Johann Hari: So that's OK then. It's fine to abuse young girls, as long as you're a great film director

The Swiss government has admitted "national interests" may be a factor

Tuesday, 13 July 2010

So now we know. If you are a 44-year-old man, you can drug and anally rape a terrified 13-year-old girl as she sobs, says "No, no, no," and pleads for her asthma medication – all according to the victim's sworn testimony – and face no punishment at all. You just have to meet two criteria – (a) you have to run away and stay away for a few decades; and (b) you need to direct some good films. If you do, not only will you walk free, there will be a huge campaign to protect you from the "witch-hunt" and you will be lauded as a hero.

Roman Polanski admitted his crime before he ran away and, for years afterwards, he boasted from exile that every man wanted to do what he did. He chuckled to one interviewer in 1979: "If I had killed somebody, it wouldn't have had so much appeal to the press, you see?

"But... f**king, you see... and the young girls. Judges want to f**k young girls. Juries want to f**k young girls. Everyone wants to f**k young girls!"

But this is not enough, it seems, for the Swiss government to return him to the US to face trial. They have found a legalistic loophole that enables them to let him go – while admitting "national interests" may be a factor. This may be a reference to pressure from neighbouring France to free their citizen. As a Swiss citizen, I think I can say without being offensive, we all remember the bargains Swiss governments have made in the past to preserve their "national interests". This is in a long tradition of helping criminals and calling it Swiss hard-headedness.

The campaign to release Polanski has leeched into the open a slew of attitudes I thought were defeated a generation ago. Whoopi Goldberg said it wasn't "rape rape".

Others hinted darkly that she wasn't a virgin. So if a 13-year-old has been abused before, she's fair game for all future rapists? The French philosopher Bernard Henri-Levi, who led the campaign, said a little bit of child molestation isn't his problem when Great Art is at stake. He wrote: "Am I repulsed by what he got up to? His behaviour is not my business. I'm concerned about his movies. I like The Pianist and Rosemary's Baby."

That's worth saying again – this campaign was led by a man who thinks the drugging and raping of a child is "not my business", when compared to a film about Satan inseminating Mia Farrow.

The novelist Robert Harris, who is a friend of Polanski's, said: "It strikes me as disgusting treatment." He wasn't talking about the child-rape. He was talking about the attempt to punish the child-rape. He said Polanski was being subjected to a "lynch mob"? Where is this lynch mob? All I can see are people patiently suggesting the law should be enforced and he should be given a fair and open trial. This is the opposite of a lynching: it is sober justice.

Do these defenders of Polanski understand what they are saying? Harris has four children. If a great film director drugs and rapes them tomorrow, will he call the police, or will he say it would be "disgusting" to do so? Would he say the police and prosecutors trying to protect his children were a "lynch mob"? If the rapist ran off, would he say that after three decades on the run (boasting about his crime) he should walk free?

Now the campaign has succeeded. So congratulations to Whoopi and Bernard and Robert: an unrepentant, bragging child-rapist won't face his day in court, thanks in part to you. Have fun at the victory party. But you may want to leave your daughters at home.

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Love146 Employment Opportunities

Dear Friends:

Love146 is a fabulous anti-trafficking organization. Here are some opportunities to join their team. Please spread the word to anyone you think may be interested.

Abolition!

Lisa

Join the Love146 team! We currently have 2 full-time job openings. Go to www.love146.org/employment for full details and application.

Vice President of Programs
Posting Date: July 5, 2010
Closing Date: August 31, 2010
Job Available Date: January 1, 2011 (or earlier depending on the successful applicant).

Overview: The Love146 Vice President of Programs, a full-time position based out of the New Haven, CT office, works with Program Directors to plan, design, develop then initiate approved new projects. The VP of Programs oversees key US office programs staff, manages the programs budget and serves as key liaison between Global Programs Directors/field/local program operations and the Love146 New Haven office. Good benefits provided. Salary based on experience. Please note: Interviews will be held in Singapore and New Haven, CT depending on successful applicant's location.

