1. Angelina Jolie Sex Claims Challenged
2. How a mob-run S&M club put your tax dollars to work
3. 'No hanky panky' on beds at Sugar Room, owner says
4. Are Open Marriages More Successful Than Traditional Couplings?
5. Swingers' club gets liquor license
6. Conservative sexual fetishes: A hardcore guide
7. Judge metes out 108-year sentence for sex-slaves crimes
8. Savage Love
9. Two men charged after alleged bondage-pictures incident
Angelina Jolie Sex Claims Challenged
by Wendy Cook
The National Ledger
August 14, 2007
Angelina Jolie's former lover is challenging her sex claims that were
revealed earlier this week. The 32-year-old actress recently told
France's Public magazine Pitt had tamed her, and she no longer seeks
thrills in lesbian conquests and dangerous lovemaking. But model Jenny
Shimizu, who boasts a 10-year relationship with Jolie, is skeptical.
According to reports she is refusing to believe claims that she's given up
women and kinky sex for Brad Pitt. She says, "She (Jolie) loves danger and
dabbling in the dark side. "Angelina is an unbelievable lesbian lover.
That's where she gets her kicks–not playing happy families with one man."
Jolie has never hidden the fact that she had enjoyed a ten-year
relationship with model Jenny Shimizu, or that she used to cut herself
with knives during sex. "I've never hidden my bisexuality. But since I've
been with Brad, there's no longer a place for that or S&M in my life", she
had said.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272615437.shtml
To respond, write to the author at:
http://www.nationalledger.com/artman/publish/article_272615437.shtml#writeauthor
How a mob-run S&M club put your tax dollars to work
by Tom Robbins
The Village Voice (New York City)
August 14, 2007
Anthony Marini was the manager at the Vault, the old S&M club in the
meat-packing district on the western edge of Greenwich Village, during its
heyday in the 1990s.
As such, he never lacked for entertainment.
There was the guy who wore a dog collar and little else and who insisted
on walking on all fours. There was the wealthy executive who donned chains
and loincloth and rolled in the dirt, pleading that he was a Roman slave
who needed whipping. There were the wannabe goths who wore capes, capped
their teeth with porcelain fangs, and clustered in the corners biting one
another. On the celebrity side, there was Madonna, who was so fond of
observing these hijinks that she had much of her photo book, succinctly
titled Sex, shot at the club. Al Pacino came to study up for an acting
role. Marini remembers him as an apt student.
Just watching was a big part of the attraction. Customers paid $50 a head
and could stay all night and into the next day. The place didn't serve
alcohol, so closing laws didn't apply. The house supplied chips, sold soft
drinks, and had TVs showing porn flicks on a continuous loop.
Marini was there right up until the day when the State of New York stepped
in and spoiled all the fun by condemning the property.
The state's problem wasn't the nonstop fetish displays or the uninhibited
amateur performances. Mayor Giuliani had already tried to shut the place
down for unsafe sex practices; club lawyers beat him in court. Rather, the
Vault's downfall was an accident of geography, the club being located
right where the state Department of Transportation had decided to let West
Street broaden into a new six-lane north-south corridor formally known as
Route 9A.
But this too had its perverse advantages. State condemnation laws demand
full compensation for any such "taking," and the Vault's owners made the
most of their situation. They hired a top lawyer and insisted on being
paid for everything from the cloth banner that hung outside promising an
"Afternoon Delight," to the improvised whipping posts tacked to the walls.
This eventually led to one of the more fascinating performances that
Marini got to observe during his always eventful tenure there: club
proprietors and their Mafia partners sitting down to whack up more than
$1.8 million in payments provided courtesy of New York's taxpayers.
[coninued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0733,robbins,77515,2.html
To respond, write to:
http://www.villagevoice.com/aboutus/index.php?page=contact
'No hanky panky' on beds at Sugar Room, owner says
by Bill Johnson (opinion column)
Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
August 11, 2007
The first thing you notice when you walk in are the beds. They are right
there.
