Tuesday, September 22, 2009

Junk Mail Subject Lines

Here are some hilarious subject lines from spam that I've received. Some of them are slightly dirty so be aware. I'll try to update these daily. Enjoy.

Note: Bad grammar has been left in intentionally.
_________________________________________

  • Get rid of the flatness in your pants just in a few weeks.
  • Grab one little blue pill and prepare yourself for the night of adventures.
  • Where is your male strength?
  • Offers authentic-looking fake University_Dip1oma/Degrees....cheap price offer! Limited time!
  • Supersize it - don't wait another minute.
  • Your stick will be in harmony with her hole.
  • Women always are ready to sleep with men who look rich.
  • If you have a small bulge, the world around you seems small as well.
  • The hard friend in your pants will look up into the sky.
  • Keep them coming back with a long schlong.
  • Be happy in bed every night.
  • Get the Cartier as your portable status symbol.
  • Your embarrassment has died instead you have the pride.
  • Women will jump in your bed like crazy rabbits.
  • Turn your sausage into a wiener.
  • Walk with pride around the pool having huge and lovely tool.
  • Unzip your pants for some extra meat.
  • Don't be ashamed of your tool like you were in high school.
  • With that power in your pants you can seduce any women.
  • With that pill you can try different experiments in bed.
  • The magic blue pill will wake up your little friend in a few minutes.
  • Give your male member the strength to remember.
  • The life of a man with a small member is often boring and dull.
  • Your embarrassment has died instead you have the pride.
  • Grow a big one today.
  • You will be blessed she will be impressed.
  • Your bedroom will be your palace as with that size you will be the king.
  • Magnify your love making stamina.
  • Women love to be possessed by handsome men who are well-blessed.
  • You are strong enough to have it whenever you want it.
  • Every man knows: no erection - no party.
  • You can forget about hearing the word NO.
  • You will be a king not only among average guys but also among big guys.
  • Tired of having a peanut in your pants?
  • Change your stick from weak to thick.
  • Feel your pants expand with the new formula.
  • Decorate your body with a huge instrument.
  • Every woman will respect you and your best male friend.
  • Get King Kong in pants.
  • She will really choke - believe us it's no joke.
  • Just think of pleasant motions with your new proportions.
  • This blue tablet kills ignorance in every woman.
  • Lots of girls have the rule - not to go on date without a ruler.
  • Women will beg you to walk naked and shake it.
  • Women will go crazy from pleasure and men will go crazy from jealousy.
  • Huge manhood is your ticket to paradise!
  • Displeased with the measurement of your willy?
  • Now you can stuff her like a Thanksgiving turkey by giving her more meat.
  • Learn how to get a biggie stick very safe and very quick.
  • Change the time in your pants from 5:30 to 12 sharp.
  • All your dates end up spending the nights alone because of your miserable little friend?
  • A small incher kills all the pleasure for both partners.
  • You don't have to be green to be incredible.
  • Your manhood will return to you like a boomerang.
  • Free your small instrument from that big handlock.
  • Your phone will not stop ringing - and all calls will be from gorgeous women.
  • Now you will not get out of your bed for days.
  • With that magic pill you will be magnetic for women.
  • Don't keep her waiting - change those ants in your pants to a real beast.
  • With every extra inch you climb one more stair on the ladder of masculinity.
  • You won't hear "Good-byes" because of your size.
  • She would become your property if you just had a bigger member.
  • Your python will be able to work for days without a rest!
  • Pull down your pants like a real king.
  • Your bulge will be so noticeable you will have to wear a kilt.
  • Now you can do it no matter how tired you are.
  • Tired of your little friend staring at the floor?
  • Keep her moaning and groaning all night long.
  • Your chick will be impressed when she sees you undressed.
  • Pretty women worldwide will know about your big pride.
  • Welcome to big monsters in pants.
  • Women will flow like a tide to see your biggie pride.
  • Every inch of your body can be strong and virile if you want it.
  • Your perfect mega beast will be 10 inches at least.
  • Turn your bedroom life into a volcano of pleasure.
  • Every time you are hungry for an erection, the blue pill can give it to you.
  • The vigor in your pants will be unbreakable.
  • Turning to Google instead of God?
  • Any, even the most dirty desires will come true with our male enhancing set.
  • Orgasmic wonderland can be yours.
  • Your little guy watches you tie your shoes.
  • Provide your girlfriend with a sleepless night.
  • Rectify your bed issues, right here, right now.
  • Get a pole the Hulk would be proud of.
  • Be bigger than ever before now with organ pills.
  • Get a pole larger than your forearm.
  • Even famous movie stars would give up everything for a bigger tool.
  • Women will be losing their minds over your bulge.
  • Women don't like it tender they need a major member.
  • You can have a mega tool like a horse or even mule.
  • Women will be able to read the number of your inches on your forehead.
  • Women would love to lick your stick more than a candy.
  • Your manhood will become a true locomotive, hot and unstoppable.
  • Your nose is hung because you are not hung?
  • Women crave men with bigger dongs.
  • The secrets of women attraction lie in the size of your male friend.
  • Your perfect mega beast will be 10 inches at least.
  • A bigger instrument functions much better than a small one.
  • Be proud of your biggest achievement that shines in your pants.
  • You will be mega cool if you get a bigger tool.
  • Your new improved stick will be bigger than the brick.
  • Are you a victim of cruel nature because your inadequate size?
  • Turn her on like an engine.
  • Your jeans will need a stronger zipper as too much meat will be pressing on them.
  • Women will stare at your member like at the museum.
  • With such a developed huge monster in your pants you can catch a real gold fish.
  • The truth is: a fat woman is not attractive!
  • Your big tool will be like a soldier: big, strong and always ready.
  • Small banana brings small problems, big banana brings no problems.
  • Why Young Beautiful Women Can Get You Killed and What You Can Do.
  • Your wife always mentions your little dimensions?
  • The longer your instrument is, the shorter the ladder to success.
  • Your small instrument hurts your whole body and personality?
  • You might be making millions by showing your beast in the public.
  • If your hair can grow why your member can't.
  • Now a large, long and thick member in pants has a name.
  • Are you sick because the size of your stick?
  • With a giant device you will feel a bigger man.
  • Now you don't have to wear bigger shoes to trick women around you.
  • here are just so many things that you can do with a bigger member.
  • Your member will always get the highest grades.
  • Your member will be like a magnet for beautiful women.
  • Your stiff wang = her moans.
  • She won't need a magnifying glass from now to find your tool.
  • We know the method to get your small buddy up.
  • She will not need a magnifying glass from now to find your instrument.
  • From no you don't need a crane to lift your tool up.
  • Have a look at drugs of high quality but friendly prices.
  • You have a dwarf in your pants?
  • Your rod will be faultless weapon.
  • Drink just one unit and her moans will fill the air with passion.
  • Turn your meat battleship on!
  • You could be King Kong with a monster dong.
  • Extending your male tool means winning a war.
  • To the stars your manhood flies when you are happy with your size.
  • Every man dies for a bigger size - so you can stay alive.
  • You don't have to look like trash even if you have cash.
  • Have a bone to pick her?
  • Make your rod staying!
  • We know the method to wake up your small buddy.
  • Now you will be able to please any size-queen.
  • Your device is so petite she scarcely finds it in bed.
  • Your nose is hung because you are not hung?
  • Women love enormous tool and believe us - that's rule.
  • Your trunk has shrunk? We know how to renew its size.
  • Shove your giant and give her real tension.
  • When you would like to feel like a superman, nothing must stand on your way.
  • The best way to take revenge on your ex is to make your member bigger.
  • Powder for custard launcher.
  • Doping for your pork sword.
  • Knowing the time is very important. Get a watch.
  • If watering your instrument doesn't help it grow we know what works.
  • Make your knob firm like steel.
  • Bigger penis = Happy girl
  • Ladies like long action flatboat hayseed unhandy semipellucid.
  • A complete gentleman in bed is all the time ready.
  • Deeper in her entrails.
  • A fabulous instrument will give you a fabulous reputation.
  • If you had a gold fish, you would ask for a bigger instrument.
  • You don't need to kill yourself over that fat belly.
  • If you had a larger thing in pants, your life would have been better.
  • Good shells for your love gun!
  • We can't give you charm of Cazanova: But we can give you wood-on of Ron Jeremy!
  • Make your zipper knight the best in the whole town.
  • Charge your love generator.
  • Enhancing your male weapon means winning a competition.
  • Nothing makes a man manlier than a few extra inches in pants.
  • Being well-endowed is the biggest gift the nature can give to a man.
  • Girl seeks fun, Carhart wearing man.
  • Make your lovestick your wifes favorite toy.
  • Feel the wonder of having a tremendous instrument.
  • Want your meaty lever to go up and forward all night?
  • Nothing can make your girlfriend luckier than your big rod.
  • Your stick will be big not only when you close your eyes.
  • Enjoy the delicious taste of having a monster in your pants.
  • Having a big beast in your pants will make you a beast in bed.
  • Change your little pecker to enormous beast.
  • Your sweetheart will be on cloud nine if you enlarge your stick.
  • Even the shyest girls like it thick and long.
  • The more inches in your pants, the more women in your bedroom.
  • Nothing can make your girlfriend luckier than your big rod.
  • To bang her without a rest, you just need a little support.
  • You can trick the nature and make a monster out of your timid animal.
  • With this you will go through your girl like a bulldozer.
  • The most passionate lovers are the men with big hoses.
  • The longer your tool is the shorter the way to popularity.
  • Your girl will love to jump on your super hard pole!
  • Women don't care about your money as long as your trunk is long and hard.
  • Girls prefer well hung men Women will be singing odes to the majestic monster in your pants.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Glue revenge caper is one sticky wicket