The Collective Shout Officer
Posting Date: July 6th, 2010
Closing Date: July 31st, 2010
Job Available Date: August 2010

Overview: The Collective Shout Officer, a full-time position based out of the New Haven, CT office, creates advocacy communications to mobilize Love146 Task Forces and other Love146 supporters. Based on rigorous, ongoing monitoring and evaluation of existing anti-trafficking efforts, the Collective Shout Officer selects specific action opportunities to be highlighted on the new Love146 Task Force Community Site. They provide daily forum updates on the Task Force site and implement online community building and social media strategies. This position organizes the yearly Love146 Collective Shout Conference and the summer internship program.

Good benefits provided. Read more!

A life lost is found again: The Felicia Delgado story

Dear Friends:

This lovely and hope filled. Please read and lift your spirits.

Abolition!

Lisa

Edward Achorn: A life lost is found again: The Felicia Delgado story

01:00 AM EDT on Tuesday, July 13, 2010
The Providence Journal
By EDWARD ACHORN

One of the most beautiful aspects of the Christian faith is its strong message of redemption. Jesus of Nazareth recognized that all human beings are prone to fail, but he taught that we can admit to our wrongs, make amends and move on, making the best of the gifts we have been given.

Some critics huffily brand it hypocrisy when those who express their support for high moral values fail to live up to them. Jesus, more attuned to the reality of human frailty, recognized that we will all stumble many times, but that does not make it wrong to believe in doing good. We pick ourselves up and try again. And we forgive others who have failed.

The idea permeates the Gospels, repeated many times, in story after story: rising from death to a new life. As the father says in the tale of the Prodigal Son: "This brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and now he is found."

I read a very moving story in the paper the other day that could have come straight out of the New Testament, right down to the headline ("In court, her life, once lost, restored," July 2, by The Journal’s estimable Katherine Gregg).

It told of Felicia Delgado, 45, a former prostitute who whooped with joy in court when the record of part of her life on the streets was erased from the state’s criminal-record books under a year-old Rhode Island law that makes indoor prostitution illegal, while shifting the emphasis from punishing prostitutes to stopping prostitution.

Under the law, "loitering-for-prostitution" charges may be expunged from the record, at a judge’s discretion, one year after completion of that person’s sentence. Though I remain strongly opposed to sending adult crime records down the memory hole, if there ever was a case for expungement, this was it.

Ms. Delgado’s record still includes evidence of her miserable life as a streetwalker: Shoplifting, check fraud and heroin possession. But it mattered to her that the prostitution charges were removed.

Why? "Because I am a mother, a woman, a daughter . . . a sister and, hopefully, I will one day be a wife and I do not want ‘prostitute’ ­ the word ­ because it exiles me."

Yet she has not forgotten or tried to hide her past ­ which is why a Pawtucket police major, a Miriam Hospital nurse, a probation officer and others were on hand to advance her cause and applaud when the judge ruled in her favor.

As her lawyer, Andrew Horowitz, noted in a court memorandum, Ms. Delgado has turned her life into a "remarkable success story."

"From her teenage years until her mid-30s, she lived a life that was dominated by drug abuse, prostitution and other criminal behavior. Then, through faith, perseverance and dogged determination, she turned her life around . . . [then] devoted her life to the project of rescuing others who were suffering her same fate."

As the outreach worker for the Pawtucket-based Project RENEW (Revitalizing & Engaging Neighborhoods by Empowering Women), she has steered prostitutes to classes on prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, substance-abuse treatment, housing, employment and other services. Her own experience obviously makes her much more effective.

Ms. Delgado’s group did not support the new prostitution law, ironically. But some of those who argued, in trying to keep indoor prostitution legal in Rhode Island, that prostitution is a "victimless crime" seemed unacquainted with the hellish and dangerous lives prostitutes endure. Many are driven into it by addiction, and by violent pimps who exploit their problems. This kind of abuse of our fellow human beings is not something society should condone and assist.

Rhode Island can be proud that it finally made it illegal last year. Rep. Joanne Giannini (D.-Providence), a compassionate woman who fought this scourge for years and found herself smeared and targeted for defeat as a consequence, is retiring after 16 years in the legislature. Her law, which will help combat much cruel exploitation, particularly of addicted women and runaway children, is a wonderful legacy.

