Monday, April 19, 2010

Paying for Sex

Now that should get someone's attention. There is a professor at a local university who runs a website dedicated to rating and finding sex in Thailand. The University was contacted and he refuses to shut down the site.

College and Sex Sites

Now, paying for sex is legal in many countries including England and Australia. Personally, I do not believe in prostitution. Heck, I do not believe in promiscuity; but, these are personal beliefs. They are in regard to what I would endulge in. If the sex trade with adults is legal in Thailand, how can it be illegal or even improper for someone to post about it.

I want to be clear, according to the article, the Professor specifically states that sex with minors will not be discussed nor condoned. We can discuss what is the appropriate age of consent; however, in the United States it is usually under 18.

The question then becomes should people in America be allowed legally to support things that are illegal in America being done in other countries where it is legal. The question is harder than one might assume. In Europe it is legal to have sex with animals. It is not legal in America. Should Americans be allowed to travel to Europe to have sex with animals? How would we know their reason for travelling?

The general rule is very biblical, when in Rome do as the romans. This is to say that you must follow the laws of the country you are in. It gets complicated if you marry a ten year old in Saudi Arabia and then bring her to the United States. You are now in violation of our laws and have chosen to be here so you have chosen to be under our laws. Jail time.

The internet makes national boundaries less clear. The answer is still to be found. If all one does is talk about it then it would seem to be a matter of free speech. If they are making money from it then they have crossed the boundaries. This is to say that putting up a website that had people pay to have sex with minors in other countries violates our laws regardless of the country that the sex occurred in.

Marijuana is illegal in Japan, very much so. Should a Japenese blogger go to jail for rating marijuana sold in America? What if he told Americans who to buy it from? What if he had people in America selling it and taking a profit?

These could be questions of international law or local law. The decision will be left to the courts and congress. The right decision is to allow societies to choose for themselves rather than having international law imposed on them. Think about it.

Odd Bits

Just some random links, maybe you can find meaning in them.

Two rabbis kneecapped in Los Angeles

No charges against former General Manager of Bldg and Safety

Elliott Broidy Pension Corruption

Broidy connections

Los Angeles money laundering and the Israel connection

So if you read the articles and the prior ones on pensions a picture emerges. An odd picture to be sure. There appears to be government pension money going to investments in Israel including the pension for the City of Los Angeles. The investments fail to the tune of $350 million and no investigation is done.

At the same time, Los Angeles was being used as a major source for money laundering, again, going back to Israel. The Prime Minister in Israel who brought the pension funds over is hiding in Spain and is being charged with corruption in Israel.

As things were unfolding, kidnappings and kneecappings are going on. Who knows what and who is talking? Well, Mr. Broidy is talking. Seeing as he moved hundreds of millions of dollars, he might be saying interesting things. It is funny how most of these people invested in politiicians. Heck, Broidy was a major supporter of the governor and the Mayor.

How does someone, anyone, justify receiving over $200 million just for making introductions. Mr. Villalobos. If you clicked the link, you now know that Mr. Villalobos was a Deputy Mayor under Riordan. Another tie between CalPers and the City of Los Angeles retirment systems. Another tie to another man who is investigated for corruption.

Public funds are the next Madoff

By the way, this is not some stupid "Jewish" conspiracy. This is international corruption and the players are all over. When the pension investigations are over, you will find that every religious and non-religious group was involved. It is about greed and corruption.

The people involved were less concerned about nationality and religion than they were with money. The people who took kickbacks, the pension board members, the businesses, they represented a wide range of interests.

What is amusing is that what finally broke the story was money from the pensions going to Peggy Lipton, an actress and funding a film she made. What is the nature of corruption?

Corruption is a moral fault, it is allowing oneself to do as one pleases and not worrying how it impacts others, it is the heart of the rat race. We do know right from wrong, we feel it in our hearts. Greed and lust go together and lead to corruption. Wherever I find one, I find the other.

The solution to corruption can either be a lack of privacy and close control or a change in our ways. People do not start out as adulterers or liars or thieves, they work towards it over years. They give up boundaries in exchange for treasure. The bible says something about where ones true heart is there also is what they treasure. What do you treasure?

We should treasure one another and doing what is best for all. Do you? What do you treasure? You can figure it out by looking at what you protect and seek. Excuses do not change the reality of what we seek. Coming up with justifications for why we seek it does not change WHAT we seek. It is a matter of trade offs.

Dogs do not know the differance between right and wrong. They merely know what they like and have to do to get it. They like cookies and don't like being hit. People can rise above that and live by intent. It just takes the willingness and want.

What happens when we all do as we wish and don't worry about each other. It becomes a competition of the most corrupt and a brutal world.