Jim Stingl | In My Opinion | JSOnline

There's no way that what happens in Stockbridge stays in Stockbridge, especially when it's this krazy.

Four women's revenge against a three-timing man in the Wisconsin village is international news.

History will record that the biggest thing to ever happen in this community of 649 people is that a man had his penis Krazy Glued to his stomach by the women, including his wife, who ambushed him at a local motel July 30.

He's going to be OK, though for a while he may have to pee while standing on his head.

This story is making men grimace and women cheer. A New York Daily News online poll found 57% of readers voting for "Good for them; that husband got what he deserved," while just 23% thought the lesson he was taught was worse than the cheating.

I'm left wondering if women in Calumet County routinely carry Krazy Glue in their purses in case love turns sour, or if this was premeditated. Maybe they were sniffing the stuff first.

The four women face criminal charges. I found it surprising that holding this dude against his will is a felony, but connecting his junk to his stomach is a misdemeanor.

From the complaint filed in court we hear that Therese Ziemann, 48, met Donessa T. Davis Sr., on Craigslist and fell in love. But she learned he had a wife, Tracy Hood-Davis, 30, and at least one other girlfriend, Wendy Sewell, 43.

This is what's known as a love quadrangle. See, geometry class does apply to real life.

According to the complaint, Ziemann lured Davis to the Lakeview Motel with the promise of a massage. She tied up his arms and legs on the bed and blindfolded him. The trap was set. "He's tied up," she texted to Hood-Davis, Sewell and Ziemann's sister Michelle Belliveau, 43, who joined them.

The women were now his judge, jury and adhesioner. They scolded Davis for deceiving them, and they slapped him around. Then Ziemann decided it was time to stick 'im up with the glue. Summer lovin' happened so fast.

The women fled, leaving Davis to chew his way to freedom. His status as victim didn't last long; Davis was charged Thursday with child abuse and also with theft and harassment. The latter charges came after he allegedly threatened his wife after breaking into her Fond du Lac house last week. The couple have been living apart lately, the complaint says.

It might seem that Ziemann was expressing righteous anger by declaring an epoxy on her married lover's house. But The Associated Press wrote that when a reporter called Ziemann's residence for a comment, her husband answered the phone.

Sewell said she was ashamed and embarrassed about what happened. She went on national television to express this shame.

Someday, after the skin grows back, Davis might chuckle about all this, but it would have been very painful to have a belly laugh right after it happened. Still, though, it could be worse. Lorena Bobbitt would say, "You call that a punishment?"

By the way, there's no truth to the rumor that President Obama has invited the whole bunch to the White House for beer and conversation.

When I thought of Krazy Glue, I always pictured the construction worker in the TV commercial, hanging from his hard hat glued to a girder.

Unfortunately, a new image now pops to mind.

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Pimp problem not new to Milwaukee

Eugene Kane | In My Opinion |Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Online

As shocking as it may seem to some, Milwaukee is no stranger to what is known as pimping.