It was vitally important that the state work to stop prostitution, because of the severe human cost in lives destroyed and associated crimes. Rehabilitation is also very costly ­ women on the street need extensive social services to break free ­ but tax dollars would be better spent helping the least fortunate among us than going into early retirements and fat pensions for those with political clout.

And we can be deeply grateful for people like Ms. Delgado, who refuse to give up, who take the suffering and wrongdoing of their past and turn them into service to others, especially those who are among the most scorned in our society. She is saving lives and helping her neighbors through her caring.

As I say, a very moving story, just as powerful today as it would have been 2,000 years ago.

Edward Achorn ( eachorn@projo.com) is The Journal’s deputy editorial-pages editor.

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How fruit trees in Indian village save girls' lives

Dear Friends:

Here is an encouraging article you'll definitely want to read!

Abolition!

Lisa

Tuesday, 15 June 2010 02:40 UK
By Amarnath Tewary

Bhagalpur, Bihar

In India, where traditionally boys have been preferred over girls, a village in backward Bihar state has been setting an example by planting trees to celebrate the birth of a girl child.

In Dharhara village, Bhagalpur district, families plant a minimum of 10 trees whenever a girl child is born.

And this practice is paying off.

Nikah Kumari, 19, is all set to get married in early June. The would-be groom is a state school teacher chosen by her father, Subhas Singh.

Mr Singh is a small-scale farmer with a meagre income, but he is not worried about the high expenses needed for the marriage ceremony.

For, in keeping with the village tradition, he had planted 10 mango trees the day Nikah was born.

The girl - and the trees - were nurtured over the years and today both are grown up.

Dowry deaths

"Today that day has come for which we had planted the trees. We've sold off the fruits of the trees for three years in advance and got the money to pay for my daughter's wedding," Mr Singh told the BBC.

"The trees are our fixed deposits," he said.

The village looks like a forest or a dense green patch In Bihar, payment of dowry by the bride's family is a common practice. The price tag of the bridegroom often depends on his caste, social status and job profile.

The state is also infamous for the maximum number of dowry deaths in the country.

But the mango trees have freed Nikah's parents of undue worries. And their story is not unique in Dharhara village.

With a population of a little over 7,000, the village has more than 100,000 fully grown trees, mostly of mango and lychee.

From a distance, the village looks like a forest or a dense green patch amidst the parched and arid cluster of villages in the area.

'Great value'

And most residents can be spotted sitting in the cool orchards outside their homes.

"Now, we've stopped doing traditional farming of wheat and paddy. We plant as many trees as we can since they are more profitable and dependable," said villager Shyam Sunder Singh.

The villagers have been planting trees for generations Mr Singh paid for the weddings of his three daughters after selling fruits of trees he had planted at the time of their birth.

"One medium-size mango orchard is valued at around 200,000 rupees ($4,245; £2,900) every season.

These trees have great commercial value and they are a big support for us at the time of our daughter's marriage," he says.

The villagers say they save a part of the money earned through the sale of fruits every year in a bank account opened in their daughter's name.

The tree-planting has been going on in the village for generations now.

"We heard about it from our fathers and they from their fathers. It has been in the family and the village from ages," says Subhendu Kumar Singh, a school teacher.

"This is our way of meeting the challenges of dowry, global warming and female foeticide. There has not been a single incident yet of female foeticide or dowry death in our village," he says.

His cousin, Shankar Singh, planted 30 trees at the time of his daughter Sneha Surabhi's birth.
Sneha, four, is aware that her father has planted trees in her name; the child says she regularly waters the saplings.

As yet she doesn't know what dowry is, and says the trees will bear fruits for her "to eat".
The village's oldest resident, Shatrughan Prasad Singh, 86, has planted around 500 mango and lychee trees in his 25 acres of land.

His grand-daughters, Nishi and Ruchi, are confident the trees mean their family will have no problem paying for their weddings.

"The whole world should emulate us and plant more trees," says their father Prabhu Dayal Singh.

