[SWOP via my Salon]: 'Human Rights, Prostitution and the Role of Government'

Discussion
1

[First of all, hello! It's been ahile since I've written... I'm
currently writing from Pattays, haveing just had sex-xhange
surgery. This is an activist item I posted on my own Salon, which I
think is really imporatnt, so I'm crossposting here.

Exuse the typos; I just write very fast and it literally doubles my
time to rewrite mesages, since I've lately ust started puring stram
of consciousness. Please send complaints and water balloons to my
address.]

Yo!, libertarians. Please get involved with this. If you'd like to
have a voice in how libertarian-comptaible the international sex-
workers rights movement is... please attend, listen, and voice your
opinions. This promises to be a major controversy in the next
decades, and libertarians who want, this time, to really sound like
the voices of freeodm have got to show they can treat not jsut
middle class taxpayers but the whores and sluts with respect, as
citizens, and as human beings. There is no better attempt to
promote a libertarian cause, and no better attempt to get
libertarianism some organized, international, much needed allies.
Currently, such a relation kind of exists, but prostitutes can count
on libertarians only to quietly and meekly support, not proudly
stand for this as a matter of the dignity of nonconformist
individuals and a matter of human justice.

Most counterculturists have limited respect for libertarians because
libertarians failed to make their struggle their own, choosing to
sacrifice any *self-confident* invocation of principle for poltiical
experdiency. As a result, millions of countercultyuralists who aare
all but libertarians turn their backs on a Party whose numbers are
in the five figures. Prostitutes and former prostitutes number one
out of every 250 American women (and I think like 1 in 10 in
Pattaya), and that translates to a bit over 500,000 socially liberal
capitalists who already know you can't trust the state. Right now,
libertarians are welcome in the sex-worker rights movement, but the
relationship to me seems largely less hot than lukewarm.

The conventional 'realists' who dominate the LP, and done a crummy
job of it, are always asking left-libertarians to shut up until they
have 'realisitc' solution to political problems. Well, here is a
real political chance to make a difference. What would it mean for
libertarianism if every majoe sex-work group passed around stories
the enxt year of a prominent Libertarian delegation to a meeting
like this, which spoke up not only for the legal technicalities but
for the *pride* of sex work. Remember, this is a chance for
libertarains to outshine scared statists, wimpy liberals, and
cynical politicans from many countries who will advocate tepid
reform, state domination, or corporate outsourcing as 'half-step'
answers to prostitutions.

Why don't libertarians be the ones to push everyone to the 'left' and
stand up for prostitutes as *indpendent people*, *proud* of their
sexuality, who deserve absolute and equal protection of their
*individual rights*?

my regards,

Jeanine Ring )(*)(
Stand Forth!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Friends,

Please join us Thursday May 5th at 11am in San Francisco City Hall
room 278 as the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOP-USA) brings
expertise from around the nation and the world to discuss Human
Rights, Prostitution and the Role of Government.

What is the future of prostitution in California? Come and weigh in,
discuss, chew on and process this issue with sex workers,
supporters, legal professionals, union leaders, elected and other
government officials as we talk about the possibilities of
prostitution law reform.

11am-12noon Prostitution in the USA—a discussion of prostitution in
the U.S. with several experts from different parts of the country.

12noon-1pm Politicians Weigh In—perspectives from Bay Area elected
officials. Discussion will include the criminalization and costs
associated with arresting prostitutes.

1pm-2pm International Perspective—representatives from Australia and
Taiwan give their perspectives. Discussion of the New Zealand
Prostitutes Collective and prostitution in Asia.

2pm-3pm State of the Union—union representatives and labor leaders
talk about health and safety issues and the realities of unionizing
sex workers.

3pm-4pm Prostitution and the Law—legal professionals give their take
on prostitution, the law and how it fails to address the violence
perpetrated against sex workers.

