Thursday,
March 15th, 2001
AVNOnline's March issue cover story "What Women Don't Want" examines why the huge potential audience of women don't surf adult sites.
I think the answer is simple - women don't spend much money on porn. Women are on a higher spiritual plane than men, says Judaism, and hence don't go so much for the gross stuff.
According to Flying Crocodile, only three per cent of porn net users are female.
AVN's article contains numerous ludicrous assertions such as this: "According to ACLU Pres. Nadine Strossen...women spend $* billion yearly on porn (25% of the total)."
Theresa Flynt claims that women count for half of the customers at Sunset Blvd's Hustler Hollywood boutique.
Where's Body Miracle On BigDoggie.net?
Timberlake writes: Good evening Luke, I was dropping you a short one to ask you if you knew why Big Doggie no longer had Body Miracle's banners posted on their site? I heard that Olivia got busted in Chicago and this might be the cause of it or maybe they are not sponsoring Big Doggie no longer is my guess.
NicisGirls: Luke, Olivia went to work for Body Miracle in Philly last week and she is in NYC now with Exotica 2000 so I find it highly unlikely that she was busted.
Logan Leaves LA For Las Vegas, Luke Left Behind
After a shoot got cancelled, porn star ingenue Logan left Los Angeles for Las Vegas so she could work at Crazy Horse Too. Luke got left behind without ever setting eyes on this buxom brunnette beauty.
London Tabloid Freeforall
I love everything about England except the weather... And I've learned much from its tabloid tradition.
Waikato Times (New Zealand) 3/2/01:
The Times is read by the people who run the country, the Daily Mail is read by the wives of the people who run the country, the Financial Times by the people who own the country and The Sun is read by the people who don't care who runs the country as long as she's got big bosoms.
The Times is posh, The Guardian is left winged, the Mail targets females, the Daily Sport is soft porn. Each hits its market. It's the variety that makes London the world's newspaper capital.
The News of the World continues to punch below the belt, as Formula One ace David Coulthard and his fiancee found out on Sunday. The splash headline was COULTHARD CHEATS ON HIS FIANCEE. Two pages of kiss and tell inside included the headline, "David raced me into pole position as pals partied in his bath". Ouch.
Topless Star's Sex And Drugs Shame
From the British newspaper The Sunday People, 3/4/01:
THESE are the drug-fuelled and lust-crazed holiday pictures of TV cop Samantha Robson that will shock millions of viewers and her bosses.
They show Samantha - prim WPC Vicky Hagen in The Bill - FLAUNTING her newly-enlarged breasts before having a wild romp with a handsome diving instructor and brazenly SMOKING cannabis as she boasts about who she is going to seduce.
Bosses of the hit ITV drama will be horrified to see their much-loved 29-year-old star on a drugs and sex binge while on holiday in Israel and Egypt.
Samantha's shameless behaviour in front of a video camera is in complete contrast to her strict screen character who always plays by the rules.
The hunky diver she finally bedded, 26-year-old Lior Beser, told the Sunday People: "Sex with Samantha was like starring in a porn movie.
"She was really up for it and very open-minded. She had a fantastic body and magnificent boobs. She loved me playing with them. We had sex for hours in every position imaginable.
"And she did like her drugs. She was smoking joints day and night. She loved it. She used to refer to it all the time as wacky baccy."
The startling video - which Samantha gave to Lior as a memento of their raunchy time together - shows her:
-BARING all after stepping out of a shower.
-SUCKING on a huge cannabis joint.
-FLASHING her boobs on the beach.
-LUSTING for younger Lior.
Jeremy Steele Responds To Quasarman
Jeremy Steele writes Q: Oh Dearest Mike/Quasarman, Hmm Where to begin? Too many thoughts and too little time. I have to say, now that I've checked out your site, that I'm a big fan... Since it talks about me, has pictures of me, and even refers to my mp3 demos.. It also goes on further to talk about me, and have additional comments by other readers about me, and more rhetoric about me. In fact all this attention on little ol' me, warms me, and inflates my hot air balloon ego even larger (And now, I'm floating over the LA Basin area, scoping for girls.. Maybe I'll catch an outdoor porno in action going on).. I hope it continues and continues, because there can't possibly be anything else in the world for you to talk about, could there?
But after all, I am a *S*T*A*R*.. I beg to differ with you on this point. Look at all this attention I'm getting. Oh Joy! And did you know that there are more stars in the heavens then there are grains of sand on our planet we inhabit? So there's plenty of space for stars. I may not be the most luminous one at the current time.. Perhaps I am more remote than other stars.. Perhaps what you see is a figment of your imagination and so ancient as to be irrelevant, since it takes light years for what you see to travel into those scruntinous orbs of yours.
Andy Warhol said everyone is famous for 15 minutes, but some people's 15 minutes last longer than others. But either way, YOU should talk about stellar infatuation, QUASARman.
The Bottom line is that I've f---ed chicks on video; seen around the world. At one point I was on pay-per-screw tv, spice and playboy more times in a month than Al Pacino.. I might not have gotten one cent for the sexploitation, but still... There I am, listed in the rolling credits as I'm sitting at home watching the tvguide channel. But I won't go on bragging about myself, saying that I was the male star of the canne's hot d'or best american film of 1997 Kris Kramski movie "Lisa", or things like that... Go ask these girls and gay fans, who know how many asshole hairs I have, and who have sent me personal letters, if they think I'm a star.