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Lawrence Taylor indicted on NY rape charges

Jun 23 12:59 PM US/Eastern
By COLLEEN LONG
Associated Press Writer

(AP) - Pro football Hall of Famer Lawrence Taylor was indicted Wednesday by a suburban New York grand jury on charges of third-degree rape and patronizing a prostitute.

The indictment follows his May 6 arrest at a Holiday Inn in Ramapo, N.Y., where prosecutors say he paid a 16-year-old girl $300 to have sex with him.

Taylor had been charged previously in Ramapo Town Court, but the indictment transfers the case to Rockland County. He is scheduled to appear July 13.

The former New York Giants linebacker also was indicted on charges of endangering the welfare of a child, and sexual abuse and criminal sexual act in the third degree. He faces up to four years in prison if convicted. He has denied the charges.

Rockland County District Attorney Thomas Zugibe said the 16-year-old told investigators that she had been verbally threatened and physically assaulted by a pimp who drove her 26 miles north to the hotel where Taylor was waiting.

"One of the most effective ways to target prostitution is to go after the johns," Zugibe said. "This indictment underscores our serious commitment to prosecuting those defendants who create a market for the region's growing sex trade."

Taylor's attorney reiterated his client's innocence Wednesday.

"Mr. Taylor and his legal team made a strategic decision not to present any evidence to the grand jury, including him testifying or any witnesses in his defense," said defense attorney Arthur Aidala.

The evidence includes sworn testimony by a 23-year-old woman who says she accompanied the accused pimp and the 16-year-old girl to the hotel where Taylor was staying. She said Taylor did not rape the girl. The teenager returned to the car with $300 in cash and said: "It was weird ... we didn't even have sex."

The statement was given to investigators working for the defense team and seen by The Associated Press on the condition she not be identified.

Taylor's longtime business manager, Mark Lepselter, said they were looking forward to the legal process "and Lawrence being able to move forward with his life."

A federal criminal complaint filed against the accused pimp, Rasheed Davis, recounts the victim's version of events and makes no mention of a third person in the vehicle at the time of his arrest in the Bronx. Davis has been charged in federal court with sex trafficking.

Authorities said the teen did not know whom she was meeting at the hotel room. The girl sent text messages to her uncle saying she was in trouble, police said. He called the NYPD, who arrested the suspected pimp once he returned to the Bronx with the teenager. The girl provided information about the hotel.

Taylor anchored the Giants' defense and led them to Super Bowl titles in 1987 and 1991. He was selected to the NFL's 75th Anniversary All-time Team.

A 10-time Pro Bowler, he was the NFL's MVP in 1986 and Defensive Player of the Year in 1981, 1982 and 1986.

The weight-loss company NutriSystem Inc. dropped Taylor as a spokesman because of his arrest.
___
Associated Press Writer Jennifer Peltz contributed to this report. Read more!

Change.org campaign regarding death-rapper Necro

Dear Friends:

I've been alerted to a vile song by so-called "death-rapper" Necro (a.k.a. Ron Braunstein). Purportedly Necro is know for his exceptionally explicit lyrics, and raps about murder by torture, Charles Manson, and devil worship. Adding to this list, Necro has released a song entitled "Human Trafficking King is White Slavery II." Tragically there is also a video so graphic and reprehensible that I will not include a link, but here are some of the lyrics:

"Woman need to be loved, injected with needles and drugs
subjected to torture and kidnapped they need to succumb
it's proven, I feed em dog food, they prefer human
make 'em savagely beat each other bloody for my amusement
It's all fun and games, I keep 'em handcuffed in chains
sexually make 'em do the most disgusting things
starve 'em to cannibals, make 'em eat each others brains
changed and deranged, stores begin to seem like nothings strange
while retarded acquaintances get fist f*cked and raped
covered in lighter fluid, lit up and engulfed in flames
sound proof walls guarantee to muffle your screams
squirm on a shit stained mattress in a puddle of pee"

Necro is scheduled to play at The Palladium in Worcester, MA on May 21-22. In response, our good friends at The Barnaba Institute have launched a Change.org campaign and are seeking are supporters to sign a petition to The Palladium asking that Necro be prohibited performing this song--which does not raise awareness about sex trafficking and sexual violence but rather glorifies it. Please sign and spread the word.