4:15pm-6:30pm—Tour the Barbary Coast as Madam Ahtoy leads a
champagne cable car ride through the history of San Francisco's red
light district. Cable car leaves from City Hall at 4:15 and returns
6:30pm. Donations gladly accepted.
The reform of prostitution laws is a human rights issue. Come hear
from a host of personnel on this complicated, contentious and
persistant issue. Lunch will be served from noon to 1pm. If you need
further information please call 1-415-341-7656.

Below is a list of invited presenters. The names in blue have
confirmed.

Best regards,

Robyn Few

Sex Workers Outreach Project USA presents

Human Rights, Prostitution and the Role of Government

Prostitution in the USA 11am to 12pm

Kat Walker SWOP Texas
Shelby Aesthetic SWOP Alabama
Jeanette Maier Canal Street Madam New Orleans
Norma Jean Almodovar (Cop To Call Girl) Los Angeles
Carol Leigh COYOTE/SWOP

Politicians Weigh In 12pm to 1pm

Jake McGoldrick Board of Supervisor SF
Nate Miley Board of Supervisor Alameda County
Desley Brooks City Council Oakland
Max Anderson Berkeley City Council

All SF and Alameda County BOS/Oakland and Berkeley City Council have
been invited to participate.

International Perspective 1pm to 2pm

Janelle Fawkes President of Australiaís Scarlet
Alliance ( http://www.scarletalliance.org.au/ )
Elena Jeffreys, Australian Performance Artist
SWOP AU
Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock Author and Visiting Scholar
Wang Fang Ping, Taiwan Electoral Candidate and
Secretary General of COSWAS
Robyn Few discussing New Zealand Prostitutes
Collective
State of the Union 2pm to 3pm

Tim Paulson SF Labor Council
Maria Abadesco Consultant with UC Berkeley Labor
Maxine Doogan Erotic Service Providers Union
Wang Fang Ping, Taiwan Electoral Candidate and
Secretary General of COSWAS
Rebecca Cooper United Steel Workers of
America
Daisy Anarchy Sex Workers Organized for Labor,
Human, & Civil Rights

Prostitution and the Law 3pm to 4pm

Jeff Adachi SF Public
Defender
Kamala Harris District
Attorney
Chief Heather Fong SFPD
Lt. Michael Yoell Oakland PD
Erin Crane SF
Attorney
Katya Komisaruk Oakland
Attorney

2

Dear Jeanie;

Hope you have an easy and speedy recovery.

If you have the time or if it's possible to find a copy of a paperback book called: Bangkok 8 by John Burdett. It's set in current day Bangkok and covers police Detective Sonchai Jitpleecheep who has some encounters with Buhddists and brothels and a very interesting side story interwoven with the main plot. You may appreciate some of the twists and turns the story takes once you read a copy.

Ron Getty
SF Libertarian

Jeanie Ring <jeanie_ring@...> wrote:

[First of all, hello! It's been ahile since I've written... I'm
currently writing from Pattays, haveing just had sex-xhange
surgery. This is an activist item I posted on my own Salon, which I
think is really imporatnt, so I'm crossposting here.

Exuse the typos; I just write very fast and it literally doubles my
time to rewrite mesages, since I've lately ust started puring stram
of consciousness. Please send complaints and water balloons to my
address.]

Yo!, libertarians. Please get involved with this. If you'd like to
have a voice in how libertarian-comptaible the international sex-
workers rights movement is... please attend, listen, and voice your
opinions. This promises to be a major controversy in the next
decades, and libertarians who want, this time, to really sound like
the voices of freeodm have got to show they can treat not jsut
middle class taxpayers but the whores and sluts with respect, as
citizens, and as human beings. There is no better attempt to
promote a libertarian cause, and no better attempt to get
libertarianism some organized, international, much needed allies.
Currently, such a relation kind of exists, but prostitutes can count
on libertarians only to quietly and meekly support, not proudly
stand for this as a matter of the dignity of nonconformist
individuals and a matter of human justice.