Oh s---, did you say Brian Wilson is dead?! I'm shocked.. I thought he was just hiding out.. Ut Oh, Now what am I gonna do? And.. I happen to walk around with a T-Shirt of Charlie M with an apple logo on the top and the phrase "think different" written. I also like Marilyn Monroe and Marilyn Manson. Actually, seriously, I think Charles Manson is a about as evil and insane as my ex (oops, but I picked her didn't I?), and I don't advocate killing people just because they're rich, or pregnant, especially. What happen to Sharon Tate was pure evil. Of course, if America wasn't killing innocent people in Vietnam, the idea of murder for an ideal may have not been so prevalent.
This insinuation that I am a budding Charles Manson really disturbs me. In fact, I'm taking my rage out on my love-doll right now. I frequently grab the inflated bitch by the neck and then punch her square in her gaping whore mouth.. One time, while I was f---ing her in the ass, I bit her so hard she exploded.. Then I had to bring her to the shoe repairman to be patched up. But then, we made up later, and I took her to a fancy restaurant and we sat there amongst a jealous crowd and shared an entree of Scallopinni and wine. She needs to learn to eat with her mouth closed, though. Then we went to a hot flick at the pussycat theatre, and low and behold, there was a movie I was in playing!
Crazzee? Meee Crazzeee??
You mention my advice to Lynn L-patin, a devotee of Luke F-rd's who worships the s--- that comes out of his ass and who visits his site more times a day than an infatuated rabbi visits that wall in Jerusalem, and a devout church goer daily kisses the holy cross on chain combined.. She was really seeming suicidal about some guy who came f---ed her and had no interest in seeing her anymore. So I tried to cheer her up by seeming more miserable than she is. Me a brooding maniac? DddDooOOnnntTTTTT! SaaAAAAyyyy THAttTTT!!!...
Ok, I'm alright now.. Supposedly when you try to tell a retard they are retarded or a crazy person they are crazy it can have manic consequences. But brooding? I personally make brooding a daily activity.. I like to combine it with other activities too, for maximum effect.. Sometimes I go brooding while riding a bicycle. Other times, I brood while watching some stupid so called "news" program about high-speed chases and other controversial, rehashed worldly bulls---.
But I also like to think about things that not everyone thinks about. For example, my thought of the day, when I woke up this morning, was "Does Erik Estrada usually get let off with a warning when a CHP officer pulls him over for speeding?"
You said if you had read my advice to Luke's #1 fan in a chicken soup for the soul that you would've been inspired, but coming from me the same advice is suddenly "disturbed".. This just goes to show that evil, and madness are in the eyes of the beholder. I just finished writing a book called "Suicide for the Mind"; It's about your site.
And by the way, I was not meaning to threaten you. I was just insinuating that if we were to meet it would not be pleasant.. Violence achieves nothing, really.. well, except for a brief relief from pent-up frustration. But I wouldn't do that. In fact, I just painted a big peace sign on my camouflage T-shirt I'm wearing.
And when I say "right wing, f---ed up world", perhaps I'm referring to whatever world that "we" live in. But I'm in my own little world, anyway, so granted, what do I know?
Now that I know you are a supporter of Christine Maggiore and Alive And Well.. (a group formally known as H.E.A.L., Los Angeles, who I've done volunteer work for), I can't say I think you're as much of an ass as I once thought. So God bless you, my friend.
Quasarman writes Luke: Interesting that Mr.Jeremy Steele responds to me on YOUR website. I was just getting ready to post his email to my site with my usual smattering of sardonic commentary when suddenly the thought occurred to me, "better check Luke F-rd first". Lo and behold there it is. The same email I had just received and was so excited about moments earlier. Once again Luke you've stolen the wind from my sails. BTW, you might want to print out Jeremy's email and keep it handy. Sometime soon it will become known as "Exhibit B", "Exhibit A" being the assault rifle used to mow down dozens of inncoent citizens.
James DiGiorgio and I did one of our best shows Tuesday. Our guests included David Moyes from Wireless Flash news service, Kevin Moore from Stunningcurves.com, and talent managers Tabetha Yang and Robert Lombard. Listen here. Read the chat here.
Robert Lombard: "I represented a friend of mine who took off like crazy. I created a B-movie starlet. And everybody was saying, 'Don't you have a blonde?' Or, 'Don't you have somebody with bigger tits?' And it just snowballed into specializing in this genre. Then two years ago, it basically came to a halt. Because everybody was sick of seeing the same girls. The same fake tits. I said, 'Well, there's only one place I can go. I can start to generate some interest with the adult talent. And I'll cross them over. And everybody said, 'Adult girls, they can't use their name.' So I said ok... Then about a year into it, I said, 'This is like living a secret. I'm hiding the adult girls on set, saying, don't say anything... That's not fair. They are what they are and they do what they do.' So I'm very much out and open with it and it's been a good and interesting ride."
Jim: "Robert, I used to know those guys who did that breakdown scam [for mainstream actors]."
Robert: "They made a lot of money. I pay $250 a month for breakdowns..."
Jim: "Luke's been a failure at a lot of things. But he seems to have a little bit of success at what he's doing right now. Even though it doesn't sit well with him, his family and his church."
Robert: "I admire him because I am not the kind of guy who likes confrontation and I don't know how he deals with the confrontation every day."
Jim: "He pays for protection."
Robert: "I've noticed that he's right on a lot of things. I have a good memory now that I am clean and sober.
"Michael Raven calls me from my car phone. I feel honored. He just got off the phone with me less than 20 minutes ago."
Luke: "Mr. Lombard, Michael Raven supplanted James DiGiorgio at Sin City Video and Michael Raven is everything that Jimmy DiGiorgio wishes he was."
Jim: "Everything I was supposed to be. But I'm catching up. I've got a ten picture deal at TEN.
"I've been in this business six years. I've paid my dues. Michael Raven has been in it three years... When Michael Raven and his wife got off the bus, I was one of the first people to shoot his old lady. And he wanted to PA for me."