Due to its close proximity to Chicago - the city known as the undisputed pimping capital of the Midwest - Milwaukee has earned a reputation in some circles as a place where a number of nationally known pimps first got their starts.

(No, I don't think that's something the local tourist board should start promoting.)

The latest is Derrick Avery, a 42-year-old Milwaukee native, who was arrested in Las Vegas last week and charged with running a prostitution ring for more than a decade that often used young females as young as 14 years old. Avery was known by the street name of "Pimp Snooky" and apparently built a network of sex-for-sale entrepreneurs who traveled across the country, including Milwaukee, Chicago and Las Vegas.

Avery was featured on a 1999 HBO documentary called "Pimps Up, Ho's Down," which captured him doing his dirty business for the cameras. (Another alleged Milwaukee pimp, Ken Ivy, a.k.a. "Pimpin' Ken," was also featured in the film.)

In the documentary, Avery explained his philosophy of pimping, which basically came down to finding weak-minded young women and girls to exploit. Avery and other pimps described it as a form of mind control; according to some experts, it's no surprise many of the girls came from dysfunctional homes with no positive male role models.

That might be one reason so many of them end up calling their pimps "Daddy."

Avery's arrest was just the latest case involving a Milwaukeean busted on accusations of this kind of sex trafficking. In February, a federal grand jury indicted a Milwaukee father and son team charged with running a sex ring featuring young women. Several high-profile drug dealers were also involved in prostitution activities on the side.

This is a city where, legend has it, a Players' Ball featuring pimps from all over the region was held years ago at a respectable downtown hotel. According to the story, nobody realized what kind of affair had been booked until after all the flashy black guys in jewelry and fur coats started showing up with women in short, tight skirts on their arms.

I have known about several black-owned nightclubs over the years with reputations for being havens for local pimps. I have also interviewed youth counselors and social workers who believe what many of the young girls seduced into a life of prostitution have in common is a crippling lack of self-esteem easily manipulated by smooth-talking older men.

The glorification of pimps in hip-hop culture has also contributed to the problem. Back in 1969, a Chicago pimp named Iceberg Slim published a popular autobiographical novel called "Pimp: The Story of My Life," that defined the genre for a generation. Slim's real name was Robert Beck; he was born in Chicago but spent significant parts of his childhood in Milwaukee.

I remember reading "Pimp" as a teenager; back then, it was considered one of those "dirty books" you had to hide from parents.

I don't believe Milwaukee's in danger of becoming a pimp capital, but recent cases speak to the larger danger facing many young women and girls in the community. They need to be on guard against slick father figures out there who want to make you sell not just your body but your soul.

What kind of daddy would make you to do that?

Thursday, July 9, 2009

Talking Of The Death Of Journalism

July 9th, 2009 | researchmaterial

I’ve been so busy today that I’ve not had time to follow this huge story, and I guess it hasn’t broken internationally yet:

Rupert Murdoch’s News Group Newspapers has paid out more than £1m to settle legal cases that threatened to reveal evidence of his journalists’ repeated involvement in the use of criminal methods to get stories.

The payments secured secrecy over out-of-court settlements in three cases that threatened to expose evidence of Murdoch journalists using private investigators who illegally hacked into the mobile phone messages of numerous public figures and to gain unlawful access to confidential personal data including tax records, social security files, bank statements and itemised phone bills. Cabinet ministers, MPs, actors and sports stars were all targets of the private investigators.

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Water from the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui

A fisherman fills his cupped palms with water from the algae-filled Chaohu Lake in Hefei, Anhui province, June 16, 2009. The country has invested 51 billion yuan towards the construction of 2,712 projects for the treatment of eight rivers and lakes including Huaihe River, Haihe River, Liaohe River, Chaohu Lake, Dianchi Lake, Songhua River, the Three Gorges region of the Yangtze River and its upstream area, Xinhua News Agency reported.

REUTERS/Stringer

Blow filled shark carcasses!

Mexican naval officers stand guard after cutting open more than 20 shark carcasses filled with slabs of cocaine after checking a container ship in a container port in the southern Mexico state of Yucatan June 16, 2009. Mexico's navy seized more than a tonne of cocaine stuffed inside frozen sharks, as drug gangs under military pressure go to greater lengths to conceal narcotics bound for the United States.

REUTERS/Argely Salaza

Tattoo gone wrong: Stars and gripes forever?

Wed Jun 17, 2009 7:04am EDT

BRUSSELS (Reuters) - A Belgian teenager has told police how she emerged from a tattoo parlor with 56 stars over one side of her face, rather than the three she had asked for, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

"I said this part, the top, is ok, but not the rest," Kimberley Vlaeminck from the city of Kortrijk, 90 km (56 miles) northwest of Brussels, told Belgian broadcaster VRT.

The 18-year-old said she fell asleep during the procedure, and woke up in pain when her nose was being tattooed.

A spokesman for Kortrijk prosecutors' office said police were investigating after a complaint from the teenager.

The tattoo artist said Vlaeminck had agreed to 56 stars.

"She agreed, but when her father saw it, the trouble started," Belgian newspaper Het Laatste Nieuws quoted the man as saying.

Vlaeminck said she wanted to keep the tattoos on her forehead but would have the rest removed.

(Reporting by Antonia van de Velde)



Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Atari 2600 iPod Dock

Creator Byron Casebier, at Gizmodo:
Here is my weak (and slightly unfinished) Atari iPod Dock. I thought sharing may create interest for someone that can do this better. As far as specs, I gutted a broken, iPod clock radio and put it all inside the Atari.

See a gallery o'er the Giz: The Atari 2600 iPod Dock

Monday, June 15, 2009

Ancient mass grave found on Olympics site

Fri Jun 12, 2009 10:44am EDT


By Stefano Ambrogi

LONDON (Reuters) - An ancient burial pit containing 45 severed skulls, that could be a mass war grave dating back to Roman times, has been found under a road being built for the 2012 British Olympics.

Archaeologists, who have only just begun excavating the site, say they do not yet know who the bones might belong to.

"We think that these dismembered bodies are likely to be native Iron Age Britons. The question is -- how did they die and who killed them," said dig head, David Score, of Oxford Archaeology.

"Were they fighting amongst themselves? Were they executed by the Romans? Did they die in a battle with the Romans?

"The exciting scenario for us possibly is that there were skirmishes with the invading Romans and that's how they ended up chopped up in a pit," he told Reuters.

