />Well, if you let in this man, than an elected politician from a fellow EU country surely is welcome here too. By letting me speak today you show that Mr Churchill’s spirit is still very much alive. And you prove that the European Union truly is working; the free movement of persons is still one of the pillars of the European project.<br /><br />But there is still much work to be done. Britain seems to have become a country ruled by fear. A country where civil servants cancel Christmas celebrations to please Muslims. A country where Sharia Courts are part of the legal system. A country where Islamic organizations asked to stop the commemoration of the Holocaust. A country where a primary school cancels a Christmas nativity play because it interfered with an Islamic festival. A country where a school removes the words Christmas and Easter from their calendar so as not to offend Muslims. A country where a teacher punishes two students for refusing to pray to Allah as part of their religious education class. A country where elected members of a town council are told not to eat during daylight hours in town hall meetings during the Ramadan. A country that excels in its hatred of Israel, still the only democracy in the Middle-East. A country whose capitol is becoming ‘Londonistan’.<br /><br />I would not qualify myself as a free man. Four and a half years ago I lost my freedom. I am under guard permanently, courtesy to those who prefer violence to debate. But for the leftist fan club of islam, that is not enough. They started a legal procedure against me. Three weeks ago the Amsterdam Court of Appeal ordered my criminal prosecution for making ‘Fitna’ and for my views on Islam. I committed what George Orwell called a ‘thought crime’.<br /><br />You might have seen my name on Fitna’s credit role, but I am not really responsible for that movie. It was made for me. It was actually produced by Muslim extremists, the Quran and Islam itself. If Fitna is considered ‘hate speech’, then how would the Court qualify the Quran, with all it’s calls for violence, and hatred against women and Jews?<br />Mr. Churchill himself compared the Quran to Adolf Hitler’s Mein Kampf. Well, I did exactly the same, and that is what they are prosecuting me for.<br /><br />I wonder if the UK ever put Mr. Churchill on trail.<br /><br />The Court’s decision and the letter I received form the Secretary of State for the Home Department are two major victories for all those who detest freedom of speech. They are doing Islam’s dirty work. Sharia by proxy. The differences between Saudi-Arabia and Jordan on one hand and Holland and Britain are blurring. Europe is now on the fast track of becoming Eurabia. That is apparently the price we have to pay for the project of mass immigration, and the multicultural project.<br /><br />Ladies and gentlemen, the dearest of our many freedoms is under attack. In Europe, freedom of speech is no longer a given. What we once considered a natural component of our existence is now something we again have to fight for. That is what is at stake. Whether or not I end up in jail is not the most pressing issue. The question is: Will free speech be put behind bars?<br /><br />We have to defend freedom of speech.<br /><br />For the generation of my parents the word ‘London’ is synonymous with hope and freedom. When my country was occupied by the national-socialists the BBC offered a daily glimpse of hope, in the darkness of Nazi tyranny. Millions of my country men listened to it, illegally. The words ‘This Is London’ were a symbol for a better world coming soon. If only the British and Canadian and American soldiers were here.<br /><br />What will be transmitted forty years from now? Will it still be ‘This Is London’? Or will it be ‘this is Londonistan’? Will it bring us hope, or will it signal the values of Mecca and Medina? Will Britain offer submission or perseverance? Freedom or slavery?<br /><br />The choice is ours.<br /><br />Ladies and gentlemen,<br /><br />We will never apologize for being free. We will never give in. We will never surrender.<br /><br />Freedom must prevail, and freedom will prevail.