Robert: "He's worked the right streets."
Jim: "Then he came out here and he had an AVID [editing system]. Well, I've got two of them, $250,000 worth. I'm getting ready to buy some new camera so I can shoot higher quality smut. So you can count the pubic hairs the picture resolution will be so good."
Robert: "I don't like to use the word 'porno.' I use the word 'adult.'"
Jim: "Thank you. I was thinking about that today when the whole child pornography thing came up. What I do, I don't consider pornography. I consider it erotic entertainment. Pornography is stuff they do with kids, animals..."
Robert: "The people that do that need to be locked up in prison with about ten African Americans who've got nothing to lose..."
Jim: "Right."
Robert: "I've got a two-and-a-half year old. My office is right next to the park on Robertson Blvd in Beverly Hills. I'm in the perfect neighborhood to be in the hetero business. And our nanny plays with our little girl at the park. I've gotten to the point now where I don't allow her in the office. She's two years old and absorbs everything.
"She must've picked up me using certain words, so we're sitting in the den and watching TV and she says, 'So, how are the adult girls?' My wife, who keeps kosher, I see her f---ing eyeballs blow out of her skull. That Jewish princess finger, that finger where they say 'Come here.' Oh God. So now I'm spelling in the house...
"I don't know what I'm going to do. I hope that when she's old enough to buy a car and figure out what I really do for a living, I'll let my wife deal with the issue."
Luke: "Robert, what are some of the biggest names you've handled?"
Jim: "Aside from Michael Raven."
Robert: "Drew Berrymore. I consider her high end. She's high end in all areas, high maintenance, but I love her dearly. I've put Ava Vincent in a couple of softcore movies... Don't laugh because she's older, but I also think that Tina Tyler is a very good actress and I've put her in a couple of things...
"You'll notice that I've listed all the girls with natural breasts. The problem with our business is that we're dictated to by the f---ing Germans. Here's the Germans telling Jews what to do again. Once again, it goes back to the '40s. They are sick of implants. So my job has become extremely difficult where they want 'em natural. I know there are a lot of adult girls with good-sized implants who can carry dialogue. But I can't cast them."
Luke: "How do the Germans have juice in all this?"
Jim: "Because they own the European broadcasters..."
Robert: "They are the biggest buyers of both adult and softcore programming."
Jim: "You're not talking about Canal Plus [French cable TV]?"
Robert: "No. Without Germany, the softcore market would not survive. Because you have Cinemax which pays between $40-$60,000 for a movie. Showtime pays less than that. Pay-per-view might generate $35-$55,000. Home video might generate 3,000 units. Blockbuster helps now because they take all the softcore if it is rated. And they dictate the price to the producer. So, all the German speaking territories pay for the production. Because we're not spending more than a buck and a half [$150,000] on these movies. We spend more than the adult industry. We shoot on six day schedules. We shoot on film. Nobody will allow us to shoot on tape. Though we deliver on tape. Cinemax won't accept a digitally shot movie..."
Jim: "That sounds like what I've got going with William Morris."
Luke: "You've got nothing going with William Morris."
Jim: "Ok Luke, I was taking you with me, but now, forget about it. You ain't going anywhere. You're done. You're finished Luke. You mocked me one time too many."
Robert: "I met Michael Raven at AVN. We drive the same kind of car. So we had a bond there. He was dressed like a GAP yuppie. So he comes to my office and we do the casting session.
"So I'm on the internet and looking at a picture of Michael, and there he is in a leopard shirt and leather pants and he looked like a circus meister. He happens to call me on the car phone... I said, 'Michael, I've finally gotten the joke. I'm looking at a picture of you in sunglasses and a leopard shirt, you look like a f---ing circus barker...' He started laughing and said, 'Welcome to the adult world.' Well, I'm not going to dress like that."
Jim: "The world has certain expectations of its pornographers. First of all, they all look at us like we're carnies. So we have to fulfill that desire... When I go home at night, I'm a different guy than when I do what I do. When I go to the awards show, and by the way, I was nominated for Best Director too... I dress in a certain way at the awards show, I dress a certain way too because you want people to think that you're a little outlandish and on the fringe of society, an outlaw... But that don't mean you really are.
"I played golf one time and Alice Cooper was in the foursome in front of me. And Alice Cooper didn't look like Alice Cooper. But if Alice Cooper did a concert looking like Alice Cooper on the golf course, people wouldn't be too happy."
Robert: "When I first started crossing over to the adult girls, Chloe was the first one, Gina Ryder was the second... And then I met Shayla LaVeaux. And Chloe would call me up on the telephone and she's laughing. She says, 'Robert, you don't need to sit there and give them your 45 minute pitch that this is softcore and you're not going to have sex. They can wear a patch if they want. And please, may I take some Polaroids... Some of them are thinking you're gay. Because you're not asking them to do weird poses and spread their legs and touch themselves...'
"I used to bring my wife down here to shoot the Polaroids because I was too embarrassed."
Jim: "Take Chloe for example. When she came to see you, she might've just left a set where she had a fire hydrant up her derriere."
Robert: "Once I got to know Chloe and started researching on what she did... But she's very bright. I hope she saves her money.
"I like this African American agent Derek King (DK). I find him to be an upright guy. I moved his offices next to mine. He has a knack for finding young fresh girls. I meet with them for mainstream. I put them in a loop. Book them for something. And the next thing I know, their phone numbers are disconnected. And then I say, 'DK, where are they?' He says, 'I don't know, I haven't had time to deal with them.' And I say, 'You're an agent. You need to stay on top of these girls.'"
Jim: "No Robert. You're an agent. He's a procurer."