Most counterculturists have limited respect for libertarians because
libertarians failed to make their struggle their own, choosing to
sacrifice any *self-confident* invocation of principle for poltiical
experdiency. As a result, millions of countercultyuralists who aare
all but libertarians turn their backs on a Party whose numbers are
in the five figures. Prostitutes and former prostitutes number one
out of every 250 American women (and I think like 1 in 10 in
Pattaya), and that translates to a bit over 500,000 socially liberal
capitalists who already know you can't trust the state. Right now,
libertarians are welcome in the sex-worker rights movement, but the
relationship to me seems largely less hot than lukewarm.

The conventional 'realists' who dominate the LP, and done a crummy
job of it, are always asking left-libertarians to shut up until they
have 'realisitc' solution to political problems. Well, here is a
real political chance to make a difference. What would it mean for
libertarianism if every majoe sex-work group passed around stories
the enxt year of a prominent Libertarian delegation to a meeting
like this, which spoke up not only for the legal technicalities but
for the *pride* of sex work. Remember, this is a chance for
libertarains to outshine scared statists, wimpy liberals, and
cynical politicans from many countries who will advocate tepid
reform, state domination, or corporate outsourcing as 'half-step'
answers to prostitutions.

Why don't libertarians be the ones to push everyone to the 'left' and
stand up for prostitutes as *indpendent people*, *proud* of their
sexuality, who deserve absolute and equal protection of their
*individual rights*?

my regards,

Jeanine Ring )(*)(
Stand Forth!

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Dear Friends,

Please join us Thursday May 5th at 11am in San Francisco City Hall
room 278 as the Sex Workers Outreach Project USA (SWOP-USA) brings
expertise from around the nation and the world to discuss Human
Rights, Prostitution and the Role of Government.

What is the future of prostitution in California? Come and weigh in,
discuss, chew on and process this issue with sex workers,
supporters, legal professionals, union leaders, elected and other
government officials as we talk about the possibilities of
prostitution law reform.

11am-12noon Prostitution in the USA�a discussion of prostitution in
the U.S. with several experts from different parts of the country.

12noon-1pm Politicians Weigh In�perspectives from Bay Area elected
officials. Discussion will include the criminalization and costs
associated with arresting prostitutes.

1pm-2pm International Perspective�representatives from Australia and
Taiwan give their perspectives. Discussion of the New Zealand
Prostitutes Collective and prostitution in Asia.

2pm-3pm State of the Union�union representatives and labor leaders
talk about health and safety issues and the realities of unionizing
sex workers.

3pm-4pm Prostitution and the Law�legal professionals give their take
on prostitution, the law and how it fails to address the violence
perpetrated against sex workers.

4:15pm-6:30pm�Tour the Barbary Coast as Madam Ahtoy leads a
champagne cable car ride through the history of San Francisco's red
light district. Cable car leaves from City Hall at 4:15 and returns
6:30pm. Donations gladly accepted.
The reform of prostitution laws is a human rights issue. Come hear
from a host of personnel on this complicated, contentious and
persistant issue. Lunch will be served from noon to 1pm. If you need
further information please call 1-415-341-7656.

Below is a list of invited presenters. The names in blue have
confirmed.

Best regards,

Robyn Few

Sex Workers Outreach Project USA presents

Human Rights, Prostitution and the Role of Government

Prostitution in the USA 11am to 12pm

Kat Walker SWOP Texas
Shelby Aesthetic SWOP Alabama
Jeanette Maier Canal Street Madam New Orleans
Norma Jean Almodovar (Cop To Call Girl) Los Angeles
Carol Leigh COYOTE/SWOP

Politicians Weigh In 12pm to 1pm

Jake McGoldrick Board of Supervisor SF
Nate Miley Board of Supervisor Alameda County
Desley Brooks City Council Oakland
Max Anderson Berkeley City Council

All SF and Alameda County BOS/Oakland and Berkeley City Council have
been invited to participate.