<br /><br />Thank you very much.<br /><br /><br />Geert Wilders MP<br />Chairman, Party for Freedom (PVV)<br />The Netherlands</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-11383388468670057712009-01-28T11:36:00.016+00:002010-02-14T16:56:10.487+00:00Goodbye to all that?Here are some pictures from the CAAN/Backlash demo last sunday - the eve of the coming into force of the "extreme images" ban. Thanks to Clair Lewis for letting me have them.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9XoNhgqOAp1ptaUeRBetx71LYuJAV_QNcrVe4P7w3Wh4bdqLaJ8F_K7HWZxzyYH0rNXNxxjtNOtcjMufS3WGClxFq2Srdm7_knuc-lXlFJhrii39ZsxI_hkvb3huS6sFAyY1d4fThTI/s1600-h/bhdsbiuygdsb.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjW9XoNhgqOAp1ptaUeRBetx71LYuJAV_QNcrVe4P7w3Wh4bdqLaJ8F_K7HWZxzyYH0rNXNxxjtNOtcjMufS3WGClxFq2Srdm7_knuc-lXlFJhrii39ZsxI_hkvb3huS6sFAyY1d4fThTI/s400/bhdsbiuygdsb.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296307659510610786" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Mark Mackenzie</span><br /><div style="text-align: left;"><br /><br /></div></div><span id="fullpost">The lady with the "Big Brother is Watching You Masturbate" sign is the renowned spanking model and scene icon Pandora Blake. More pictures, together with a first-hand <a href="http://pandorablake.blogspot.com/2009/01/yes-we-caan.html">account</a> of the day, on her highly recommendable blog. <br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2BVR9ZXeplSlRBR09BleKEYYfvCi_uvb41UUiURYRbgSZ5IcTgl2vvIIqn7Vfq3g-w7LzPWxXrnR-jGMZDmT1h-RqCOR1oAf2aQ_ctF743Y1WcjKVUTfPxnymqQa7f0XUjUK465Ws40/s1600-h/DSC_4866.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 297px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhC2BVR9ZXeplSlRBR09BleKEYYfvCi_uvb41UUiURYRbgSZ5IcTgl2vvIIqn7Vfq3g-w7LzPWxXrnR-jGMZDmT1h-RqCOR1oAf2aQ_ctF743Y1WcjKVUTfPxnymqQa7f0XUjUK465Ws40/s400/DSC_4866.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296312858516488850" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Bruno Deflorence</span><br /><br /><div style="text-align: left;">Taking centre stage here, erotic fashion photographer Ben Westwood, who last time led a group of chained fetish models around Westminster. One of the "slaves", Jade (more conventionally dressed this time) is busy texting.<br /><br /></div></div><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhME-T2IjPd8HTZd1QSF3eLLTo1LDe9zkjXKG356PZ-fHnHrXeYd8l6lRbcp-FPbvpwvFg5EUQCnDaPBeaA-9WtsDAwsFy6MbLhzy_34TA2RpTNLvggWmNfCS5o2TZDXhgEKTqsLQTf-6o/s1600-h/DSC02420crop_20090125175103_510.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 267px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhME-T2IjPd8HTZd1QSF3eLLTo1LDe9zkjXKG356PZ-fHnHrXeYd8l6lRbcp-FPbvpwvFg5EUQCnDaPBeaA-9WtsDAwsFy6MbLhzy_34TA2RpTNLvggWmNfCS5o2TZDXhgEKTqsLQTf-6o/s400/DSC02420crop_20090125175103_510.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296312853846432930" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">MM</span><br /></div><br />Here's Clair herself looking at home in front of a TV camera. She later turned up on the BBC Ten O'Clock news.<br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAVV_2VgHFankt4_OKNOVCriYYLeAa4suEUdhXb93yWwvJd2x6WTmuGt5sEifTo8bPCH8Yy2vPR23_0vAfMt0pDsqsBK5sSD7hS30VTdYHwMhKi7NZPQnZGU0gULTX9aBAzv4jkIZLjo/s1600-h/DSC_4857.JPG"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 266px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivAVV_2VgHFankt4_OKNOVCriYYLeAa4suEUdhXb93yWwvJd2x6WTmuGt5sEifTo8bPCH8Yy2vPR23_0vAfMt0pDsqsBK5sSD7hS30VTdYHwMhKi7NZPQnZGU0gULTX9aBAzv4jkIZLjo/s400/DSC_4857.JPG" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296312855350446882" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">BD</span><br /></div>What would Winston make of it all, I wonder?<br /><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH2RP7gZ_ZQtRY-rSpkJNesNnf6ejtBVPOPFwYrS3uUMi8O6kbJszfJx-ck9suRU_4RcTzlzAUTzeiOR3ORDq6wnYZ1GymQu3vVppD-qQJz_UqAqIKk4chuNf3DBFb4RxthU5cUCuDNU/s1600-h/DSC02428crop_20090125182241_510.