When the main Roman invasion force landed in Britain in AD 43, Claudius' legions moved swiftly through western England to subdue fierce Celtic tribes.

The skulls and other bones were unearthed at a place called Ridgeway Hill, on the construction site of a new major relief road to Weymouth, on the Dorset coast in southwest England.

The seaside town -- in the heart of Thomas Hardy country -- is to host sailing events for the London Olympics.

The grave site is close to Maiden Castle -- Europe's largest Iron Age hill fort where local tribes are said to have staged a last stand against the Roman legions after the invasion.

Some historians believe the Romans sacked the site, butchering its population including women and children, before burning it to the ground.

Score said they had counted 45 skulls so far in the 6-meter wide pit, together with a tangle of torsos, arms and legs, More could be found in the coming weeks.

Most of the skulls were those of young men, supporting the theory they could have been killed in battle or executed en masse.

"One of the things that we will be looking for is do they have sword cut marks on the bones, and how were the heads dismembered: prior to or after death in an act of victory," Score said.

Archaeologists say they could also be Roman citizens or indigenous people who had died through disease or disaster.

Few artifacts have so far been found with the bones, though pottery shards dating to the late Iron Age and early Roman period have been found scattered around the pit.

"It is rare to find a burial site like this one," Score said. "There are lots of different types of burial where skeletons may be aligned along a compass axis or in a crouched position, but to find something like this is just incredible."

(Editing by Steve Addison)

Afgan musicians attacked at wedding!?

Mon Jun 15, 2009 8:37am EDT

JALALABAD, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Taliban fighters beat musicians, shaved their heads and left them tied to trees overnight because they performed at an Afghan wedding, a village tribal chief said Monday, a sign of the fighters' growing influence.

While in power from 1996-2001, the Taliban banned music as un-Islamic.

The militants have returned to areas in the east and south of the country, where violence has sharply spiked in recent years. They attack government officials, Afghan police, foreign troops and schools that teach girls, another practice they forbid.

"A party was going on when a group of Taliban grabbed five musicians and started beating them and smashing their musical instruments," said Rahmatullah Khan, a head of Merke Khel village in the east of the country.

"The musicians were tied up with rope to trees last night and villagers found them in the morning when going out for prayers," Khan said.

Khan said Taliban fighters shaved the heads of the musicians and made them take oaths in the presence of villagers that they would not sing or play music at weddings again.

Afghan weddings and engagement parties in rural areas are traditionally celebrated with hundreds of guests, music and singing that often continues until late at night.

(Reporting by Rafiq Sherzad; Writing by Hamid Shalizi)

Thursday, June 11, 2009

U.S. job-seekers try new tricks to get employers' eye

Wed Jun 10, 2009 2:59pm EDT

By Ellen Wulfhorst

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Job-seekers are using unusual gimmicks to grab the attention of potential employers, such as in one case sending a shoe along with a resume to get a "foot in the door," said a survey released on Wednesday.

Almost a fifth of hiring managers report seeing more unconventional tactics this year, compared with 12 percent who said so last year, according to the study by CareerBuilder.com, an online jobs site.

Faced with the highest unemployment in 25 years, candidates are trying a variety of tricks, including:

* handing out resumes at stoplights

* washing cars in a company parking lot

* staging a sit-in in a company lobby to demand a meeting with a director

* sending a cake designed as a business card with the candidate's picture

* handing out personalized coffee cups

* going to the same barber as the company chairman to have the barber speak on his behalf

One job-seeker attached a shoe to a resume as "a way to get my foot in the door," a respondent told the survey.

"The search for employment is taking longer and is more competitive than it has been in past years," said Jason Ferrara, senior career adviser at CareerBuilder, in a statement. "To compensate, some candidates have turned to extreme tactics."

But he cautioned: "While unusual job search antics may attract the attention of hiring managers, they need to be done with care and professionalism so that candidates are remembered for the right reasons."

The online survey was conducted for CareerBuilder by Harris Interactive among 2,543 full-time hiring managers and human resource professionals between February 20 and March 11, 2009. The overall results have a margin of error of plus or minus 1.94 percentage points.

CareerBuilder is owned by Gannett Co Inc, Tribune Co, McClatchy Co and Microsoft.

(Editing by Alan Elsner and Michelle Nichols)

Saturday, May 9, 2009

Slippery Slope of Gay Marriage (Reaction & Re-post)

Wow, Pat Robertson is now most definitely swimming eyebrow deep in his own arrogant bigoted BULLSHIT! Is this guy fu@$ing for real? My head hurts just contemplating the fact that people actually listen to this shite standby and believe in it! REALLY!? How does this piece of shit live with himself!? Who are these people that support him? "Slippery slope" leading to polygamy!, bestiality!, child molestation! and pedophilia! WTF! REALLY!?

That is beyond preposterous to even have a thought such as this. Come on! Just because no other society has legalized same sex marriage doesn't mean that WE as the great nation of the United States of America can't be the leading trailblazers of social equality in the world. God damn you filthy socially conservative prats for even considering this so called "slippery slope" that Mr. Robertson is suggesting. Your ignorance of legally documented love is completely unjustified with NO merit in this ever changing world. Tell me this, what is someone who loves, truly loves, someone else of the same gender going to matter in YOUR life? They aren't taking your money, physically harming you or enslaving you to build monuments to some demonic god!? What is the problem? I truly DO NOT understand.


How the hell can it be better to have two people who are NOT in love be married and not allow two people who genuinely ARE in love suffer because the ignorant conservative pricks on the right have the power to keep it that way...for now.

There is NO logic what so ever conveyed by the denial of same sex marriages. The only thing that I see here is complete and undeniable; ignorance, arrogance, closed mindedness, brain washing, fear, mental simplicity, de-evolution, failure, unwillingness, ugliness, evil, bigotry, hatred, immorality, Nazism, Fascism and above all LACK OF PATRIOTISM.

That is all.


~ Ky

Slippery Slope of Gay Marriage: It's all about contract law

Sat May 09, 2009 at 10:07:30 AM PDT

How many conservatives have claimed that permitting gay marriage constitutes some sort of "slippery slope" that will extend rights to perversions such as bestiality and pedophilia?

This past week, conservative evangelist Pat Robertson made the slippery slope argument:

On the Christian Broadcasting Network today, Pat Robertson responded by claiming that the "ultimate conclusion" of legalizing same-sex marriage would be the legalization of polygamy, bestiality, child molestation and pedophilia. "You mark my words, this is just the beginning in a long downward slide in relation to all the things that we consider to be abhorrent," said Robertson.