International Perspective 1pm to 2pm

Janelle Fawkes President of Australia�s Scarlet
Alliance ( http://www.scarletalliance.org.au/ )
Elena Jeffreys, Australian Performance Artist
SWOP AU
Dr. Rita Nakashima Brock Author and Visiting Scholar
Wang Fang Ping, Taiwan Electoral Candidate and
Secretary General of COSWAS
Robyn Few discussing New Zealand Prostitutes
Collective
State of the Union 2pm to 3pm

Tim Paulson SF Labor Council
Maria Abadesco Consultant with UC Berkeley Labor
Maxine Doogan Erotic Service Providers Union
Wang Fang Ping, Taiwan Electoral Candidate and
Secretary General of COSWAS
Rebecca Cooper United Steel Workers of
America
Daisy Anarchy Sex Workers Organized for Labor,
Human, & Civil Rights

Prostitution and the Law 3pm to 4pm

Jeff Adachi SF Public
Defender
Kamala Harris District
Attorney
Chief Heather Fong SFPD
Lt. Michael Yoell Oakland PD
Erin Crane SF
Attorney
Katya Komisaruk Oakland
Attorney

3

Dear Jeanine,

Great to hear from you! My best wishes for your speedy recovery.
Your posting: great, spirited writing, as always. My take on it: As
a Libertarian, I cheer and encourage ALL work, ALL chosen
professions, ALL means of self sufficiency (with the usual caveat of
not infringing upon anyone's space).

All the best, Jeanine.

Marcy

--- In lpsf-discuss@yahoogroups.com, "Jeanie Ring" <jeanie_ring@h...>
wrote:

[First of all, hello! It's been ahile since I've written... I'm
currently writing from Pattays, haveing just had sex-xhange
surgery. This is an activist item I posted on my own Salon, which

I

think is really imporatnt, so I'm crossposting here.

Exuse the typos; I just write very fast and it literally doubles my
time to rewrite mesages, since I've lately ust started puring stram
of consciousness. Please send complaints and water balloons to my
address.]

Yo!, libertarians. Please get involved with this. If you'd like to
have a voice in how libertarian-comptaible the international sex-
workers rights movement is... please attend, listen, and voice your
opinions. This promises to be a major controversy in the next
decades, and libertarians who want, this time, to really sound like
the voices of freeodm have got to show they can treat not jsut
middle class taxpayers but the whores and sluts with respect, as
citizens, and as human beings. There is no better attempt to
promote a libertarian cause, and no better attempt to get
libertarianism some organized, international, much needed allies.
Currently, such a relation kind of exists, but prostitutes can count
on libertarians only to quietly and meekly support, not proudly
stand for this as a matter of the dignity of nonconformist
individuals and a matter of human justice.

Most counterculturists have limited respect for libertarians because
libertarians failed to make their struggle their own, choosing to
sacrifice any *self-confident* invocation of principle for poltiical
experdiency. As a result, millions of countercultyuralists who aare
all but libertarians turn their backs on a Party whose numbers are
in the five figures. Prostitutes and former prostitutes number one
out of every 250 American women (and I think like 1 in 10 in
Pattaya), and that translates to a bit over 500,000 socially liberal
capitalists who already know you can't trust the state. Right now,
libertarians are welcome in the sex-worker rights movement, but the
relationship to me seems largely less hot than lukewarm.

The conventional 'realists' who dominate the LP, and done a crummy
job of it, are always asking left-libertarians to shut up until they
have 'realisitc' solution to political problems. Well, here is a
real political chance to make a difference. What would it mean for
libertarianism if every majoe sex-work group passed around stories
the enxt year of a prominent Libertarian delegation to a meeting
like this, which spoke up not only for the legal technicalities but
for the *pride* of sex work. Remember, this is a chance for
libertarains to outshine scared statists, wimpy liberals, and
cynical politicans from many countries who will advocate tepid
reform, state domination, or corporate outsourcing as 'half-step'
answers to prostitutions.

Why don't libertarians be the ones to push everyone to the 'left'

and