Just to the left of the still-unfinished bar, maybe 20 feet inside the
front door, are two king-sized beds, both outfitted with large, quilted
red leather head and footboards.
Walk through the adjacent double doors and into the dance room – disco
ball hanging over the maple floor – and there are two more king-sized
beds, elegant four-poster behemoths.
Scottie Ewing insists his now-controversial Sugar Room at Alameda Avenue
and Pecos Street will not be a haven for swingers. And you want to believe
him.
Still, I'm seeing beds.
It was with some amusement, though, that I walked into the Sugar Room, the
phones there still ringing in the aftermath of this week's hubbub over the
city granting the joint a liquor license.
If a swing club is what the Sugar Room is, I figured, so what? If no one
is getting killed or otherwise harmed, if no kids are being let in, why
should anyone care?
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/news_columnists/article/0,1299,DRMN_86_5668920,00.html
To respond, write to: the author at johnsonw@RockyMountainNews.com or the
editors at letters@RockyMountainNews.com
Are Open Marriages More Successful Than Traditional Couplings?
by Russell Goldman
ABC News
August 10, 2007
To many, "open marriage" is a phrase so laden with 1970s nostalgia that
the idea can't be considered without imagining its practitioners leering
at each other across shag-carpeted conversation pits, their chest hair
spilling out of maroon polyester leisure suits.
While many of today's adherents are aging swingers from the old school, a
new generation — well organized and committed to legitimizing a lifestyle
— continues to push traditional notions of marital fidelity by having sex
with people other than their spouses.
But do marriages — fragile institutions traditionally built on the
fidelity and sexual intimacy of two people — work when the doors of the
bedroom are thrown wide open?
"That's like asking if monogamy works," Deborah Anapol, a psychologist and
author of "Polyamory: The New Love Without Limits" told ABC NEWS.com.
"Sometimes it does, and sometimes it doesn't. It depends almost entirely
on the people involved and their willingness to tell the truth and do the
work."
"Polyamory," which literally means "many loves" is a new name for an old
practice.
"There were a few studies on open marriage in the early '60s and '70s, but
the phenomenon seemed to die out and it was just called cheating after
that," said William Doherty, a professor of sociology at the University of
Minnesota.
"It resurfaced as polyamory, and some groups have imbued it with a
spiritual side. They see it as a pathway to personal development. They see
it as a high road; it's not cheating, it's growing their relationship," he
said.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/LifeStages/story?id=3464575&page=1
To respond, go to:
http://www.abcnews.go.com/US/LifeStages/comments?type=story&id=3464575
Swingers' club gets liquor license
by Tillie Fong
The Rocky Mountain News (Denver, CO)
August 9, 2007
A swingers' nightclub finally obtained its liquor license Wednesday after
nearly a year of controversy.
Last September, Scottie Ewing, owner of Sugar House, applied to the city
of Denver for a liquor license for the nightclub, 1395 W. Alameda Ave. At
the time, he had declared that the club would be catering to swinging
couples – those who, in Ewing's words, are "willing to experiment with
their sexual boundaries with other people."
"We're controversial because when we applied for the liquor license, we
said that on Saturday nights we want couples to come in," he said. "That's
what alarmed everyone, even though that's not the only crowd we cater to."
"Some people let their personal beliefs get in the way of doing their
job."
But the city said that the holdup in approving the liquor license was an
issue of architecture, not morality.
Before a license is granted, plans have to meet fire and building codes.
"When the building people got the floor plan, it did not conform to the
floor plan they had submitted," said Awilda Marquez, director of Denver's
excise and license department. "He had changed things – he had torn down a
number of walls that were supposed to be up and put up walls where there
weren't."
She also said that at the liquor license hearing Ewing testified that the
second floor would be used as office space. Instead, inspectors found the
second floor was covered with beds.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/local/article/0,1299,DRMN_15_5665372,00.html
To respond, write to: letters@RockyMountainNews.com
Conservative sexual fetishes: A hardcore guide:
New to right-wing kinks? Violet Blue explains them all
by Violet Blue, special to the SF Gate
The San Francisco Chronicle
August 9, 2007
Conservative right-wingers really know how to make the most of their
sexual fetishes, but do they have to do it in public?