Robert: "Michael Raven said that too but he used harsher words."
Jim: "Well, that goes to prove that I am a nicer guy than him. And that it just ain't right that he's where he is and I am where I am. Luke, loves it when I come up with this bitter stuff. I'm just feeding Luke's thing. Because Michael Raven is a friend of mine. But Luke loves it when I go down that road."
Robert: "I've only been screwed over by two adult girls. One I called the night before at 7PM to remind her of her call time... Shay Sweet. It caused me problems because I had to replace her on a Saturday. Gina Ryder was devastated because she was the one who introduced me to her but Gina was in Mexico at that time doing something for Metro. And Mariah didn't show up. But that's it. These girls show up on time and the sex is beyond awesome.
"I work primarily for three companies. Surrender Cinema, Click Productions and Mainline Releasing, the largest. I have exclusive deals with those companies to supply talent. Playboy also does a lot of softcore. Penthouse does not do their own productions. They'll buy but you have to go through Marc Bruder. This year alone my schedule for Mainline is ten softcore movies and 54 half hour shows. Charlie Bad's Surrender Cinema never has enough money. When they shoot, they'll shoot six or seven... And then Click Productions is French based... And they will shoot either seven movies in a row or 14. Then you have the guys who want to go out on their own to shoot a movie, but where are you going to sell it?
"Our formula is eight to nine sex scenes in a 90-minute movie. The scripts are 70 pages. And they have to have characters, story development, a beginning, middle and ending..."
Luke: "Is there penetration?"
Robert: "No. Not to say that it hasn't happened. That's one of my two problems working with adult girls. A. They don't get dressed after a scene. They walk from the bedroom to the dressing room naked. B. And everyone once in a while a mainstream male actor will take liberties. I'll look at something and go, 'They actually had sex.' And I'll make a phone call and the guy will say, 'Well, she let me stick it in.' And I'll go, 'Ok, I'm not casting you for a while. You're done with me.'"
Jim: "I've seen movies like that on Showtime. Being a guy who shoots sex all the time, I've pretty much got the geometry down pat. And there are certain angles that a body might get into, and there is 100% no way that penetration is not taking place."
Robert: "You put an adult girl in a scene who's sexual level is high. She likes the guy she's working with. I'm sure there's not going to be any problem. But that's not what we're doing. The guy's are supposed to wear a sock. Luke, that's a nylon from a pantyhose.
"We don't make parodies of porno or of major motion pictures."
Jim: "I made The Sopornos. At first, VCA was very concerned about that movie. They thought HBO was going to sue them. Instead, one of the producers saw it in a hotel room in Hawaii, called up VCA, and bought 30 copies to give to cast and crew as presents. Because he thought it was hysterical."
Robert: "It's amazing how hip [porno] has become. I am honored to have been able to take these girls that people call whores, cumdumpsters, whatever the titles are, and some of them are very disgusting, to offer them opportunities to do something other than f---ing and let them act a bit and have a good time. And it's cool.
"I've had more phone calls from people who otherwise would have nothing to do with me... My wife is an advertising executive who works with a writing partner who looks down on my industry, but as soon as we had something for the temple's Purim carnival, he said, 'Well, why doesn't Robert get one of his porn girls to offer a date for the evening?'
"My wife drags me to these advertising functions... 'Oh, are you in adult?' No, I am not in adult but I work with adult girls... 'Well, what are they like? Are they this or that?' All of a sudden, I become popular at a cocktail party with a CocaCola in my hand. I like the ego stroke."
Jim: "I've been places where there are a lot of rock stars, but when the rock stars find out what I do and who I am, they're like my fans."
Robert: "If my wife left me, I would date an adult girl. Because my mind would be so not into wanting to have a relationship... At least I know I wouldn't catch anything."
Why Can't Luke Make Porn Stars Look Glamorous?
Porn star Taylor Wane writes: Dear Luke, It so disappoints me when I see this kind of media being published. Why can't you spend your time making the stars and the industry look glamorous instead of reporting crap like that email.
It also amazes me that a lot of guys like the one that sent you that email thinks that any one over the age of 18 is old. Not all men are pedophiles, most men like a women that doesn't giggle while having sex or that are mature enough to hold a conversation. I really wish you would remove that report about me, it bothers me. Not the fact that the guy thinks I am old, I couldn't care less that he is into under age children and considers me old but the fact that you are showing me in a bad light.
Please talk about my movies or dance career, or web site or something that I work very hard at every day and something I have spent a whole career to achieve.
Do me a favor Luke, show me that you have humanity and please remove that report. I would greatly appreciate it.
It seems to me that when ever a guy doesn't hear what he wants to hear. (That i will be a 2 bit hooker because they have no money) they threaten to report it to you. Are you to be just poison to the adult talent, or someone that we respect and would like to confide in.
Luke replies: Taylor, it is my job to report on the sex industry, good, bad or indifferent... I have no desire to make you guys look glamorous or bad, I just report it like it is...
Taylor Wane's Available
3/12/01
Mark writes TaylorWane.com: Just read about your trip to St Marteens. Are you available for private shows in the LA area?
Taylor replies to Mark: "Sure, it is 1500 an hour. 1600 by credit card."
Mark writes Luke: "Luke, Is she smoking crack or what? She is another Ryan Conner, finding idiots to pay outrageous prices for used up pussy."
Taylor Wane replies to Luke: "I'm not sure why you sent me this. I don't appreciate this kind of publicity. The only way a loser like this could get used up??? pussy like me is to pay a high price for it."