And who can forget former Republican Senator Rick Santorum's comments in 2003 on gay marriage:

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.

In supporting a Texas law against sodomy, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia wrote:

State laws against bigamy, same-sex marriage, adult incest, prostitution, masturbation, adultery, fornication, bestiality, and obscenity are likewise sustainable only in light of Bowers’ validation of laws based on moral choices.

Mike Huckabee in 2008:

Well, I don't think that's a radical view to say we're going to affirm marriage. I think the radical view is to say that we're going to change the definition of marriage so that it can mean two men, two women, a man and three women, a man and a child, a man and animal. Again, once we change the definition, the door is open to change it again. I think the radical position is to make a change in what's been historic.

These are only a few in a long string of arguments absurdly asserting that gay marriage will somehow lead to the legalization of such degenerate acts as bestiality and pedophilia.

What is marriage? Marriage is a legal contract, entered into by consent of two people. Let's address some of their arguments.

Bestiality:
Can dogs, horses, goats, or any other animal enter into a legal contract in the United States? No.

Pedophilia:
Can children enter into legal contracts of their own accord? No. Can pre-adolescent children get married even with parental consent? No.

There is, therefore, no reason to think that marriage between two consenting adults equates with marriage between one consenting adult and a non-consenting animal or child.

Polygamy:
Marriage equality implies a legal right for two adults of any sex (two men, two women, one man/one woman)to elect to enter into a legally binding contract that confers certain rights and obligations. If the law does not permit more than two people to enjoin into this contract, gay marriage will never lead to legalized polygamous marriage. People with polygamous inclinations retain the option everyone individual has--to marry one person of their choosing.

Incest:
The law prohibits people of certain genetic relationships from entering into a marriage contract, regardless of gender. Gay marriage does not nullify this legal provision. What if an adult brother and sister want to marry one another? Can the law refuse or does that deny them marriage equality? Prohibiting incestuous marriages does not violate marriage equality, because the incestuous person is not prevented from marrying someone--of either gender--but only from marrying family members.

If gay marriage is legalized, a brother cannot marry his brother nor can a sister marry her sister, and so on. Even gay incestuous people will not be able to marry. This is marriage equality.

There is no evidence to suggest incestuous people are only able to form relationships with the small number of people in their family. For example, if the incestuous person's family died suddenly or was not receptive to his/her advances, it is doubtful that person would remain celibate lifelong, unable to partner with anyone else. It is not that he/she is only able to have incestuous relationships but that they have developed an intense attraction to one specific person. A mental state of only being able to be attracted to one person, no matter what (if they died, rejected you, etc), by nature indicates a mental health problem. Gay people do not have that problem.

The Dominos Collapse:
Any argument that legalizing gay marriage means legalizing every type of union between consenting adults is inherently flawed. The only way this argument has validity is to operate from the perspective that homosexuality is a willful deviancy. Of course, the conservatives above and those making these arguments have adopted that view.

Most of us who know gay people, however, know they are not deviants and that homosexuality and gay marriage is about more than sex. Homosexual relationships do not consist of one person forcing him/herself on someone/something incapable of consent or being psychologically restricted to forming a relationship with only one other person, ever.

Who knows whether there is an inherent "right" to marry. Contracts, after all, do not exist in nature. If the US government, in its wisdom, has decided to legalize contracted unions between two people, however, everyone in the US should have the opportunity to enter into these contracts for a (theoretically) lifelong partnership.

While the government can set conditions on who can enter into a marriage contract, the decision to force homosexuals to choose a partner from among the opposite sex denies them the opportunity to select someone with whom they could potentially build a lifelong relationship and is therefore discriminatory.

Civil Unions:
Calling marriage between gays something else (civil unions) is silly. If one person who gets breast implants calls it a boob job and another person calls it breast augmentation, does it somehow mean they had different procedures? It is an artificial distinction and therefore unnecessary.

Conservatives love false distinctions. Calling torture "enhanced interrogation" does not make it any less torture. And giving gays all the rights of marriage but calling it Civil Union does not make it any less a marriage. The reason the distinction is objectionable is that it is unnecessary and has its roots in bigotry.

Applying the label "Civil Union" is nothing more than an effort to signal homosexuals out as somehow less than "real" Americans and so that bigoted heterosexual people can assure themselves that their marriages mean more than those deviant "civil unions."

True Equality:
Telling gay people they cannot fornicate with animals or children, they cannot marry more than one person at a time, and they cannot marry a close relative is not discriminatory. These rules hold true for all Americans, gay and straight.

Letting gays marry does not force us to abandon all moral justifications for objecting to things that cause others or society harm. So far, the only individuals who seem to be harmed by the existence of homosexuality in our society are homosexuals, thanks to the bigotry of some heterosexuals.

**UPDATE**
A lot of people seem to have difficulty with the argument I have made on polygamous marriage, so I want to clarify.

  1. First, you cannot equate polyamory with gay or straight. A polyamorous person is a gay or straight person, which means that polyamory is a subset of heterosexuality/homosexuality, not an equal third class of marriage partners.
  1. I take no position on the morality of polygamy. One could argue it is Biblical and allowed in some societies and therefore not immoral. The morality of it is not relevant to the argument.
  1. My argument is that denying people who want to marry more than one person the right to do so does not deprive them of the right to enter into a contract with someone with whom they plan to form a lifelong, fulfilling relationship. A polygamous person forms one relationship at a time. One marriage comes "first." Therefore, that person does first select some one with whom they believe they can share a life, independent of a prospective subsequent marriage. Refusing to allow all people the right to marry a second person with whom they believe they can share a life does not violate the principle of marriage equality.
  1. Denying a gay person the right to marry another gay person absolutely denies this segment of the population the right to enter into a marriage contract with a person with whom he/she has the possibility of forming fulfilling lifelong relationship. Ergo, you violate the principle of marriage equality.

UK publishes list of 'least wanted' people


I must say that I give a thousand praises to England's Home Secretary Ms. Jacqui Smith! Keep up the fine work keeping England clean of social bigotry (i.e. Michael Savage & Rev. Fred Phelps) it's a beautiful thing and you deserve a a big pat on the back!

updated 10:42 a.m. EDT, Wed May 6, 2009

LONDON, England (CNN) -- White supremacists, Islamic clerics, a controversial Kansas pastor and a U.S. talk show host are on a list of 22 people banned from Britain for "stirring up hatred," the British government said Tuesday.