Indeed they do — and it's a form of paraphilia just waiting for its own
Wikipedia page. It's the way that Michelle Malkin dramatically draws out
the word "smut" like a phone sex operator's tool of the trade. It's the
deliciously deep sexual fascination that prompted former Sen. (and current
Fox News contributard and senior advisor for Washington's Ethics and
Public Policy Center) Rick Santorum to state as fact to the Associated
Press, "In every society, the definition of marriage has not ever to my
knowledge included homosexuality. That's not to pick on homosexuality.
It's not, you know, man on child, man on dog, or whatever the case may
be."
Pastor Ted Haggard and Jim West know that what's "wrong" feels
oh-so-right. So do porn obsessed former Attorney General Ed Meese,
porn-fixated current Attorney General Alberto Gonzales. See the
obsessively sexual agenda of the American Family Association. These people
are way more fixated with sexual transgression than me and my porn star
friends put together, and in a wholly apodysophiliac kind of way.
Extreme conservatives have cultivated their anti-sex obsessions into some
highly refined, luridly sexualized fetishes. New to conservative fetish
sex? Let's explore those fetishes, and what makes them so hot:
BDSM (or ess and emm) is for evildoers. The BDSM exchange is where you
project your wildest edge-play ideas. (Serial killers, helpless victims,
and pasty guys with mullets who give the name Mistress Bitchslap at
Starbucks are all possible components in your fantasy scenarios.) Everyone
at Fox News knows that BDSM where consenting adults get tied up and
spanked for sex is one and the same with torture. (Like in Vietnam, NOT
like Abu Ghraib because "we don't torture.") Except the outfits, that's
the only difference, though uniforms are always optional alternatives to
1980s studs and leather. You can easily convince your minions and
followers that your enemy du jour is a homosexual pedophile by bringing in
the whips and chains; only bad people "force" others to do things.
Especially sexual things, which you should linger over for as long as
possible. Everyone knows that normal people never, ever have any hint of
power exchange in their sexual encounters.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/g/a/2007/08/09/violetblue.DTL
To respond, write to: the author at violetblue@sfgate.com or comment at
bottom of the article
Judge metes out 108-year sentence for sex-slaves crimes
by Holly Danks
The Oregonian (Portland, OR)
August 4, 2007
HILLSBORO — One woman wanted the man who 19 years ago chained her in a
closet and held her as his sex slave to be put to death.
A second victim said Vance Jay Roberts should "live in bondage" for the
rest of his life, "the same lifestyle he had planned for me."
After listening to the women during Roberts' sentencing Friday, Washington
County Circuit Judge Timothy P. Alexander decided that 108 years in prison
is enough to satisfy the law and serve the public.
"My duty as a judge is to protect the community from him," said Alexander,
who called Roberts a sociopath and narcissist.
Roberts, 53, proclaimed ignorance and refused to sign a sex-offender
registration form.
"From the very beginning, nobody has listened to me," he said. "This whole
thing has been a whirlwind. From the get-go, I haven't understood any of
the charges."
"What don't you understand?" Alexander asked. "Rape and sodomy are very
straightforward crimes."
Roberts testified during his trial in June that the prostitutes he picked
up in Portland went to his house willingly for extra money. He said he
used bondage only in "Hollywood shots" of them posing nude.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.oregonlive.com/news/oregonian/index.ssf?/base/news/118619251898050.xml&coll=7&thispage=1
To respond, write to: the author at hollydanks@news.oregonian.com or the
editors at letters@news.oregonian.com
Savage Love
by Dan Savage (weekly syndicated opinion/advice column)
LA Weekly (Los Angeles, CA)
August 1, 2007
[Question:] I'm an 18-year-old guy with an awesome kinky girlfriend. She
likes getting tied up, blindfolded, spanked and just about anything else
we can think of. It's awesome. My question is this: We were watching some
BDSM porn and they used these contact lenses that worked as blindfolds
because they were opaque. I've searched high and low and cannot find them.