Joe writes: i might be mistaken but the last time i saw taylor wane was many years ago .last time i saw her in a movie was on the prowl 2 jamie gillis movie. all i can say she was hot then more than likelly hotter now i like olde pornstars
Mark writes Luke: For $1500 an hour you think she would LOVE all the publicity she can get. I know guys with PhDs who don’t get $100 an hour. My attorney gets $300 and he “f---s” me!!! For $1500 an hour I should get to bang her asshole till she cant walk. I should get head till her teeth fall out. After that she should do my laundry(whites) and wash my dirty dishes (nude of course).
BrandyAlx1: Even for services of prostitution, you should tell Taylor that it violates the merchant agreements of all the major credit cards to charge a higher fee or surcharge to people using them. Anyone has been charged more for using a credit card should report it and get a refund.
Conversing With Lynne L-patin
Lynne L-patin: When one is brought up by abusers, one has no standards
for judging who is acting in one's best interests. That is the true
danger of child abuse.
Lynne L-patin: And abuse can be active, as in beatings or molesting,
or passive, as in neglect.
Lynne L-patin: Hence we have women in the porn industry who crave attention
and are unaware that they are being exploited, because they crave the
attention so badly, making up for a childhood of neglect.
Luzdedos1: how u feeling?
Lynne L-patin: weak, fragile, overwhelmed by having no nurturing contacts
to help me through the mechanics of reorganizing my life, cleaning,
eating....
Lynne L-patin: trusting in god becomes all that's left to me
Lynne L-patin: and I fight that, because it seems like delusion, yet
people seem to be too weak to do what is right all on their own...they
need threats and punishments and justifications
Lynne L-patin: why do Jews abhor women so?
Lynne L-patin: I could only turn to a god that teaches love....
Lynne L-patin: I don't mean Jewish men...people...I mean, as theology
Lynne L-patin: because it seems to me that is why secular Judaism would
have a chance for survival, whereas religious Judaism would not...because
it abhors women, and women are essential to the survival of any race
Lynne L-patin: Old men sit and argue fine points of Torah...women are
spiritual and give their lives to making new life and rearing children...and
there is a schism between the two, as women have increased choices....
Julie Meadows is an adult film actor who lives in the San Fernando Valley with her husband of 10 years and their eight-year-old son. Her bungalow is like all the other bungalows in the valley. She drops her son off at school, sweeps the hallway, makes coffee, pays taxes and does what everyone else does. Her job is a little different than most, performing explicit sexual acts for a multimillion dollar adult film industry.
She was asked if she’s encountered "mainstream" film workers plying their expertise in the adult film industry. "The thing with adults (films) is directors are given just so much of a budget. Film is much more expensive than video so video is usually used. And, the problem with video is that it shows every little crease and crevice in your face.
"So when it comes to lighting, if they can make the video look like film - great. That’s perfect, that’s what people are going for. Everybody wants quality but that’s the problem with adult - it’s quantity and lack of quality."
She says she encounters mainstream feature film people taking part in adult films, but not very often. "People in mainstream don’t want mainstream people to cross over into adult films. And the people in adult don’t want adult people to cross over," she says.
Japanese Mafia's Role In Porno
Far Eastern Economic Review, Nov 30, 2000:
IN AN INCIDENT that is rapidly acquiring the status of legend in the Japanese underworld, a gangster walks into a porn shop in Tokyo in August 1999 and asks who gets paid for "protection." The manager places a business card emblazoned with the mark of another gang on the counter. The thug burns a hole through the card with his cigarette, and puts his own card on top of it. Your protection agency just changed, he tells the manager. I'll drop by to pick up your dues later, he adds.
The gangster came from the Kobe-based Yamaguchi Gumi, and slowly, but steadily, he and his comrades have been muscling in on rival territory, creating a force that now dominates organized crime in Japan. "The Yamaguchi Gumi talks about maintaining peace between gangs and abiding by the principles of kyozon kyoei," or coexistence and coprosperity, says a major Tokyo underworld figure. "But once you give it a small slice of the action suddenly it's taken it all."
According to police statistics, it boasted 16,500 full-time members in 1999, up a third since Watanabe took over 12 years ago, and more than five times the size of the entire American Mafia at its peak in the 1950s. All told, as many as 38,000 gangsters -- or nearly one in two professional Japanese criminals -- report to Watanabe. Little wonder they call him the Japanese Godfather.
Perhaps predictably, the Yamaguchi Gumi is a major player in the underworld's Big Two: sex and drugs. According to Atsushi Mizoguchi, an author and authority on the underworld, Japan's 80,000 yakuza together earn around 1 trillion ($9.3 billion) a year, half of it from drugs, and about a quarter of it from the sex trade.
Fortune 500 Companies Reap Profits From Porn
From Insight Magazine, January 8, 2001:
Growing up with the sultan of porn as her father, [Tonya] Flynt experienced the devastating effects of the porn industry and the rapacity with which her father pursued it. She recalls the day he took her into his office, opened a briefcase full of money and said: "Tonya, that's power. That's what I care about."
She says, "He always tried to hide behind the First Amendment and free speech," but it was only to hide business interests in the seedy world of porn. "I'm not sure if the Fortune 500 companies really understand what they're advocating," Tonya Flynt says, "or if they're like my father, and it's all about the money."
Tonya Flynt has seen people become addicted to porn and attests to the effect it had on her own life and family. "Use of pornography leads to all kinds of deviant behavior. It's the breakdown of morality," says Flynt, who has started a foundation to "educate people about the evils of pornography and the violence that often results from it." Flynt attributes the abuse she claims to have suffered as a child to the pornographic world in which her father lived. "When we would go visit him the magazines were everywhere," she says.