Britain's Home Office said it decided to exclude the 22 in the last several months. The decision follows measures introduced by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith last year against people "who have engaged in spreading hate," the Home Office said.

The Home Office named only 16 of those on the list; it said it was not in the public interest to disclose the names of the other six. A spokeswoman declined to elaborate on why the Home Office would not publicly identify six of the 22.

One of the most recognized names on the list may be U.S. radio talk show host Michael Savage, who is listed under his real name, Michael Alan Wiener. The conservative's daily show can be heard nationwide in the United States.

Savage is on the list for "seeking to provoke others to serious criminal acts and fostering hatred which might lead to inter-community violence."

Savage lashed out at Smith on his Web site, calling her a "witch" and asking how she knew of his show when it isn't syndicated in England.

He also questioned why six names on the list weren't released and why North Korean leader Kim Jong Il and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez didn't make the list.

In an audio clip on his Web site, Savage said he had seven attorneys working on a defamation lawsuit against Smith and encouraged his listeners to call off any travel plans to England and boycott all British products.

"She has painted a target on my back, linking me with people who are in prison for killing people," he said. "How could they put Michael Savage in the same league as mass murderers when I have never avowed violence?"

Outspoken Kansas Rev. Fred Phelps and his daughter, Shirley Phelps-Roper, are also listed for "engaging in unacceptable behavior and fostering hatred."

Phelps and his followers at Westboro Baptist Church oppose homosexuality. They picket the funerals of soldiers killed in Iraq, saying their deaths are God's way of punishing the United States for supporting homosexuals.

They have expressed similar views about the victims of the September 11, 2001, attacks and Hurricane Katrina.

The church's slogan is "God Hates Fags."

Phelps did not issue a response on his Web site. However, he linked to a British news story on the ban and wrote his own headline, calling Smith a "neo-Nazi dyke" and "filthy God-hater."

Former Ku Klux Klan Grand Wizard Don Black, who has said he despises U.S. President Barack Obama, is also on the list. Black established the white supremacist Web site Stormfront, which the Home Office called one of the oldest and largest hate group sites.

Eric Gliebe, chairman of the National Alliance, one of the largest neo-Nazi groups in the United States, is on the list for "justifying terrorist violence, provoking others to commit serious crime and fostering racial hatred."

The Home Office cited Gliebe's "Web-radio broadcasts in which he vilifies certain ethnic groups and encourages the download and distribution of provocative racist leaflets and posters."

Several Islamic clerics are also on the list, including Abdullah Qadri Al Ahdal, Amir Siddique, Yunis Al Astal and Safwat Hijazi. Prolific speaker and writer Wadgy Abd El Hamied Mohamed Ghoneim is also listed.

The list includes Mike Guzofsky, the leader of a militant Jewish group. He has ties to Kahane Chai, a group that the U.S. State Department lists as a foreign terrorist organization.

Russian skinheads Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky are also on the list. The Home Office says they are "leaders of a violent gang that beat migrants and posted films of their attacks on the Internet."

Samir al Quntar, a Lebanese man who spent three decades in prison for killing four Israeli soldiers and a 4-year-old girl in 1979, is also on the list. In an exchange with the militant group Hezbollah, Israel freed al Quntar last year for the bodies of two Israeli soldiers.

Al Quntar is "engaging in unacceptable behavior by seeking to foment, justify or glorify terrorist violence" in order to provoke terrorist acts, the Home Office said.

Nasr Javed and Abdul Ali Musa round out the 16 names made public.

"Coming to the UK is a privilege, and I refuse to extend that privilege to individuals who abuse our standards and values to undermine our way of life," Smith said. "Therefore, I do not hesitate to name and shame those who foster extremist views, as I want them to know that they are not welcome here.

"The government opposes extremism in all its forms and I am determined to stop those who want to spread extremism, hatred and violent messages in our communities from coming to our country," she said. "This is the driving force behind tighter rules on exclusions for unacceptable behavior."

America's Most Overpriced Cities

By Zack O'Malley Greenburg, Forbes.com

May 7th, 2009

Twenty metros where Americans have a hard time meeting expenses.

Vexed by gang wars and rising real estate prices, late rapper Tupac Shakur mused in 1996 that the overall cost of living in Los Angeles was so high that he would almost rather "live life in the pen[itentiary]."

Though East Coast-West Coast gang violence has since subsided, life in the City of Angels remains far from affordable. Thanks to bloated housing prices, lofty living costs and unemployment rates among the highest in the nation, the Los Angeles metro area tops our list of America's Most Overpriced Cities.

At least residents of Los Angeles and the third-ranked Miami metro get to enjoy balmy evenings and sunny days at the beach. Residents of the second-most overpriced metro area, Chicago, get sweltering summers and near-Siberian winters on top of a 9.4% metro area unemployment rate and a cost of living trailing only Los Angeles and New York.

The Big Apple ranks fourth on our list; it's weighed down by high costs and an 8.8% unemployment rate. Those factors overwhelmed the considerable earning power of New Yorkers with bachelor's degrees--$69,200 per year, on average, according to PayScale.com--a figure rivaled only by those in Washington, D.C., and Bay Area locales, including San Francisco. Still, it's not enough to bridge the price gap.

"For the average professional, New York's premium is not as high as you'd expect, given the cost of living," says Al Lee, director of Quantitative Analysis at PayScale. "The premium for a software developer in New York is actually less than it is in Seattle, and about the same as it is in Atlanta."

Even those in less-sprawling cities have it tough. Along with fifth-ranked Providence, R.I., Cleveland(No. 8) is one of the smallest metro areas among the 10 most overpriced cities. Though both boast low home prices and living expenses, they're dragged down by high unemployment and relatively stingy salaries of $56,000, on average.

Behind the Numbers

To compile our list, we looked at earnings potential and living expenses in the 50 largest continental U.S. metropolitan statistical areas and metropolitan divisions--geographic entities defined by the U.S. Office of Management and Budget for use by federal agencies in collecting, tabulating and publishing federal statistics.

We ranked these metros using four measures: average salary for workers with a bachelor's degree or higher, with data from PayScale.com; annual unemployment statistics from the Bureau of Labor Statistics; cost of living, according to Moody's Economy.com; and the Housing Opportunity Index from the National Association of Homebuilders and Wells Fargo, which measures the number of homes sold in a given area that would be affordable to a family earning the local median income, based on standard mortgage underwriting criteria.