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; text-align: center; cursor: pointer; width: 400px; height: 400px;" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnH2RP7gZ_ZQtRY-rSpkJNesNnf6ejtBVPOPFwYrS3uUMi8O6kbJszfJx-ck9suRU_4RcTzlzAUTzeiOR3ORDq6wnYZ1GymQu3vVppD-qQJz_UqAqIKk4chuNf3DBFb4RxthU5cUCuDNU/s400/DSC02428crop_20090125182241_510.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5296312854660602546" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">MM</span></div><br />Another proud day in the life of the Home of Democracy.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5066060298313974061.post-87977056246689773192009-01-07T13:29:00.005+00:002009-04-28T12:19:45.823+01:00The Community of the Dome<span style="font-style: italic;">A satirical short story by</span> <a href="http://cranmercurate.blogspot.com/">Cranmer's Curate</a><br /><br />The Dome squatted in the rain as Peter entered the Media-zone for his<br />last seminar before the Winterval vacation. He had narrowly averted<br />being evicted from the Dome Academy, an elite feeder for both the<br />Modernisation Commission and the People’s Media. Following a meeting of<br />the enablers up in the Lennon-zone to consider his insufficient student<br />debt, he had been ordered to go to the Conran-zone for some retail therapy.<br /><br />For festival time, he went to his father’s home in a check-pointed and<br />well-guarded garden suburb. Peter's parents had recently terminated<br />their civil partnership. Following the abolition of marriage in 20-,<br />work-place ballots were held to maintain the required termination rates<br />set by the Commission. Peter's father had been nominated by a<br />disgruntled junior and got elected. It was terminate your partnership or<br />lose your job. Future employment across the Modernised Zones was<br />impossible to find for anybody who had failed to comply with a<br />civil-partnership termination. ID cards stored the relevant data.<br /><br />It was in the pocket of a borrowed suit that Peter found the book. He<br />had been invited to a 1960s retro party and his father had said he could<br />borrow an old Mod suit belonging to granddad up in the attic.<br /><span id="fullpost"><br />"To Pete - this'll really blow your mind. Love Zoe" was written on the<br />inside cover of the paperback, in good condition but bearing the<br />desiccated pages associated with its age. Peter noticed some<br />strange markings on the back - 2/ - net in U.K. The front-cover pictured<br />a large golden lion and a boy wearing shorts.<br />Its title - <span style="font-style: italic;">The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe</span> by C.S. Lewis.<br /><br />Peter had liked his granddad, and was curious about the book. He read it<br />from cover to cover and found its imagery compelling - the strange land<br />entered through the wardrobe, the perpetual winter, the Witch and her<br />secret police, and above all the towering figure of the Lion.<br /><br />But he was baffled by other aspects of the tale, particularly the events<br />surrounding the death of the Lion. What on earth had the boy Edmund done<br />wrong? What was wrong with disclosing his enemies' whereabouts to the<br />Witch? What was wrong with wanting to gain promotion for yourself at the<br />expense of others?<br /><br />He could not understand the reason for the gory and humiliating<br />Voluntary Self-Euthanasia of the Lion. It was not as if he was seeking<br />to avoid pain, inconvenience, or shame for himself. He was sacrificing<br />himself for somebody else. It seemed folly to Peter.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Voluntary Self-Euthanasia</span><br />At the beginning of the autumn term, Terry began to suffer persistent<br />headaches. He presented himself to one of the Dome's in-house healing<br />enhancers in the Detox-zone. The tests began, the operation occurred,<br />the ensuing therapy continued, but the brain tumour was terminal.<br /><br />Voluntary Self-Euthanasia had been introduced by the Commission to deal<br />with the growing problem of an ageing population. It was also useful in<br />depleting the burgeoning prison population amongst the underclass.