Porn has not always been readily accessible in this country. Forty years ago it mostly was relegated to seedy mob-controlled sex shops such as those around Times Square in New York City. This required a curious youth or pornography addict not only to leave the comfort of home, but to come face to face with clerks and even other buyers. It was regarded not only as demeaning to the pornographers and those they exploited but to everyone who had anything to do with it. With the advancement of technology - and the advent of the videocassette recorder in particular - the worst perversions imaginable have been moved into the homes of otherwise respectable people where they have become available even to children.
The final hurdle for those seeking complete anonymity came via cable and satellite television and the Internet. Gone was the need even to go to a store to buy or rent X-rated material. Indeed, sex-video rentals and sales volume peaked in the United States in 1997 at $4.2 billion. It since has seen a slight decrease, dropping to $4.02 billion for 2000, a recession that industry insiders attribute to the emergence of the Internet and increased subscription to cable and satellite television.
AdultRevenueService.com Controversy
Rulez writes: Luke, You reported some time ago that Marc DeForest and ARS were selling the company to UltraPartners in Windsor, Canada. Remember how ARS mocked you, said you couldn't be believed and DENIED THE STORY? Look at the new copyright info on their sites. They are now owned by UltraPartners! ARS lied to their webmasters. It should be no surprise considering they are known for their sleazy tactics such as shaving sales.
They also run ALLPETITE.COM which is designed to promote child porn. All the models are over 18 but the site is made to attract surfers who are looking for underage girls. Look at the pictures of the girls on ALLPETITE.COM, they all look UNDERAGE! This is disgusting and inexcusable!
Webmasters have grown used to the fact that ARS shaves but now they have been caught LYING! They denied that there were plans to sell ARS but now less than a month later they have sold to the very company they denied selling to. They should be crucified for lying to their loyal webmasters. ARS is top of the sleazebag list now. Marc DeForest has to be the most untrustworthy person in porn. And that's saying a lot.
Look at this. PINKCHOCOLATE.COM's new copyright info is "© Copyright 2001 Global Intermedia, All Rights Reserved" ALLPETITE.COM's new copyright info is "© Copyright 2001 Global Intermedia, All Rights Reserved" And so on and so on with all of the ARS sites. They denied selling to UltraPartners but look at this: Whois info for, ULTRAPARTNERS.COM: Registrant: GLOBAL INTERMEDIA INC 633 OUELLETTE AVE. SUITE 301 WINDSOR, ON N9A 4J4 CA
What the hell is going on? What gives them the right to think they can lie to webmasters. Just the other day you reported that they are switching to only paying for active memberships and no longer paying for trials. They denied that also, do you believe them now? I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of Marc DeForest's mouth.
Rob Jackson writes: I know nothing about the business practices of AdultRevenueService but I think I can give my opinion about the state of your eyesight Mr.Rulez.I checked out ALLPETITE.com, and to my somewhat experienced porn surfing eye exactly ZERO of the girls look underage to me. There is nothing "disgusting" about this site,at least with the images. But if your veracity in regards to their business practices is as good as your eyesight I think we need not consider your take on things.
ARS's Marc DeForest writes on Netpond: We have an official press release coming out concerning the copyright information that has so conviently been posted to l-keford.com and now here with other slanderish remarks. Also, we are NOT going to an active program now or in the near future, its not even entered our minds.
The jist of it is - WE DID NOT SELL ARS. Nothing has taken place that will negatively affect our existing active webmaster base and checks will still come from us, as always, weekly and on time. Read the official press release that will be on the ARS website momentarily. We were waiting for publication until our transition was complete however in light of this we will be early! :)
Also, comments about allpetite.com are absolutely RIDICULOUS. This is a softcore, bathing suit style site dedicated to skinny women. Be realistic.
B.E.G., Inc., owner and operator of Adult Revenue Service (ARS), has formed a strategic alliance and has sold its pay sites to Global Intermedia, Inc., a Canadian corporation. This sale does not include ARS. Operation, control, and ownership of ARS will remain with its original principle, Marc DeForest. Global Intermedia, Inc. will operate the sites in a manner that will be consistent with the high standards that B.E.G., Inc. was so well respected and recognized for. This will allow ARS to enhance it current tracking and payment processing to better serve its webmasters.
Buzz writes on Netpond: Message to Dravyk & KimmyKim: The two of you bitch about anonymous posts and about the quality of the users at netpond. I suggest you look inward. The two of you do not believe in Freedom of Speech. Dravyk, you have to be the biggest pussy on internet radio. You sound like s--- and you bring down the quality level of online radio with your inept attempt to conduct interviews. You stumble around, you give us dead airtime, you ask stupid questions, and you allow your guests to take over the show. Your voice is worse than any chalkboard scratching. I am embarrassed for you every time I hear you.
KimmyKim, your company rips off people and you refuse to acknowledge the legitimate claims that are being made by unhappy customers. You threatened Luke F-rd with a lawsuit when he described his experiences with CCBill. (Kim@CCBill.com writes: Luke, I'm going to ask you once, nicely, to remove the obviously false headline you are using in what I consider to be that pathetic drivel you claim as a website. Otherwise, you'll be hearing from our attorneys shortly.)
What a cheap shot! You are a disgrace to all the lovely ladies doing business on the internet. By the way, why aren't you on these message boards representing yourself instead of this rip-off billing piece-of-crap company called CCBill? You come across as a bitter, know-nothing broad who likes to see her name on the screen.
I, too, have had problems with CCBill. They have a reputation for double-billing, and they are very slow at making corrections. The only reason Luke F-rd got help as fast as he did is because of his statements on his website describing his situation with CCBill. CUSTOMER BEWARE! And Dravyk-KimmyKim, find yourselves a new hobby!