Far from Heaven

Los Angeles' troubles can be tied to many of the systemic problems currently plaguing the nation. With a whopping unemployment rate of 10.3%, the City of Angels and nearby Riverside, Calif., are among five of the country's 50 largest metro areas with double-digit unemployment.

Both have suffered as a result of the housing bust. Though neither ranks among America's emptiest cities, L.A. and Riverside have seen new residential building permit rates plummet 82% and 80%, respectively, over the last two years. The national unemployment rate for construction workers is now 21.1%, up from 12% a year ago, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

"The unemployment [in Southern California] is definitely driven by the housing bust," says Lee. "Prices are collapsing, but if you're looking at buying a house, it's still expensive."

Indeed, though the median home price in the Los Angeles metro area has dipped from $525,000 to $319,000 over the last two years, Angelinos still face one of the least affordable housing markets in the country. According to the NAHB/Wells Fargo's Housing Opportunity Index, only New York, Long Island, N.Y., and San Francisco are more expensive.

Of course, living well in Los Angeles isn't impossible, as long as you have the funds. The aforementioned Shakur probably wouldn't have any trouble making ends meet in L.A., or anywhere else, for that matter. The rapper makes about $15 million per year in residuals--despite the fact he's been dead for 12 years.

In Depth: America's Most Overpriced Cities

Bring your own wine to restaurants to save money!


"Looking for an easy way to save money while dining out? Try bringing your own bottle of wine. Spending about $15 at the store and paying $10 for a corkage fee is a lot cheaper than buying a $40 bottle at a restaurant. Bringing your own bottle of wine to a restaurant twice a month can save you an estimated $360 over the course of a year."
I wish that there was more about this story :(
There is also no embed tag for the video!
So here is the link (it's unfortunately really short)


http://www.cbs58.com/index.php?aid=7418

Saturday, May 2, 2009

Happy May Day From the Ninja's on North & Prospect!

Ninja's

Bruegger's Bagels

More Bruegger's Bagels

Smoke Bomb

More Smoke Bomb

Barricade Clean Up

Qudoba

More Qudoba

Group dressed in ninja-style outfits vandalizes east side businesses

A group of 20 to 30 people dressed in black ninja costumes and masks vandalized east side businesses Friday night, causing thousands of dollars in window damage, police said Saturday.

"They were yelling 'Black Knights,'" Milwaukee Police Lt. Milan Stojkovic said.

That's apparently what the group calls itself, and it may have been involved in two to three other vandalism incidents in the past couple years, Police Lt. Michael Robertson said.

Windows were smashed at US Bank, Whole Foods, Qdoba and Bruegger's about 11 p.m. Friday.

Police were investigating whether the vandalism may have been related to a protest earlier Friday evening by a group of self-titled "anarchists" in the Riverwest area, police spokeswoman Anne Schwartz said.

No arrests had been made. Some acts were caught on business video surveillance.


Friday, April 24, 2009

Steampunk Laptop

Check out the rest of this guys AMAZING designs HERE!!! Enjoy!

"This may look like a Victorian music box, but inside this intricately hand-crafted wooden case lives a Hewlett-Packard ZT1000 laptop that runs both Windows XP and Ubuntu Linux. It features an elaborate display of clockworks under glass, engraved brass accents, claw feet, an antiqued copper keyboard and mouse, leather wrist pads, and customized wireless network card. The machine turns on with an antique clock-winding key by way of a custom-built ratcheting switch made from old clock parts.

This laptop was featured in a gallery of steampunk creations on Newsweek.com!
(10/31/07)
It was also featured in a gallery of steampunk creations on Wired.com,
entitled "Steam-Driven Dreams" (it's the 2nd and 3rd thumbnails)
and was seen (about 85% completed) in a video segment on The Wall Street Journal (WSJ.com), in an article in The Boston Globe, and the December '07 issue of
Ocean Drive Magazine."


Thursday, April 23, 2009

The Apache — A 19th Century Personal Protection Gadget

Posted by John in Gadget, Weapons & War on April 21, 2009 at 9:33 pm


The Apache was a combination dagger, pepperbox, and knuckle duster manufactured and sold in the United States from 1870 through 1900. More pictures and history of this unique pocket weapon at the link.

Link

Art Deco keyboard

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Jeffrey Stephenson, maker of extraordinary wooden PC enclosures, writes in that Datamancer's turned 20th century.
My friend Richard Nagy (aka Datamancer) is famous for his Steampunk creations. Well, I think the Steampunk fad may have run its ourse. He has come over to the dark side and created an Art Deco keyboard.

And what a beauty it is!

Datamancer Deco Keyboard [Datamancer]

HERE ARE THE REST OF THE IMAGES

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

The Guitar Hanger in fact does

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Music Radar found a clever thing: the "Guitar Hanger", which lets you hang up your axe in the closet. (You could also put a guitar in it.)

According to the manufacturer's site, it's only available from a few retailers at the moment. But it's a new product, so give them time and I wouldn't be surprised to see them online. The price? No clue.

Guatemala bans motorbike passengers to deter murders

Tue Apr 21, 2009 6:35pm EDT
GUATEMALA CITY (Reuters) - Guatemala has banned motorcyclists from carrying passengers in an attempt to crack down on drive-by murders by gunmen perched on the back of moving bikes.

The Central American country is terrorized by violent street gangs who rob car drivers at gunpoint and kill bus drivers, among others, for failing to pay extortion fees. Hitmen often shoot victims from the back of a motorcycle, which lets them make a speedy getaway if traffic is heavy.

The law implemented this month also requires motorcyclists to wear brightly colored jackets and helmets clearly marked with their vehicle registration number.

Flouting the law will mean a fine of up to $3,000. Police will start charging in May to give people time to comply.

"We're still seeing many bikes with two people. We make the passengers get off but we can't yet give out fines," police spokesman Marco Trejo told Reuters on Monday.

Authorities are struggling to contain youth gangs like the "Mara 18" and "Mara Salvatrucha," which have thousands of members from the United States to Central America and live off extortion, armed assault and drug dealing.

The country of 13 million people is also plagued by crime linked to Mexican drug cartels smuggling South American cocaine north.