<br /><br />The framers of the legislation considered that the growing culture of<br />shame surrounding death would lead most terminal patients to<br />sign their own VSE consent forms. But if the patient was too<br />incapacitated to give their own consent, VSE procedure allowed the<br />obtaining of a signature of consent from the stakeholder's employer. For<br />educational institutions, the Chair of Enablers' signature<br />was required; for retired persons, the Commissioner<br />for Pensions was responsible for issuing VSE signatures.<br /><br />Early on in the scheme, a legal challenge by the relative<br />of an elderly VSE patient on grounds of age discrimination had<br />ensured that regulations had to be applied in an egalitarian manner<br />across all age groups. VSE age discrimination was ruled contrary to<br />human rights.<br /><br />When the system first began in 20-, procedures were observed carefully<br />due to the threat of legal challenges and the initial political<br />opposition to VSE. Initially, the signatures of two healing enhancers<br />were required to verify that the patient was unable to give consent<br />before the main signatory could give theirs and VSE proceed. There was<br />also an appeals procedure for relatives, which did in some cases delay<br />VSE.<br /><br />But now the system was operating in a streamlined, and<br />uncharacteristically for the times, unbureaucratic manner. The main<br />signatory would generally be satisfied with one healing enhancer's<br />signature and VSE could proceed speedily.<br /><br />Terry knew his moment would come as soon as the sun-tanned Chair of<br />Enablers took his case in hand and issued the necessary decree. Confined<br />to the Detox-zone, he asked for and obtained permission to visit the<br />Spirituality-zone.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">The Spirituality-zone</span><br />Banks of computer screens lined the Spirituality-zone. Aromas filled the<br />air and the atmosphere was enhanced by electric candelabra projecting<br />soft lights.<br /><br />Terry keyed in his password.<br /><br />HELLO TERRY. WELCOME TO THE SPIRITUALITY-ZONE. YOU ARE INVITED TO CREATE<br />YOUR OWN IMAGE.<br /><br />Since childhood, Terry had particularly liked cats.<br /><br />I WOULD LIKE A CAT.<br /><br />One duly appeared on the screen, sitting upright and staring<br />benevolently.<br /><br />WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE TO SAY TO THE CAT, TERRY?<br /><br />I AM A CANDIDATE FOR VSE. WHAT GUIDANCE CAN YOU OFFER ME?<br /><br />REMEMBER THERE'S ONLY ONE YOU, TERRY. YOU'RE VERY SPECIAL.<br /><br />When the decree came from the Lennon-zone, Terry's VSE was performed by<br />a petite healing enhancer who gave him a massage and waved a crystal<br />over his prostrate body before administering the<br />injection. Terry breathed his last and was instantly cremated. His ashes<br />were placed in a container shaped like an old-fashioned Oscar.<br /><br /><span style="font-weight: bold;">Media Idol</span><br />The Community of the Dome gathered in the Nietzsche Hall for the<br />end-of-term Media Idol, judged by a panel of People's Celebrities. The<br />format was a policy announcement at a Commission press briefing. Each<br />contestant spoke into an autocue with their face projected onto a large<br />screen behind them.<br /><br />For the first round, contestants were tasked to brief<br />the media on new funding for 24-hour nurseries on the day that a<br />commissioner had been charged with obstructing the course of a VSE<br />authorisation. For the second, they were tasked to humiliate an<br />unmodernised journalist with an impersonation of a personal mannerism.<br /><br />Peter's punchy performances in all the rounds won him the prize and in<br />the blaze of a simulated fire-work display he was declared Dome Media<br />Idol of the Year. The Community of the Dome then linked arms and sang<br />the People's Anthem, Imagine. On this occasion, Peter's lips did not<br />move. His mind was elsewhere.</span><div class="blogger-post-footer"><br/><br/>
© 2011 Heresy Corner, all rights reserved.</div>Heresiarchhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03515376670031027455noreply@blogger.com0