LF.com Contributor Rumdar Vacations In Thailand
Rumdar writes: . Luke...The worst has happened. I walked into the Beer Garden and there was Pah! sitting next to some dead looking guy. He was smoking a cancer stick and they were both sipping orange drinks. They looked like they were "going steady". To say this old f--- was out of shape is an understatement. He looked "out of casket" with a huge gut spilling over his belt. She smiled and gave me the Buddhist handclasp. I returned it and smiled back. I had a sinking feeling. If she is doing to him what she did to me (and I see no reason why not) then she is sucking that Geezer's moldy shank, minimum. I wonder if she is eating his rank asshole?. She and I were passionately tongue throating each other the day before yesterday. This is the True Horror! ...I deserve to come back with a mushroom like growth on my lip, minimum. Why didn't I just stick to masturbation? Next year I am going to vacation at the Vatican.
Luke.. Thanks for the sympathy. However I am here in the cyber cafe with the most charming woman I have met in years. Her name is Fhun. I can't say enough great things about her. What a classy woman. Fortunately I have a photo and will send it to you as soon as I get back to Texas. Unfortunately she is leaving for Singapore tomorrow with a nice chunk of my baht. More later..
India Ends Aussie's Win Streak
India defeated Australia by 171 runs in Calcutta in one of the most amazing fightbacks in Test cricket history. Harbhajan Singh dismissed Glenn McGrath with just six overs of the match remaining to seal the win. It means Australia's record 16 match winning streak is over, after they had seemed destined to take the match after the first innings
Luke Gets Mail
Capri Krystal writes: I don't know if you can give me any input or not. I am interested in doing adult films, (video, non-internet) and I have no idea where to go to get information on who to contact. If you have any suggestions, please reply.
Luke says: Read my essay on entering porn.
Frank writes: Luke, Do you have an opinion on California Exotic Novelties and it's president, Susan Colvin? I am interested as I may be doing business with them.
Virtual Child Porn
Dennis Prager discussed the case before the US Supreme Court regarding computer generated child porn.
The US Congress passed a law banning virtual child porn. The Ninth Circuit District Court overturned the law.
DP says: A person's fantasy life should not be regulated. We should not criminalize thoughts, even if they are repulsive.
If no children are getting hurt by computer generated images, then what is wrong with them?
What if men who abuse their spouses, get out their violence on a computer generated "Abuse Your Spouse" program? Wouldn't that be a good substitute?
Isn't the bottom line to morality that you want fewer people to suffer?
On the other hand, I don't know we will be able to tell the difference, if a real child or computer generated image is used. That's the biggest argument for the law. There you have to err on the side of protecting kids.
The issue of when fantasy leads to actual behavior is a difficult issue.
DP got a call from a child porn investigator.
Caller: Child molestors feed on this material. And children are ultimately hurt by this material. Prosecutors are frequently challenged to prove that the child depicted in the porn is an actual child, which is almost impossible.
DP: I believe that I have come up with an incredibly simple sollution to the problem of children having access to porn on the internet. We should create a domain system for porn. Such as dot XXX.
Numerous computer maven callers said this was not practical.
Analysis Of AOL Vs CEN Lawsuit
Bob Jones writes: This, unlike an FTC suit, is the filing for a lawsuit that will go through discovery. They are not seeking a TRO [Temporary Restraining Order], so they have alleged in ambiguous terms a lot of facts that they may or may not be able to prove, without all of the details and accompanying affidavits of an FTC suit. In a civil complaint like this one, you allege facts, and try to do it as generally as possible. You're not supplying evidence (unlike in a TRO motion) because you expect to go through a discovery process. You want to allege sufficient facts that, if they were all proven as written, you would have a legal claim --- but no more than that. You want to retain flexibility and prevent the other side from bringing a motion to dismiss with accompanying affidavits disputing specifics.
Also unlike an FTC suit, this is also a _very_ complex piece of litigation. There's a lot of law here, and predicting an outcome would require research that I'm not going to do just now.
AOL alleges a variety of claims, under a number of statutes. I'm going to focus on the CEN claims, because those are the most interesting to me. AOL's basic claims for relief (theories under which they are owed money) are a 1) A Virginia statute allowing $10/e-mail or $25,000/day for sending spam; 2) Violations of U.S. Computer Intrusion Laws; 3) Negligent hiring/retention; 4) Trademark violations; 5) Trespass. There are, I think, a couple of others, but these are the interesting ones.
The Virginia Statute:
This is the big prize. If AOL can hold CEN responsible for this, they can go after the pay site webmasters for a fine per e-mail. The fine can be quite large. This makes lawsuits from other commercial websites (yahoo is often abused by spammers) very likely, if their states pass similar statutes (which they will if the companies lobby for it).
The Virginia statute may also have 1st Amendment problems, though. The 1st Amendment does protect commercial solicitations. It does not protect repeated solicitations, or false advertising. It might also not protect spam when the target has requested that the spam cease. Can AOL establish a blanket "no-spam" policy for its members, when some of those members may want to receive the ads? Probably, I think they can. But this is a complex area, and I really don't understand the law, so I'm not going to try to resolve it. AOL will claim that advertising to its members is something that only it can do, and that by advertising to them without paying AOL, the webmasters are expropriating AOL's goodwill. I sure hope they don't win on that particular element.
My suspicion is that AOL is right about the law here, the Virginia statute can be enforced, and AOL can issue a blanket "don't spam my members" policy. There's enough competition for internet accounts that people who want to receive spam can go elsewhere; the 1st Amendment concern is highly attenuated. But again, this is complicated, and not my area.
I suppose the best analogy would be if a hotel put up a sign saying that salespeople could not solicit guests by knocking on every door. My guess is that a hotel could do that, even if the speech is protected, and even if some hotel residents might be interested in the message.