More than 40 bus drivers have been killed this year in Guatemala City, many in bike attacks, for not paying off the gangs in an extortion racket worth an estimated $10,000 a day.

The signature technique has also been used recently to murder prominent Guatemalans including a television reporter and the former director of the national chamber of industry.

With over 6,000 murders last year, Guatemala is one of the most violent countries in Latin America.

The ban on pillion passengers is irking many motorbike drivers. "I use my motorcycle to take my children to school and my wife to work," courier Jorge Monterroso said.

"It's too dangerous for them to use the buses where all kinds of people can get on, take out a gun and start shooting."

(Reporting by Sarah Grainger, editing by Patricia Zengerle)

Bra deflects bullet aimed at woman

Wed Apr 22, 2009 1:43pm EDT

DETROIT (Reuters) - A 57-year-old Detroit woman avoided serious injury when the underwire on her bra deflected a bullet shot at her from next door, police said.

The woman, who lives on the West side of Detroit, saw a group of men breaking into a neighbor's house on Tuesday morning. When the men spotted her, one of them fired a shot at her, a police spokesman said.

The bullet struck the underwire on the woman's bra and that saved her from a more serious injury, police said.

"It did slow the bullet down," said Detroit police spokesman Phillip Cook. "She sustained injuries but they're not life threatening."

The woman, who was not identified, was treated at a nearby hospital. The suspects in the shooting drove away.

(Writing by Kevin Krolicki; Editing by Doina Chiacu)

Global economic crisis hits German sex industry

Mon Apr 20, 2009 10:06pm EDT

By Erik Kirschbaum

BERLIN (Reuters) - It did not take long for the world financial crisis to affect the world's oldest profession in Germany.

In one of the few countries where prostitution is legal, and unusually transparent, the industry has responded with an economic stimulus package of its own: modern marketing tools, rebates and gimmicks to boost falling demand.

Some brothels have cut prices or added free promotions while others have introduced all-inclusive flat-rate fees. Free shuttle buses, discounts for seniors and taxi drivers, as well as "day passes" are among marketing strategies designed to keep business going.

"Times are tough for us too," said Karin Ahrens, who manages the "Yes, Sir" brothel in Hanover. She told Reuters revenue had dropped by 30 percent at her establishment while turnover had fallen by as much as 50 percent at other clubs.

"We're definitely feeling the crisis. Clients are being tight with their money. They're afraid. You can't charge for the extras any more and there is pressure to cut prices. Everyone wants a deal. Special promotions are essential these days."

Germany has about 400,000 professional prostitutes. Official figures do not distinguish between the sexes and the number of male prostitutes is not known, but they account for a small fraction of the total and are treated the same under the law.

In 2002, new legislation allowed prostitutes to advertise and to enter into formal labor contracts. It opened the way for them to obtain health insurance, previously refused if they listed their true profession.

Annual revenues are about 14 billion euros ($18 billion), according to an estimate by the Verdi services union. Taxes on prostitution are an important source of income for some cities.

Prostitution is also legal and regulated in the Netherlands, Austria, Switzerland, Hungary, Greece, Turkey and in some parts of Australia, and the U.S. state of Nevada.

In other countries, such as Luxembourg, Latvia, Denmark, Belgium and Finland, it is legal but brothels and pimping are not.

"CREATIVE SOLUTIONS"

Berlin's "Pussy Club" has attracted media attention with its headline-grabbing "flat rate" -- a 70-euro admission charge for unlimited food, drink and sex between 10 a.m. and 4 p.m.

"You've got to come up with creative solutions these days," said club manager Stefan, who requested his surname not be published. "We're feeling the economic crisis, too, even though business has fortunately been more or less okay for us so far.

"Our offer might sound like it's too good to be true, but it's real. You can eat as much as you want, drink as much as you want and have as much sex as you want."

Stefan, who runs other establishments in Heidelberg and Wuppertal besides the Berlin club, said the flat rate had helped keep the 30 women working in each location fully employed.

Other novel ideas used by brothels and prostitutes include loyalty cards, group sex parties and rebates for golf players. Hamburg's "GeizHaus" is especially proud of its discount 38.50 euro price. The city has Germany's most famous red-light district, the Reeperbahn, in the notorious St. Pauli district.

Anke Christiansen, manager of the "GeizHaus," said the effects of the economic crisis were clear. "The regular customers who used to come by two or three times a week are only coming by once or twice a week now."

A "GeizHaus" client, who gave his name as Pascal, said: "Naturally we're all feeling the effects of the crisis." He added that he could no longer afford his usual two or three visits a week.

Guenter Krull, manager of the "FKK Villa" in Hanover, concurred. "The girls are complaining, too, because business is bad and I worry that it's all going to get even worse.

CONTINGENCY PLANS

Ecki Krumeich, manager of upmarket Artemis Club in Berlin, said he resisted pressure to cut prices, although senior citizens and taxi drivers get a 50-percent discount on the 80-euro admission fee on Sundays and Mondays.

"Naturally, we're keeping an eye on the overall economic situation and making contingency plans," said Krumeich, who said his "wellness club" is one of the largest in Europe with about 70 prostitutes.

"Our philosophy is: we provide an important service and even in a recession there are some things people won't do without. Other downmarket places might cut prices but we decided we won't do that. In fact, we raised prices by 10 euros in January."

Stephanie Klee, a prostitute in Berlin and former leader of the German association of sex workers, said even if a few luxury brothels were weathering the storm because of their wealthy regular clientele, many were struggling.

"Just about everyone's turning to advertising in one form or another," she said. "If the consumer electronics shop and the optician come out with rebates and special promotions, why shouldn't we try the same thing?"

While she and her colleagues might have had five or six clients per day a year ago that had fallen to one or even none.

Klee worries, however, that the crisis has led to "price dumping" in some cities -- fees have fallen as low as 30 euros in some parts of Berlin and elsewhere, she said.

"You'll find a lot of customers trying to negotiate prices down now," said Klee. "A 30-year-old came up to me and said 'I lost my job so will you give me a discount?'."

She and others said they were alarmed that amateur prostitutes -- mostly women with low-paid careers -- were increasingly turning to prostitution to make ends meet.

"More and more women are moonlighting on the weekends," said Ahrens. "They're not able to get by with their main job and are in pretty dire straights. For some it works out okay but it's tough for some others and they often don't stay very long.

(Additional reporting by Bettina Borgfeld; editing by Andrew Dobbie)