Help us out!
[signed,] – Ropes Should Come Included
P.S. I guess I wrote in to brag a little, too.
[Dan:] You searched high and low for opaque contact lenses without any
luck. Really? Because just .28 seconds after I Googled "opaque contact
lenses", RSCI, I was clicking through a dozen websites that sell opaque
contact lenses. "Please note, you are not able to see through these
lenses", one site warned. "Unless you want to find out how it is to be
blind", read the disclaimer on another, "wear a white-out contact lens in
one eye only". So it would seem that bragging was the only reason you
wrote in.
[continued]
To read this entire article, got to:
http://www.laweekly.com/la-vida/savage-love/savage-love/16945/
To respond, write to: the author at mail@savagelove.net or the
editors at
http://www.laweekly.com/index.php?option=com_philaform&form_id=2&Itemid=1
Two men charged after alleged bondage-pictures incident
by Benita Y. Williams
The Kansas City Star
July 30, 2007
Two men were charged with drug possession after a bizarre report to
Overland Park police about alcohol, drugs and teen girls tied up and
photographed, making them appear kidnapped.
John Mark Spooner, 37, of Prairie Village, and Aaron Dowe Reedy, 29, of
Excelsior Springs, appeared Monday in Johnson County District Court. Both
are charged with possession of methamphetamine and drug paraphernalia.
The two men and a 17-year-old girl were arrested last weekend after two
teenage girls reported being photographed for bondage-style pictures.
Prosecutors continued to work with police on the case but declined to
comment on whether more charges were expected.
According to police:
The 14-year-old, her mother and a 15-year-old friend were visiting the
area from Nebraska to go to Worlds of Fun. During their visit, police
said, the mother's brother invited the girls to his house in Prairie
Village to spend time with his daughter. After the mother dropped off the
girls Friday, the uncle said that something in his house needed repair and
that everyone would have to go to a hotel.
Once they were at the hotel, a man police described as the 17-year-old's
boyfriend arrived. The uncle then told the girls he wanted to tie them up
and take photos to make it look as if they'd been kidnapped. While the
girls were blindfolded, they also felt something like pinches on their
arms, which the uncle said was to make them appear in distress. Police
said that at some point the girls were untied and everyone returned to the
uncle's home.
The girls reported the alleged incident to the 14-year-old's mother the
next day after she retrieved them.
[continued]
To read this entire article, go to:
http://www.kansascity.com/115/story/211974.html
To respond, write to: the author at bwilliams@kcstar.com or the
editors at letters@kcstar.com
HOW TO WRITE A LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Feedback letters are an effective way to convey a positive image of
alternate sexual practices such as SM, swinging, or polyamory. You can
help to correct negative social myths and misconceptions about these types
of practices. These letters help achieve the advocacy goals of the NCSF.
Generally, for a letter to be published, it's important to include your
name (or first initial, last name), city and daytime phone (for
verification only). For more information, see:
https://ncsfreedom.org/media/writelettertoeditor.htm
Please alert us to positive, negative or neutral stories about SM,
swinging and polyamory at media@ncsfreedom.org. Comments to the editor of
this Update may be sent to keith@ncsfreedom.org.
###
A project of NCSF and ITCR: The Foundation of NCSF
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom (NCSF) is a national organization
committed to altering the political, legal, and social environment in the
U.S. in order to guarantee equal rights for consenting adults who practice
forms of alternative sexual expression. NCSF is primarily focused on the
rights of consenting adults in the SM-leather-fetish, swing, and polyamory
communities, who often face discrimination because of their sexual
expression.
National Coalition for Sexual Freedom
822 Guilford Avenue, Box 127
Baltimore, MD 21202-3707
410-539-4824
media@ncsfreedom.org
www.ncsfreedom.org