Violations of Computer Intrusion Laws:
There are a lot of claims about "fishing" for e-mail addresses and using pirated accounts to do so. If the facts are proven, this is an easy win for AOL. It's also the least interesting claim; so what if they win? Using a legitimate account to get the e-mail addresses, even creating an account just for that, should get them out from under this statute. Then there would be a violation of AOL's terms-of-service contract, but good luck tracking down the e-mail fisher.
Negligent Hiring/Retention:
There are two parts to this claim. The first is as a reason for holding CEN liable, which I will discuss below. The second is as a simple negligence claim. Basically, AOL alleges that CEN was negligent (didn't use due care) in hiring its free webmasters, and that damage was inflicted on AOL as a result. How much can they get for this? I don't know. The question is whether in Virginia you can, in an economic tort action, get damages for the business you lost as a result of negligent hiring/retention. They should at least get the cost of bandwidth and handling customer complaints.
Trademark Violation:
AOL alleges that some of the spam e-mails contain modified headers to look like they came from AOL. This, if they proved the facts, is an easy win for AOL. They aren't alleging just trademark infringement, in which they'd have to prove that the defendants were pretending to be AOL, because an AOL e-mail address doesn't mean its from the company, it means its from a user. Instead, they're alleging dilution. To win on dilution, they have to show that the AOL mark is famous (it is) and that the defendant's activities reduced the value of the mark. Obviously, sending out millions of porn ads reduces the value of the mark.
Trespass:
Trespass is a land tort - you came onto my land without my permission, so you owe me money. Trespass is nice because if you win, you get dignitary damages in additional to actual damages. You get damages for the metaphysical injury to your property rights. A case last year held that trespass was a good claim on the Internet. I don't know the law it established, so don't put much in the prediction. Trespass is alleged in two forms. First, that the defendants used stolen passwords to collect e-mail addresses. An easy win if proven. Second, and vastly more important, that the spam itself was a trespass. AOL's claim is that their terms of service, and cease and desist letters put the defendants on notice that they were violated AOL's property. Interesting question. See the hotel analogy above for my opinion.
Now, the interesting stuff: Can AOL hold CEN liable for any of this? Keep in mind that each of these may play out differently with each of AOL's claims above.
AOL has three basic theories for holding CEN liable for the actions of the webmasters: 1) CEN did some of the things themselves; 2) CEN aided, abetted, and profited from the webmasters' actions; 3) CEN was negligent in hiring and retaining the webmasters.
1) AOL alleges that CEN itself did some e-mail address fishing. If proven, this is an easy win.
2) AOL claims that CEN assisted its webmasters by giving them e-mail addresses, helping them find e-mail addresses, showing them how to market via spam, etc., and then profited from the webmaster's actions. If all of the facts are proven, this also looks like an easy win. Essentially, AOL says that they gave the webmasters everything they needed, and just got up from the chair so the webmaster could sit down and press "Send."
The big question, if they win on this, is how much aiding and abetting is necessary, if the site is also profiting? If AOL proves that CEN gave the addresses to the webmasters, and taught them how to fish, we won't find out from this suit, because that much aiding is an easy win. If AOL fails to prove those facts, and still wins on this claim, that's a major victory. It would show, at a minimum, that the pay sites need to take affirmative measures to prevent their webmasters from spamming. But how many affirmative measures? That is the question.
3) AOL claims that CEN was negligent in hiring and retaining its webmasters. If CEN is like many of the cash programs I've seen, anyone in the world can be "hired" with a few mouse clicks. But, they probably also have some sort of warning telling the webmasters not to spam. Is that sufficient supervision to make the hiring and retention non-negligent? I would hope not.
This is the same question as above: What measures must the pay sites take to not be negligent in hiring the webmasters? If we're lucky, the answer is "if you let anyone sign up, then you're automatically negligent." The argument is that since the pay site retains accounts for the spam victims who do sign up, they should be held strictly liable, rather than liable only for negligence, for the activities of the webmasters. I personally think this is a great theory. But we'll have to see how it plays out. We don't have CEN's answer, and we don't have the memorandums of law. We also don't know what AOL will be able to prove about CEN's internal activities.
Adult Web Loses Another Credit Card Processor - Digiblaze Gone
I hear that the credit card processor Digiblaze (formed by ex employees of failed processor DMR) is gone. They had their merchant account frozen.
Digiblaze processes for Video Secrets and Python, two leading porn internet companies.
Based in Minnessota, the company will not even be releasing reserve money.
I first reported these problems two weeks ago on this site.
Voice Media Settle Suit With Sharky
CE (Voice Media, Inc.) is pleased to announce that it has reached a resolution with its former employee Michael "Sharky" Vifquain concerning the legal action initiated by VMI in which it alleged various violations of Sharky's employment agreement. As part of the resolution, VMI will receive an undisclosed cash settlement in addition to acquisition of the following websites: tenderamateurs.com; tenderasians.com; tenderebony.com; tenderfetish.com; tenderlatinas.com; tenderlesbians.com; tendervirgins.com; tendervoyeur.com; tendercash.com and tendersupport.com
Whatever Happened To Taija Rae?
Greg writes: Hi, according to information on the Taija Rae club forum most recent info has the former starlet working the streets as a hooker? Is it possible to get any more information. Where Vegas? L.A.? is there any way to locate her? I hate to see such a great looking lady go down like that. I'd love to help her out if I could is there any way I can contact her? I'd greatly appreciate any way you could help me find her or any other information you can find.
Luke says: Last i heard she worked as a hostess at a Las Vegas restaurant...
As I read what the Premiere piece on Arnold , and thought about what a schmuck he is, I realized that that's probably how I'd act, with Arnold's success, if I didn't have religion.