To join the petition go to:
http://www.change.org/petitions/view/insist_that_the_palladium_prohibit_necro_from_playing_human_trafficking_song

Abolition!

Lisa

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Playboy 'readers' get 3-D centerfold in June issue

Dear Friends:

Hello! I hope you all have been doing well and are continuing in your efforts to combat sexual trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation of women. I'm sorry you haven't heard from me lately, but I've been traveling a lot the past few weeks.

Now that I'm back, I thought you'd find the article below of interest. Note Playboy's newest gimmick to grab attention and to lure in "young" men. Why are they going 3-D in the June issue? Because the free pornography on available on the Internet has cut deeply into their profits, and so Playboy executives are working relentlessly to regain market share. Part of that strategy is roping in a younger audience who they hope will become brand loyal to Playboy.

What I find particularly sad about this article is the notion that a pornography magazine provides something enduring or lasting -- as opposed to the fleeting images of Internet pornography. In truth, all pornography is a vacuous wasteland. As anyone who has lost a loved one will tell you, a picture is a sorry substitute for the presence of the real person, for the touch and warmth of authentic human relationships. If real relationship are like a rich banquet, then consuming pornography is like eating out of a toxic waste dump -- even if you are wearing 3-D glasses.

Abolition!

Lisa


Playboy 'readers' get 3-D centerfold in June issue
By DON BABWIN, Associated Press Writer Don Babwin, Associated Press Writer

CHICAGO – Playboy readers who can only imagine what it would look like if a centerfold jumped right off the page are getting new specs to help them see into Hef's world.

The magazine's June edition hits newsstands Friday equipped with 3-D glasses. Now the toy that has kids dodging dragons, meatballs and tall blue aliens at the movies will help adults focus on what is, at first glance, a very blurry Playmate of the Year.

"What would people most like to see in 3-D?" asked Playboy founder Hugh Hefner. "Probably a naked lady."

Hefner makes no secret of hoping to capitalize on the popularity of 3-D movies such as "Avatar" and "How to Train Your Dragon," even as he makes no secret of not quite getting what all the fuss is about.

"I'm not a huge enthusiast of 3-D," he said in a telephone interview. "I leave real life to go to the movies and 2-D is fine with me."

If the thought of grown men sitting back in their recliners with a pair of 3-D glasses doesn't quite say "Playboy," it should be noted that a few months ago the magazine put Marge Simpson — yes, the blue-haired animated mother of Bart — on the cover and in a two-page centerfold.

"In today's print environment you have to create newsstand events," said the editorial director of the Chicago-based magazine, Jimmy Jellinek. "Marge Simpson was one of those."

Playboy certainly must do something to get more people, especially younger people, to buy a magazine that has seen circulation plummet from 3.15 million in 2006 to 1.5 million today.

Jellinek said he hopes the issue featuring centerfold Hope Dworaczyk in 3-D also reminds people that for all the infatuation with the Internet, there is nothing quite like having a magazine in your hands.

"People want things that last and have meaning," he said.

The thought hadn't occurred to Hefner. But, now that you mention it:

"This particular picture is one example of how books and magazines are different (than computer images)," he said. "You can hold it in your hands, save them, and as Dad used to, put them under the mattress."

Hefner notes there also are plenty of good old-fashioned 2-D pictures of Dworaczyk — the 51st Playmate of the Year, for those counting at home.

3-D may be all the rage, but Hefner said he first thought of using it when he launched his magazine in the 1950s.

"I actually signed a photographer to shoot two nude women in 3-D in Chicago," he said. But he scrapped the idea when he discovered how expensive it would be to include the glasses.

This time around, HBO is helping out. HBO wanted a creative way to promote its show "True Blood," and having Playboy include 3-D glasses with the show's name on them seemed a good way to do it, said Playboy spokeswoman Theresa Hennessey.

So, do the glasses work? Well, it does kind of look like Dworaczyk is handing you the wine glass she's holding. And she says the photograph makes everything a little, well, bigger.

"It's kind of like it says on the rearview mirror," Dworaczyk joked. "Things may appear larger."

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